Here’s a review of the first Noson Lawen held on the Welsh Speaking Practice last Friday…
Noson Lawen Review
As an American learner of Welsh, I had only a vague idea of what a Noson Lawen might be… until this past Thursday.Knowing the SSiW community, I expected a welcoming, good-natured event: and so it was! A good time was had by all, and by the end of the night we had all become pretty handy at toggling those mute buttons on and off in order to applaud between acts.
The tone—generous, light, communal—was set by Phyl, acting as the emcee. And then the denizens of a screenful of tiny little two-inch boxes each came to life and, one by one, took their star turns. Surprise followed upon surprise: there were truly beautiful renditions of folk songs—a tenor, a baritone, and a lovely soprano clear all the way from Canada; there was a hymn (the tune was “Amazing Grace”) that somehow turned into a beery pub song in the middle and then back into a heartstring-tugger; there was some skillful jazz guitar and singing and another folk song—was that a mandolin?—as well as a lively cover of “Fel Hyn ‘Da Ni Fod” by Bwncath’s Biggest German Fan. Then there were rousing poetry readings which—the englyn most of all—both reminded this Welsh learner that it was the rhythms and sonorities of yr hen iaith which first drew him to this friendly corner of the web and also gave him a sharp (but not uninspiring!) reminder of just how great a challenge it is to come to grips with a tradition so rich, formal, and subtle.
Last—and certainly not least—there were the comic interludes throughout the show. We had the emcee’s patter and we had stand-up comedy (from a sitting position, as befits our current constraints), but best of all was a woman wearing many hats—literally, and hilariously. If the englyn was gripping but sobering (all those hours of Aran’s coaxing and I only caught a word or two!) then this comic routine brought us home to the fun of language “acquisition:” we learners might not have gotten all of it, but with a little help from silly voices and some glorious webcam-mugging, we surely caught the gist.
Kudos—llongyfarchiadau, rather—to everyone who was part of the show. Building a community online is a very good thing, and an hour of music and fun is always welcome—but rarely more than now. I hope we don’t really have to wait a whole month for the next one…
Josh
Dates to put in your calendar:
An evening with Owen Shiers / Cynefin - 8/5/2020
Noson Lawen 15/5/2020
If anyone would like to take part in the noson lawen please get in touch 
