Rare Welsh Christmas Carol Discovered in London Library

A rare recording of a Welsh Christmas carol has been discovered recently at the British Library in London.

The "carol plygain" was found by Wyn Thomas of the University of Wales, Bangor, when he was invited to view a mystery collection in the library's cellars.

He said he was delighted to find recordings from 1910-1913 by folk song collector Lady Ruth Herbert Lewis. It is the first time the music has been heard in at least 50 years, he said.

Plygain carols were traditionally sung early on Christmas morning, unaccompanied and only by men.

The stronghold of the tradition was in central north Wales and the old counties of Montgomeryshire and Meirionnydd, but the plygain carol found in London was recorded in Drefach, Carmarthenshire, showing the tradition went much further south.

"Before this discovery there were only six to seven cylinders in Wales, kept at (the Museum of Welsh Life at) St Fagans, so to see this collection in front of me was like a dream," said Mr Thomas.

It is hoped that the School of Music at the university will be able to restore the whole collection using modern technology.

"There is no mention of a tree, turkey or tinsel in this Christmas song but rather it's a joyful biblical carol - truly the voices of the past coming back," said Mr Thomas.