Wednesday 21 October, 2015
We’ve been counting down to today for months. As soon as I heard about a possible tour to Patagonia with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, I knew it was an opportunity not to be missed, and as the trip was a three-and-a-half-week one, we decided to go en famille. I have two Welsh-speaking daughters aged five and eight, and was excited that they would get the opportunity to meet other children on the other side of the world who also spoke Welsh. Welsh settlers went out to Patagonia 150 years ago on the Mimosa, in search of similarly lush and green lands. The reality was very different, and the first few years were an exercise in survival before they started to build communities and settlements. Today in Patagonia, around 50,000 Patagonians are of Welsh descent, and estimates put the number of Welsh speakers at anything from 1,500 to 5,000.
Thursday 22 October
In Buenos Aires our party split. I’m part of a group of about 20 that includes members of the orchestra, BBCNOW staff, the wonderful conductor Grant Llewellyn and my group of four. Everyone else heads down to Trelew and Puerto Madryn, but we fly west to the Andes and drop down late afternoon in a community called Esquel.
Friday 23 October
A short journey to the small village of Trevelin (Trefelin is Welsh for “mill town”), where we head straight to the old mill so I can meet and play to local schoolchildren. My harp is still in transit with the main orchestra, so I’m lucky to be able to borrow Catrin Heledd Morris’s instrument. She’s the only person in Patagonia with a pedal harp. After lunch we do an amazing session at a special-needs school, and then I work with some local harpists. The majority of the children here have never seen a harp, let alone heard one, and there are no concert harpists in Patagonia, and it is always a pleasure to be able to introduce it to people in the hope that maybe they may want to listen to more of it.
Saturday 24 October
Saturday begins with a trip on the Patagonia Express La Trochita, an old steam train complete with log burners and wooden seats. I’ve brought a small harp with me and entertain my fellow passengers on the way up the through the mountains with the odd Welsh number. It doesn’t take long to persuade them to have a go.
We give a concert in the evening, which is a chance to thank some of the wonderful people who’ve been so welcoming. I also get to work with a superb young string group led by violinist Paz Misurelli. Paz moved here from Buenos Aires and started teaching violin to local students, and has since built a thriving academy, giving opportunities to youngsters and older people who would never have dreamed of being able to play Vivaldi or Piazzolla. I perform some traditional Welsh music, and also some of my usual classical repertoire, such as Parish Alvars and Godefroid’s Carnaval of Venice. There are also performances by young farmers who sing Welsh songs that we all know, and some local tunes accompanied by guitar.
Monday 26 October
We say goodbye to Esquel and pile into our little bus for the eight-hour trip east to join the rest of the team in Trelew. Normally on a road trip this long, you would expect to pass through many towns and villages, but here we pass just three small communities, each huddled around a petrol station, and that’s it – for eight hours. There is just milesof dry grassland as far as the eye can see. My thoughts focus on those Welsh settlers, 150 years ago, who, with all their possessions, crossed this land on foot, following ancient Indian paths, to make it to the mountains.
Tuesday 27 October
My girls and I spend the day at the Welsh school in Trelew. Some of the members of the orchestra are visiting too, and chorus manager Osian Rowlands has everyone on their feet immediately, singing. The children know many of the same songs my own kids grew up learning – it’s a funny experience to be in a small classroom, looking over grassland in South America, singing and enjoying Welsh music. There’s time in the evening for a jam session with the Orquesta Chazarreta, made up of guitars, charangos, violins, pipes and percussion instruments. The music they play is very rhythm-based, with the guitar and charango sections creating rhythmic chords which accompany the more lyrical lines on the violins and pipes. I challenge them to play a Welsh song with me – Ar Ben Waun Tredegar – to which they rise very successfully.
Wednesday 28 October
We venture to Gaiman, 20kms away, and I spend the morning with young harpists preparing duets for the evening’s concert in the gimnasio municipal, which was a typical “noson lawen” – a bit like a variety show. There is singing from the local choir, folk dancing, vocal and instrumental groups, and not forgetting the harp duets.
By now, the rest of the orchestra have joined us and we’re preparing for Friday’s gala concert in the Predio Ferial. The building used to be a woollen mill but has been specially converted into a concert hall. It’s also housing a 40-metre plastic replica of the largest ever dinosaur fossil, which was found in Patagonia last year.
Friday 30 October
Nobody knows quite what to expect, or who will come (tickets are free), but as the traffic jams start building half an hour before the concert, we know it’s going be a good crowd. This is the first time a professional international symphony orchestra has played in Patagonia, and it is a fantastic and memorable evening. Our programme ranges from Beethoven to Jurassic Park, from Welsh music to Piazzolla’s Libertango. The entire hall is on their feet. It’s like being at a football match.
The Welsh language survives here through music. It is sung at family meals, friendly gatherings and in schools. It goes to prove that music can overcome language and social barriers, and can bring people together from opposite sides of the world. I had never imagined that simply having a singsong could be such an important part of keeping tradition and culture alive, both on a small level around a family living room and on a bigger scale through education and social direction. Wales and Welsh live on here. I hope it continues to do so.
Listen to the BBCNOW’s concert from Teatro Colon, Buenos Aires (available until 3 December.)
