A trove of Welsh hymns believed to have been “cancelled” by all-male committees because they did not like their open approach to issues such as mental health and addiction has been unearthed and is being performed at 50 chapels across the country.
The Welsh folk singer Lleuwen Steffan was working in a museum archive when she came across recordings of Welsh-language hymns she had never heard before.
“I knew that they were not in the current hymn book. I checked the older editions and spoke to experts on Welsh hymns and indeed they were not in any of the older hymn books either.”
The hymns were recorded by the historian Robin Gwyndaf, an expert on folklore and oral history, who worked at St Fagans National Museum of History from 1964. He travelled the country, recording rhymes, riddles, poetry and folk hymns.
Many of the hymns date back to the 18th century and passed down through the generations. Steffan said: “They’re conversational and the lyrics feel so current. There were committees who would choose what hymns would go into the hymn books. These were the unchosen ones, the cancelled ones, if you like.
“Many of them are about addiction, mental illness, the dark side of the psyche. You know, you have one that talks of drunkenness and alcoholism that is transformed into drinking the wine from God’s cellar.
“And you have very detailed, dark stuff about knocking on, on hell’s door. And the guy with the key not answering the door, you know, not letting them in. And then they see all these other people going through the door. I find that it’s just so, so poignant and so present.
“Many of my peers thought, why is she doing hymns? Right. It’s not exactly cool but they have changed my life in music. They wouldn’t leave me alone. I had the responsibility to share them. I felt I had a real connection with them. They really are a treasure.”
The Tafod Arian/Silver Tongue tour comes at a time of huge concern about cuts to museums and the national library in Wales. “This work would not have been possible without the help and expertise of people who are working in the archives,” she said.
Steffan contacted descendants of the hymn singers on the recordings to talk to them about the project and during her performances she sings along with the old voices.
“It feels like a real sharing, giving them back, putting them back to the places where they were born. People are so happy to be a part of it. I don’t feel like it’s a solo project at all because we’re all in it together.”
Elen Elis, the artistic director of the cultural festival National Eisteddfod Wales, which is backing the project, said: “The chapel tour takes all her work back to the people, and I’m looking forward to seeing how the solo performances evolve and transform over the coming months.”