Gosteg Dafydd Athro

"Gosteg Dafydd Athro" - performed on a 26-string maple bray harp (op.44)

Instrument design, construction, arrangement, performance, and commentary by Keisuke Teramoto

This piece, "Gosteg Dafydd Athro" (The Prelude of Master Dafydd), is found in the Robert ap Huw Manuscript (c.1613), which preserves the music of Welsh bards before the 17th century. The manuscript was compiled by Robert ap Huw (c.1580-1665), a poet and harpist from the Isle of Anglesey.

Written in alphabetic tablature, the manuscript includes information on ornamentation, tuning methods, a repertoire list, and descriptions of the 24 measures (metres) that structured bardic composition. After Robert ap Huw's death, the manuscript passed to his fourth son, Henry Hughes (b. c.1635), then to the poet John Prichard Prys (d.1724), and later, in the late 1720s, came into the possession of the antiquarian Lewis Morris (1701-1765). By that time, however, there was no one left who could interpret the tablature.

Robert ap Huw is said to have performed at the court of King James I. The harp he played was a bray harp (or Gothic harp), fitted with small wooden pins that intentionally produce a buzzing sound. According to legend, in the late 11th century, Gruffudd ap Cynan invaded Anglesey with Irish harpers and reformed Welsh harp music. The sound of the Welsh harp was entirely different from that of the Irish, and the Irish are said to have called it "teilin," meaning "the sound of a buzzing bee." This term is believed to be the origin of the modern Welsh word for harp, "telyn."

In contrast to the bright resonance of the wire-strung Irish harp, the Welsh bray harp produced a rough, buzzing timbre.

The word "gosteg" literally means "order" or "that which requires stillness," and it is thought to signify a kind of prelude. The piece contains the number sequence 11001011, and is composed strictly according to the Korffiniwr measure. A measure (mesur) refers to an alternating pattern of two bass chords - a fundamental system of composition and understanding for the medieval Welsh bards.

At the Eisteddfod, an assembly of poets and musicians, candidates were tested on their skill and, depending on their ability, could receive titles such as "Pencerdd" (chief of art). The word "Athro" means "teacher" or "master," so the title "Gosteg Dafydd Athro" means "The Prelude of Master Dafydd." He is thought to have been active on Anglesey around 1360-1405.