Description
A beautiful arrangement by Tim Paton of a Welsh song by W S Gwynne Williams. Created in memory of his mother, Tim has produced a wonderful version for brass band and has also included an optional vocal solo or unison choir line.
Comments from the arranger: I have arranged [My Little Welsh Home] in memory of my mother. [She] was born, Doreen Davies, on 27th November 1918, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, a small town in South West Wales. She had a beautiful voice, and met my father, Bill Paton, during World War II, whilst she was singing in a troop concert at the County Theatre in her home town, and my father was the MC.
Throughout her life, my mother and father entertained, and she was singing right up until the final months of her life. She spent many years in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, a seaside town in South West England, and it was here that she passed away on 20th September 2004. During the last several months of her life, she often referred to the song My Little Welsh Home: Here are the words.
I am dreaming of the mountains of my home
Of the mountains where in childhood I would roam
I have dwelt ‘neath southern skies
Where the summer never dies
But my heart is in the mountains of my home
I can see the little homestead on the hill
I can hear the magic music of the Rhyll
There is nothing to compare
With the love that once was there
In the lonely little homestead on the hill
I can see the quiet churchyard down below
Where the mountain breezes wander to and fro
And when God my soul will keep
It is there I want to sleep
With those dear old folks that loved me long ago
Looking at the words, I can see why it meant so much to her. Haverfordwest is at the foot of the Preseli Mountains, and her home and church were at the top of a hill. My mothers’ ashes were taken back to her own little Welsh home, and laid to rest in the grounds of the church where she had been Christened, Confirmed and Married.
Look and Listen (Score-reading digital sound-sample):
