JAMES, EVAN (Ieuan ap Iago; 1809 - 1878), author of the words of 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau', and his son JAMES, JAMES (Iago ap Ieuan; 1833 - 1902), who is said to have composed the air
Pseudonym: Ieuan ap Iago, Iago ap Ieuan
Date of birth: 1809
Date of death: 1878
Child: James James
Gender: Male
Occupation: author of the words of 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau'
Area of activity: Literature and Writing; Music
Author: Watkin William Price
Evan James was a weaver and wool-merchant who kept the Ancient Druid Inn at Argoed in the parish of Bedwellty, Monmouth, and it was there that his son James was born. The family moved shortly afterwards to Pontypridd, where Evan James had a woollen factory in Mill Street. The father had some skill in writing Welsh verse; a few of his poems were printed in Gardd Aberdar, 1854, Cymru (O.M.E.), 1915, and elsewhere. According to Taliesin James, grandson of Evan James, it was the son James who, in 1856, composed the melody and the father who wrote the words. The subject is fully discussed by Percy A. Scholes, in the National Library of Wales Journal, iii, 1-10 ; see also the portraits of father and son reproduced there together with facsimiles of manuscript and printed versions. A later article in N.L.W. Jnl., viii, 244-57 shows reasons for doubting the ascription of the air to James James.
James James included the air, entitled 'Glanrhondda', in the collection of unpublished airs which he submitted for competition at the Llangollen national eisteddfod of 1858 under the pseudonym 'Orpheus' (Minor Deposit 150B ). The adjudicator, John Owen (Owain Alaw), harmonized it and included it in the third volume of his Gems of Welsh Melody , 1860. The tune became popular immediately; it was sung at the Aberystwyth national eisteddfod, 1865, by Kate Wynne, and at the Chester national eisteddfod, 1866, by Lewis W. Lewis (Llew Llwyfo).
Evan James died 30 September 1878 and was buried in the graveyard attached to Carmel Baptist chapel, Pontypridd. James James kept public houses at Walnut Tree Bridge (below Pontypridd) and Mountain Ash; he also lived for a time with his son at the Swan Hotel, Aberaman. He died 11 January 1902 at 6 Hawthorne Terrace, Aberdare, and was buried in the Aberdare cemetery. A memorial to father and son, the work of Sir William Goscombe John, R.A., was unveiled in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd, 23 July 1930.
Author
- Watkin William Price, (1873 - 1967)
- Trevor Herbert, 'James, Evan [Ieuan ap Iago] (1809–1878), poet', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
- Percy A. Scholes, 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau', The National Library of Wales Journal, iii, 1-10, and references cited therein
- South Wales newspapers
- Y Cymro, 17 July 1943
- Tecwyn Ellis, 'Yr alaw 'Hen Wlad fy Nhadau'. Pwnc Dadl', The National Library of Wales Journal, viii, 244-257
Sources
- NLW Archives: Minor Deposit 150B: Collection of Welsh Airs compiled and arranged by 'Orpheus' for the Llangollen Eisteddfod
- NLW Archives: NLW Evan James MS 1 containing the earliest copy of 'Hen wlad fy nhadau' in the handwriting of the composer
- Meredydd Evans, 'Who was "Orpheus" of the 1858 Llangollen Eisteddfod?', Welsh Music History, 5 (2002), 65-71
- Wikipedia Article: Evan James
- Wikipedia Article: James James
Further Reading
- Madge Breese singing the first known recording of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, 11 March 1899
- NLW: Welsh National Anthem Manuscript- one of the treasures of The National Library of Wales
Sound and Film
- NLW Archives: Llawysgrifau Evan James
- VIAF: 43520326
- Wikidata: Q3061325
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/
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