The
Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin (WGGAW)
Dewch,
canwn i'r Arglwydd! Come, let us sing to
the Lord!
About the WGGAW:
What is a Gymanfa Ganu?
A Gymanfa Ganu is a festival of sacred
song featuring 4-part harmony sung by the gathered congregation and directed
by a musician. Many of the hymns can be traced back to the spiritual life
in the land of Wales where 4-part harmony began way back in the 12th century.
How can I help support WGGAW?
Please attend the cymanfaoedd canu yourself and bring friends with
you to enjoy and add their voices to the singing.
Please click here if you are interested in
joining the Association or receiving its newsletter.
You can also make a tax-deductible contribution
to the Association. Gifts received by April 20 will be recognized in the program
on May 7. Categories of giving are
If you are already an Association member, please mail your gifts to WGGAW
Treasurer:
Dick Myers, WGGAW Treasurer
1052 Stratford Court
Racine, WI 53406-7002
If you would like to join and contribute, click
here.
Your gifts will be much appreciated and we look forward to you joining us
in song at any and all cymanfaoedd in Wisconsin.
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Memorials and Remembrance
The Association remebers members and loyal cymanfaoedd
participants each year at the State Gymanfa Ganu by listing their names
in the program and mentioning them during the service. If you know of persons
who were involved in cymanfaoedd canu or active participants in Welsh-heritage
activities in Wisonsin, please send us thier names so they can be properly acknowledged.
Send names to Dick Myers (with a notation
of WGGAW Memorial in
your subject line to expedite notification).
Should you wish to make a memorial contribtuion, please send
your check payable to the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin to:
Dick Myers, WGGAW Treasurer
1052 Stratford Court
Racine, WI 53406-7002
Penwythos Cymreig i
Bawb: May 3-4
(photos by Kim Corbin)
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Cymanfaoedd Canu
and Other Coming Events of Interest
Sponsored by the Association and Other
Groups
-
***Gymanfa
Ganu June 8, 2008,at Carmel/Peniel Welsh / Presbyterian
Church in Rewey, WI. 2:30 p.m. Te bach follows. Director will
be Mr. Geraint wilkes, Hartland. Pianist will be Ms. Barbara Brown, Mount
Horeb. Contact Betty Timm: 608 325-9764.(Directions:
Take Highway 151 southwest from Madison. Go through Mineral Point. Take
Cty Hwy A (Rewey exit (note: exit is on the left) about 4 miles from Mineral
Point) to Go right (west) on A to Jones Branch Road Turn left and proceed
to Peniel road. Turn right on Peniel. Chapel is about 1 mile.) Note
to WGGAW Board members: there wil be a meeting following the gymanfa
ganu.
- **Gymanfa Ganu
July 20, 2008, at Redgranite at
First Congregational Church of Christ, Hwy 21and bonnell Ave.in Redgranite.
Service at 2:30 p.m. with te bach to follow. Director Mr. Trefor
williams, Milwaukee. Organist: Rev. Tom White, North Fond du Lac. Contact:
Margery Williams 920-787-0803. Church is fully accessible and air-conditioned.
***Gymanfa
Ganu Augus 24t, 2008, at Peniel Presbyterian Church, Pickett,
WI, with session at 2:30 p.m.and te bach to follow. Director: TBA.
organist: Rev. Tom white, North Fond du Lac. Pianst: Sarah Conrad. Contact:
Rev. Tom White 920-922-9424 or
tjwihte65@sbcglobal.net . Directions: Peniel is located on
Cty Hwy FF on the Winnebago/Fond du Lac county line 0.5 mile west of Hwy
26, north of Rosendale and south of Oshkosh.
- ***Gymanfa
Ganu September
24, 2008, Wild Rose Presbyterian Church, 501 Jackson
St., Wild Rose; Session at 2:30 p.m. with
te bach to follow. Contact Rev. Julie Friedl , 920-622-3883. jpins@centurytel.net
-
***Gymanfa
Ganu in Cambria, October, 12, 2008,, at Cambria Presbyterian
Church, corner of Florence and Towyn in Cambria.
Sessions at 2:30 and 6 p.m. with supper served between sessions.
Director: Mary Morris Mergenthal, St. Paul, Minnesota; oragnist: Steve
Jensen, Milwaukee. Contact Mr. Thomas Williams (920)348-5746. Church
is fully accessible.
Nov. 9, 2008,
Christmas Gymanfa Ganu, North Fond du Lac at Community
United Methodist Church701 Minnesota Ave. Sessionat 2:30 p.m. followed
by te bach. Director: Rev. Joe corbin, Reedsburg; organist: Rev.
