Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain

Subject: The Hall of My Chieftain- English lyrics
From: aderyn_du
Date: 15 Nov 03 - 02:45 PM

Hi everyone! I'm trying to find an English translation of the lyrics for The Hall of My Chieftain. I've found the Welsh lyrics but am having difficulty translating them with my limited knowledge of Welsh. If anyone can point me towards English lyrics, or help me with translation, I would be most grateful! :)

Best,
Andrea

Subject: Lyr Add: YSTAFELL CYNDDYLAN / HALL OF MY CHIEFTAIN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 16 Nov 03 - 11:06 PM

Here's the Welsh. Maybe somebody else will translate.

Copied from http://www.acronet.net/~robokopp/welsh/boedcuri.htm

YSTAFELL CYNDDYLAN / THE HALL OF MY CHIEFTAIN

1. Boed curiad y stwffwl yn araf a gwan,
Pan ddelot i guro wrth ddrws yr hen fan
Lle buom yn gwledda hyd doriad y dydd
Ystafell Cynddylan sy'n dywyll a phrudd.

2. Pan oedd y penaethiaid yn dawel mewn hun,
Y gelyn ddaeth arnynt gan daro pob un;
Telynor Hen Bowys gymerwyd trwy drais,
Mae telyn Cynddylan yn nwylo y Sais.

3. Roedd telyn Cynddylan yn arfer rhoi gwys,
A galwad i'r cleddyf oedd yn yr un llys;
Os mwyach ni chana prif delyn y byd
Mae cleddyf Cynddylan yn hongian o hyd.

4. Ystafell Cynddylan sy'n dywyll a phrudd,
I ddwyn y telynor a'i delyn yn rhydd,
Bro Powys sy'n bloeddio yn uchel ei llais,
'rhoed cleddyf Cynddylan yng nghalon y Sais.'

Subject: Lyr Add: THE HALL OF MY CHIEFTAIN
From: Jim Dixon
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 12:01 AM

I found these English words in "The Celtic Monthly: A Magazine for Highlanders," 1905. It isn't clear to me whether this poem is a translation of the Welsh poem posted above--I don't know any Welsh.

THE HALL OF MY CHIEFTAIN.
THE following poem is by Mrs. Hemans.

The Hall of Cynddylan is gloomy to-night;
I weep, for the grave has extinguished its light;
The beam of the lamp from its summit is o'er,
The blaze of its hearth shall give welcome no more!

The Hall of Cynddylan is voiceless and still,
The sound of its harpings has died on the hill!
Be silent for ever, thou desolate scene,
Nor let e'en an echo recall what hath been!

The Hall of Cynddylan is lonely and bare,
No banquet, no guest, not a footstep is there!
Oh, where are the warriors who circled its board?
The grass will soon wave where the mead-cup was poured!

The Hall of Cynddylan whose smile made it bright!
I mourn; but the sigh is loveless to-night,
Since he is departed, of my soul shall be brief,
The pathway is short to the grave of my chief!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: sian, west wales
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:24 AM

Those English words are by good ol' Mrs Hemans (here
) and the Welsh are by J. Ceiriog Hughes (here )
.

They're based on a much much older poem by Llywarch Hen - "Canu Heledd" (The Song of Heledd) - about the aftermath of a battle in 577 A.D. The warrior Ceawlin led an army across what was then Gwent and is now Wiltshire towards the Severn valley. The Severn men were overcome and the invaders arrived at Pen Gwern - Shrewsbury - which was the seat of Cynddylan. They smashed that as well. The bits of the poem (which is epic and gratifyingly long) can be found here.

sian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: sian, west wales
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 05:34 AM

Oh - I should also have mentioned that the tune is "Y Stwffwl" which I think means door-knocker (not sure) and I imagine it was actually a harp tune. Ceiriog was one of a number of poets of the time who were putting Victorian words (often yukky and/or inappropriate) to perfectly good instrumental tunes. Shrewsbury was quite close to Ceiriog's family's farm which was the next farm to my uncle's farm until it was made into a summer home. (Don't get me started ...) His mother's portrait still hangs in the village hall - very scary.

And we're remembering that "dd" is pronounced like a 'hard' "th", aren't we? So: cun-THUH-lan

Sorry about the weird formatting above. I used the blue clicky maker below but it doesn't usually do line breaks like that ...

sian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: GUEST,Dickiebo
Date: 24 Feb 11 - 05:08 AM

This is simply amazing! I have been singing the third verse of this (minus a few words) since Primary School in 1947, and I have long since wondered where the words came from. The only difference was that we sang 'Chieftains' where there is Cynddylan. Amazing, after all this time!

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: sian, west wales
Date: 24 Feb 11 - 05:40 AM

Yep. Mudcat is just that: amazing. You should join.

sian

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 24 Feb 11 - 11:00 AM

Here's a page with sticks & dots and also abc for Y Stwffwl

http://abcnotation.com/tunePage?a=trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/mirror/BrianMartin/YStwffwl/0000

I hope it's the same tune. I agree with Sian that it sounds like a harp tune, probably for dancing.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: GUEST
Date: 22 Oct 17 - 03:22 PM

I'm looking for the author or poet? and the melody I found in the Library of Congress here in Wash. D.C. I took it and the words down, went home and arranged an acc. for it on my harp. I love the song, and arr. and sang it after my dad died. He was "my chieftain".
Rosemary Harding

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Ystafell Candela / Hall of My Chieftain
From: sian, west wales
Date: 22 Oct 17 - 07:03 PM

Which poet? Mrs Hemas (English), Ceiriog Hughes (Welsh), or the original by Llywarch Hen?

sian