Ceredwen @ Tune-in Tuesday

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Ymunwch a mi, i glywed y caneuon, Y test en yn hên, Y Mabinogi…

Ceredwen Celtic Music Ceredwen… what’s to be said about this fantastic duo? They still stand as a group that is amongst my favorite Celtic music, despite only having released two CDs back in the ’90s. I always waited for another and still do check every now and then. It would be a dream come true to hear something new from them — however, though there’s no real word on whether or not Ceredwen is still together, there’s been no new music for them since their last CD.

Their music is strung with the lush Welsh vocals of singer/song writer Reneé Gray and the wondrous talents of composer/mulit-instrumentalist Andrew Fryer. With an engaging rhythmic beat to a number of their songs, modern sounds mesh into the Celtic melodies with a new-but-ancient sound.

Bendigeidfran oedd y mynydd, Yn mynd yn dawel drwy y dwr. Yn tynnu coedwig o longau efo, Er mwyn achub Branwen wrth ei gwr.

Ô’r Mabinogi was their first CD, released in 1997. It’s centered around music inspired by the ancient legends of the Celts, in a time before the tales of King Aurthur. The CD comes with a lovely booklet filled with art and lyrics — both the Welsh and the English translation. This has a number of their best songs, in my opinion, and is a must listen to any Celtic music fan! This CD can still be bough at Amazon’s music website here.

Click here for lyrics to Ô’r Mabinogi.

See Customer Reviews of this CD here.

Yn y wlad gyfoethog Arian ag Aur, Yn ei digonedd I rhannu rhwng phawb.

Tir Aur - The Golden Land was their second CD, released in 1999. It, too, is another fine collection of Celtic-rhythm and mystical sounds. It, too, comes with a beautiful artistic booklet and lyrics to all the songs. There are a few tracks on here that I love equally to their first CD and I enjoy listening to it just as much, but overall, Ô’r Mabinogi will remain my favorite between the two. If you do enjoy their first CD, I urge you to check out their second. You won’t be disappointed with either! This CD can still be bough at Amazon’s music website here.

Click here for lyrics to The Golden Land.

See Customer Reviews of this CD here.

Like all of the musicians I write about here, I feel an element of deep inspiration about Ceredwen’s works. I’ve borrowed a lot of names from the lyrics of their songs which eventually shifted in time to become part of my writing and characters. Their stories of Mabinogi have influenced the foundation of legends and history in my own worlds. I’ve also fallen in love with the Welsh language, twisting it around and about to make up the fantasy language of my races — much of that was inspired by listening to the beautiful sounds of the lyrics on these CDs.

Even if you’re not a fan of the Celtic music, or if you would like an introduction to the genre, I’d give these two CDs a suggestion.

You can visit Ceredwen’s Myspace Page page to hear a sample of their music. Certainly listen to Porth Annwn for a good example of their sound!

For more in-depth reviews on Ceredwen’s CDs, visit this site.