Hi all, very interesting discussion, thank you -

Some of the points made are similar to things that had occurred to my own fancy - most of the stuff I could find on record - through SAIN, etc - seemed quite mannered, like it had been passed trough a mid-20th C Welsh version of Cecil Sharp's genteel, attenuating Edwardian arrangements.

Prompted by the above reference to Hamish Henderson, I was really keen to see if there was an equivalent 20th C Welsh equivalent to him, Peter Kennedy, etc - someone very focused on capturing field recordings.

It seems like David Roy Saer may be that figure - he seems to have conducted prodigious, dedicated fieldwork in Wales from the 1960s onwards:

https://museum.wales/collections/folksongs/?action=background

...in the employment of the Welsh Folk Museum (Now St Fagans), and also under the influence of the Welsh Folk Song Society (he ultimately became the President in 2000).

Check out some of the songs available here - Bertie Stephens' 'The Black Mare' blew my socks off!!

https://museum.wales/collections/folksongs/


This is **exactly** the sort of thing I was looking for - and it looks like there's plenty more to explore. Also want to learn more about Ty Siamas, the centre for Welsh music:

https://tysiamas.cymru/en/home