Knots of Harmony: Music of the medieval Welsh harpers

This session introduces the klyme cytgerdd (knots of harmony). We'll learn to play the first two 'knots of harmony' in the manuscript, cover how to read the music tablature, and identify and practice playing the figurations used in these two short pieces. We'll also discuss mesurau, the binary patterns that are the framework of cerdd dant.

Homework: Practice playing knots of harmony i & ii on the binary patterns mak y mwn hir and korffiniwr.

In this session we'll learn to play the next three knots of harmony, 'klyme cytgerdd' iii – v, practicing the figurations used in each one. We'll discuss the enigmatic 'knots of harmony' section of the Robert ap Huw manuscript, its contents, possible uses, and importance in the bardic Welsh cerdd dant tradition.

Homework: Compose a diwedd [ending] for 'kwlwm cytgerdd' v.

This session introduces 'kaniad y gwynn bibydd' ['song of the white piper']. We'll learn to play the first four sections, and note how the introduction of the 'plait of the bee' figuration creates a subtle, unexpected change in texture in the third section. We'll look at the overall structure of the piece and identify the binary pattern used throughout. We'll also discuss its Welsh title and the meanings of gwynn.

Homework: Practice playing sections i – iiii.

In this session, we'll learn to play sections v – ix. We'll practice playing the figuration called the 'plait of the four fingers', paying particular attention to how to play it together with the notes of the lower hand in section vi. We'll also explore interpretations for playing the upper hand notes in sections vii and viii, and a possible missing repeat mark in section vii. We'll end the session with a discussion of cerdd dant history and culture in Wales, surviving manuscripts, and the historical rules for learners and practitioners.

Homework: Practice playing sections v – ix.

In this session, we'll focus on the two longest sections of the piece, x and xi. We'll explore two possible interpretations of the figuration mark in section x. The performance instruction for section xi will be translated and explained, and we'll revisit playing the 'plait of the four fingers' against the lower-hand notes in section xi.

Homework: Practice playing sections x and xi.

In the final session of this course, we'll learn to play sections xii and xiii, then review and play through the entire piece. We'll discuss the bardic tradition of declaiming and singing poetry with the harp and crwth in Wales, and listen to a performance of an experimental reconstruction pairing an early 16th-century Welsh poem with 'kaniad y gwynn bibydd'.