Apprising the achievements of two musicians

03.05.2019

One of the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol's Doctoral Scholarships in 2019-2020 will be awarded to a PhD student who will investigate the distinguished contribution of Dr Meredydd Evans and his wife, Mrs. Phyllis Kinney to traditional music in Wales. This will be a collaborative project between The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth (The Welsh Music Archive) and the School of Music and Media (Bangor University) and it is expected that the recipient, who will begin working on the project in October this year, will pay particular attention to some of the unpublished folk songs collected and recorded by the couple and explore the areas of research that were of particular interest to them (e.g. traditional carols, melodies of the interludes etc.).

As two of the nation's greatest benefactors, Merêd and Phyllis were very generous in their support of the University's musical activity at Bangor and when papers and documents were transferred to the Welsh Music Archive at The National Library of Wales in 2018, collaboration between various organizations was inevitable.

The Scholarship, which is funded by Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, will sustain the researcher for a period of 3 years (full-time) or 6 years (part-time) and they will be expected to receive instruction and training from the University, Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the Library.

Professor Chris Collins (Head of the School at Bangor) said:

"This is a special development for us as an institution and a sign of our respect and appreciation of their support for decades. We look forward to seeing the results of the research published in Wales."

It is anticipated that the output of the doctoral research will form the basis of three different types of products, namely:

a. A scholarly study of Meredydd Evans and Phyllis Kinney's contribution to Welsh folk music

b. Musical outputs (e.g. collections of unpublished folk songs together with notes, catalogs of the main sources concerning traditional Welsh carols) which will bring the Merêd and Phyllis collection to the attention of the public.

c. Public activity (e.g. exhibitions or performances) which will be a means of promoting these papers and the outstanding contribution of the two who were so diligent in bringing them together.

Pedr ap Llwyd, Chief Executive and Librarian of The National Library of Wales, said:

"Meredydd Evans and Phyllis Kinney's extensive and incomparable archive deserves the attention of a powerful and capable researcher and this scholarship and the new partnership between the Library, Bangor University and the Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol offers a unique opportunity for a student to work in the field of folk music, which is important to us here at the Library. It also gives us an opportunity to further recognize and highlight the grandeur of Merêd and Phyllis."

Applications are invited from eligible individuals for this Scholarship which will commence on 1st October (2019). Interviews will be held in Aberystwyth during June however.

ENDS

Notes

Please note that this project must be carried out and completed by the successful applicant through the medium of Welsh. Further information can be found through the following links. Some are only available in Welsh.

• Ysgoloriaeth PhD Y Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol. Pdf
• Welsh Traditional Music
• Merêd a Phyllis Collection

Contact and further details

Wyn Thomas, School of Music, Bangor University
w.thomas@bangor.ac.uk
(07754) 382571

or

Mrs Nia Daniel, The National Library of Wales, Aberystwyth
niw@library.wales
(01970) 632800