Meredydd Evans

Meredydd Evans (9 December 1919 – 21 February 2015), known colloquially as Merêd, was a collector, editor, historian and performer of folk music of Wales. A major figure in Welsh media for over half a century, Evans has been described as influencing "almost every sphere of Welsh cultural life, from folk music and philosophy to broadcasting and language politics". Evans first found prominence as a member of the popular singing group Triawd y Coleg, writing original material for the group as well as adapting existing songs into Welsh. A light tenor, his success as a performer on BBC Radio earned him the nickname "the Bangor Bing". Beginning in the 1950s, Evans made award-winning Welsh language recordings and published collections and research in collaboration with his American-born wife Phyllis Kinney, helping to preserve and promote Welsh music worldwide. Evans served as Head of Light Entertainment at BBC Wales between 1963 and 1973; in this role, he has been credited with discovering performers including Meic Stevens and Ryan Davies. He was a leading campaigner for Welsh language rights, taking part in acts of non-violent civil disobedience in later life. The archives of Evans and Kinney are now part of the Welsh Music Archive at the National Library of Wales. I maintain my Christian beliefs more than ever with these wars which occur today. The creation of the atomic bomb and weapons like that mean you wouldn't have a world war, but global destruction. There's nothing that could justify that. I know there are people who believe in war as a way to sort out problems, that it's the best choice of a bad lot, and I respect their opinion. They have the right to believe it, but I can't agree. — Meredydd Evans, 2009 Born in Llanegryn in Merionethshire, Evans was brought up in Tanygrisiau. He was the youngest of eleven children born to Charlotte Evans (née Pugh, 1881–1965) and her husband Richard Evans (1867–1936). Richard, a socialist and engineer, worked at the Foel granite quarry whilst Charlotte fostered a cultured homelife, encouraging her children to read widely and singing to them, giving Evans his first exposure to Welsh folk songs. When Evans was fourteen, he left school after his father became too ill to work and supported his family with a job at the Co-op, where he stayed for seven years. Richard Evans died from silicosis in 1936, when his youngest son was sixteen. From 1938, Evans harboured an interest in becoming a Calvinistic Methodist minister and began to preach locally. By this period, Evans had become a pacifist and a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. In 1939, Evans registered as a conscientious objector a few months before the Second World War began. He subsequently faced a tribunal to claim this status and was given unconditional exemption from military service on religious grounds in early 1940. Evans remained a lifelong advocate of nonviolence. In September 1940, Evans enrolled at Clwyd College, Rhyl to undertake a preparatory course for the ministry. The following year, his training continued at the University College of North Wales, Bangor. In September 1943, he decided to leave the course and instead took a course in Philosophy. He graduated with a first in 1945, and was President of the Student Council in 1946-7. Evans' interest in Welsh music developed during his studies at Bangor, under the influence of Mrs. Enid Parry. He began a career as a solo folk singer and also formed a close harmony group, Triawd y Coleg, with Cledwyn Jones and Robin Williams. The trio became a popular act on stage, performing songs written mainly by Evans including "Triawd y Buarth" (The Farmyard Trio). After coming to the attention of BBC producer Sam Jones, Triawd y Coleg were recruited to be the stars of the Welsh-language light entertainment radio programme Noson Lawen. Broadcast monthly from Bangor, each edition of the show was bookended by performances by the group; they were nurtured by Jones, who was known to lock Evans in a room until he produced words for a tune. Noson Lawen brought Triawd y Coleg's humorous and sentimental songs to audiences across Wales and made them household names. At one point it was estimated that 20% of the Welsh population listened to the programme. The group were the first musical performers in the Welsh-language achieve fame through the medium of radio, and their success made Evans a household name. Triawd y Coleg starred in a short film based upon the programme in 1950, with Evans playing a farmer's son who dreams of greater things. During the 1960s, Triawd y Coleg recorded a series of singles and EPs for Welsh Teldisc and, in the 1970s, made two albums for Sain. They made two appearances at the National Eisteddfod of Wales (in 1947 and 1971) and continued to perform sporadically into the 1990s. Evans was appointed Tutor in Philosophy and Political Theory at Coleg Harlech in 1947. In March of that year, he met Phyllis Kinney (1922−2026), an American singer, whilst she was touring as lead solo with the Carl Rosa Opera Company in the UK. Kinney had studied at the Juilliard School and introduced Evans to folk music from around the world. They married on 10 April 1948 and had a daughter, Eluned, in 1949. By the late 1940s, Evans was a regular presence on Welsh radio, both as a presenter and a performer. He became known for his duets with Kinney as well as his work as part of Triawd y Coleg. He possessed a light tenor, described by journalist Constance Hale as "at once clear and enveloping, haunting and reassuring". His singing style earned him the nickname "the Welsh Bing", to his chagrin. In 2015, Sain co-founder Huw Jones described Evans as the "first star of the Welsh pop singing world". Evans left Coleg Harlech in 1950 and joined Hughes and Son's editorial staff in Oswestry as an assistant editor for the Welsh newspaper Y Cymro. In June 1952, Evans and his family moved to America where he enrolled at Princeton University, undertaking on a PhD in Philosophy. He was awarded his doctorate in 1955. Whilst studying at Princeton, Evans received a letter from Moe Asch, founder of Folkways Records, who was curious to hear Welsh folk songs. Evans recorded an improvised selection of secular Welsh language songs for Asch, all a capella, in what he thought was a test recording. To Evans' surprise, Asch issued the recordings as an album; The New York Times named Welsh Folk-Songs one of the twelve best popular light music records of 1954. The album was reviewed in DownBeat, who wrote "the darkly moving language of Wales is sung beautifully by Meredydd Evans". From 1955 to 1960, Evans taught at Boston University, where in 1957 the students voted him Professor of the Year. During this time, he met Albert Einstein, Arthur Miller and Marilyn Monroe. During his time in America, Evans was active in promoting Welsh music in the country, taking part in Gymanfa Ganu festivals, giving addresses and performing concerts, often with Kinney. After returning to Wales in 1960, Evans was appointed to succeed Cynan in the Department of Extramural Studies at Bangor. With Kinney, he edited three collections of Welsh songs described as "definitive reference-works for this genre of national song." In 1962, Evans recorded a new album, A Concert of Welsh Songs, with Kinney, the Russian harpist Maria Korchinska and several backing musicians and singers conducted and arranged by Robert Docker. Kinney later described the album, Evans' first to use instrumental backing, as "tradition dressed up to suit the audience". Evans later composed music to Harri Webb's patriotic poem "Colli Iaith" (Losing a Language), which has achieved the status of a traditional air. In 1976, Sain released Merêd, a new album of 28 traditional Welsh folk songs sequenced by theme and introduced by musicologist D. Roy Saer. In 1963, Evans became Head of Light Entertainment at BBC Wales. He initially found the role challenging and almost gave up after the first year, telling