I am entering the BBC National Orchestra of Wales competition this year; it’s an annual composer competition called ‘Composition Wales’ and I am allowed to send two short pieces for orchestra.
I want to title both my pieces in Welsh and English so my first piece (completed) is called: Llechi | Slate
The other piece I am still working on will likely be called ‘Flow’ and it is about all things flowing in nature and nature itself imagined as a slow deep river.
When I google a translation (not ideal I know) of ‘flow’ there are several options which is where I need help.
I need a word in Welsh which would translate more or less as ‘Flow’; is ideally quite short and which conveys the right mood.
I would go for Llif or Lli. These both mean flow, stream, current, (they can also mean flood or deluge).
llif is also a word for saw (as in the cutting wood tool), so maybe lli is a better option to avoid confusion.
(I’ve actually used lli before in a lyric about a river which I wrote to go with the tune Hamabe No Uta)
A tip you may find handy - what I often do when choosing words for poems, sculpture titles, etc., is to put the word in English into Geiriadur Yr Academi https://geiriaduracademi.org/ and then cross-reference the Welsh word(s) that come up with Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru https://geiriadur.ac.uk/. It’s a bit more faffy but usually much more useful than Google
