Canu Rhydd

Recorded at Dartington College of Arts in July 2010, Canu Rhydd is the fifth studio album by Welsh folk group Fernhill. It was released on 1 May 2011 on disgyfrith Records.^[1] Described by Huw Stephens on BBC Radio 1 as "another wonderful Fernhill album"^{[citation needed]}, and by Verity Sharp on BBC Radio 3's Late Junction as "a very beautiful album"^{[citation needed]}, Canu Rhydd is the first of the groups' albums to feature Christine Cooper on fiddle and spoken word. She joins the existing line-up of Julie Murphy, Ceri Rhys Matthews, and Tomos Williams, all of whom appeared on the band's previous, live album, Na Prádle.

Canu Rhydd
Studio album by Fernhill
Released	1 May 2011
Recorded	2010
Genre	Folk
Label	disgyfrith
Producer	Fernhill
Fernhill chronology
Na Prádle (2007) Canu Rhydd (2011) Amser (2014)

Canu Rhydd, Welsh for "free poetry", is described in the sleeve notes as “that written by the free will of the poet, unconstrained by patronage or by the bardic tradition”.^[2]

The album, like all Fernhill albums features songs sung in both Welsh and English.^[3] It is the first Fernhill album to be released on the disgyfrith label. All their previous albums were released on Tim Healey's Beautiful Jo Records, based in Oxford, England.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Songlines (magazine)	[4]
fRoots Colin Irwin	(positive)[5]

Different traditional songs are woven together in each track, changing the thrust of the original songs within their new context. They are, according to Julian May in a Songlines review of the album, "concerned not with the culture of past aristocratic patronage but the expression of the ordinary people of Wales. So they have lovingly assembled these songs from odd verses and fragments of manuscripts. They are about love, place, birds, forests and everyday life. They are touching and beautiful."^[4]

Track listing

1. "adar"
2. "when i was in my prime"
3. "diddan"
4. "forest"
5. "glyn cynon"
6. "glyn tawe"
7. "y fwynlan o serch"

Personnel

Musicians

• Julie Murphy - voice, sruti
• Ceri Rhys Matthews - guitar, flute, voice
• Tomos Williams - trumpet, flugelhorn
• Christine Cooper - fiddle, voice

Recording personnel

• Nick Marshall - engineer, mixing
• Jens Schroeder - mastering

Artwork

• Noel Hefele - photography, design, artwork

Label

• disgyfrith