Tom White, North Fond du Lac; pianist: Sarah Conrad. Contact: Rev. Tom
White 920-922-9424 or tjwihte65@sbcglobal.net
. Church is fully accessible.
Directions: Take Highway 41 to Winnebago St. exit. Go east about
1 mile to Prospect Ave. and left one block.
Future events:
-
***Gymanfa Ganu
in Wausau at First Presbyterian Church, 406 Grant St.
Other events:
*** These events are arranged and sponsored by separate
groups and not by the Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Association of Wisconsin.
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Trustees of the Association:
2007: Rev. Joe Corbin, Miss Ilah Morgan, Rev. Richard Prtichard,
Ms. Jane Ann Roberts, Rev. Thomas White
2008: Mr. Richard Myers, Mr. Danny Proud, Ms. Anna Mae Badciong, Mr.
David Lloyd, Ms. Sue Stealey
2009: Mrs. Kim Corbin, Ms. Ann E. Lemmenes, Ms. Janet Morga, Mrs. Loree
Simmuncak; Dr. Mary Williams-Norton
2010: Mrs. Mary Davis, Ms. Phyllis Griffith, Mr. Dale Hughes, Mr. Thomas
Williams
2011:: Mr. Tom Guy,, Mr. John E. Morris, Ms. Betty Timm, Ms. Marilyn
Schrader, Ms. Barbara Cummings
Associates: Mr. Hugh Davis
LINKS FOR YOUR INFORMATION:
Ninnau (incorporating Y Drych), the North
American Welsh newspaper is an excellent source of information and contacts.
The Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association
Sound of Majesty:
wonderful music rcommended by Rev. tom White and others
Welsh Welsh Club of the Milwaukee Area
Contact Geraint Wilkes.
Cambrian Heritage Society of Madison, WI.
Learn Welsh in North America at Cwrs Cymraeg.
Welsh Heritage Week also
offers the opportunity to learn Welsh
Learn about St. David,
the patron saint of Wales.
Are you looking for a good recipe for Welsh cakes? Try this
one adapted from Olwen Morgan Welk's recipe.
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Click here to make comments or ask
questions about this page.
Last updated May 8, 2008.
A short postscript on Welsh usage within the
medium of English:
Cymanfa Ganu means singing festival or a singing festival,
since the indefinite article is not expressed in Welsh.
Y Gymanfa Ganu means the singing festival. The change of spelling
is a soft mutation (treiglad meddal) which occurs because cymanfa
is a feminine gender noun and singular feminine gender nouns mutate via the
soft mutation after the definite article. The adjective (or participle in this
case, since canu is a verb) also mutates to agree with a singular feminine
gender noun, so singing--canu--becomes ganu. Another example of
this would be red dragon--draig goch--and the red dragon--y ddraig goch--with
draig the feminine noun for dragon and coch (red) mutated
to modify it correctly.
What happens in everyday usage and/or mixing Welsh and English? Professor Gwyn
Thomas of the Department of Welsh at the University of Wales Bangor says* that
some mutations take over the original form and the case of Gymanfa Ganu
is one of these. Example:
Cwestiwn: Beth sydd yn y capel heno? Ateb: Gymanfa Ganu (Question: What
is in the chapel tonight? Answer: (a) singing festival. According to Professor
Thomas, although asking in mixed Welsh/English "What is a Cymanfa Ganu?"
is formally correctly and would have been the only acceptable form in the past,
"What is a Gymanfa Ganu?" is just as acceptable now. He suggested
that since Gymanfa Ganu appears in the name of organizations such as
ours, it might be better to use that form everywhere. However, since plural
nouns (masculine or feminine) do not mutate after the article and modifiers
of plural nouns are not mutated either, one must continue to use cymanfaoedd
canu to refer to a plurality of festivals! Aren't the nuances of Welsh
grammar fascinating? If you want to learn more, go to the Cymdeithas Madog
website , register for Cwrs Cymraeg
(Welsh course), and learn Welsh. You can also learn online with the
excellent BBC course Catchphrase.
*It helps to have learned friends who themselves have other learned
friends. When I asked Dr. Iolo Wyn Williams and Nesta Williams about the proper
use of cymanfa ganu and gymanfa ganu, they contacted their friend
Professor Thomas for an especially well informed response and sent me his opinion.
Diolch yn fawr iawn i Iolo, Nesta ac Yr Athro Thomas!
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