About Dilys Elwyn-Edwards
Lived 1918 – 2011 (aged 92). Dilys Elwyn-Edwards was a British lecturer and composer.
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards (née Roberts; 19 August 1918 – 13 January 2012) was a Welsh-language composer, lecturer and accompanist.
Biography Dilys Roberts was born on 19 August 1918 in Dolgellau, Wales. She attended Dr Williams' School for Girls, a grammar school which educated girls ages 7–18 from 1878 to 1975. She was offered the Turle Music Scholarship at Girton College, Cambridge and the Dr. Joseph Parry Scholarship, from Cardiff University. She elected to study at Cardiff and received her BMus degree. She taught music at her old school, Dr Williams', Dolgellau, for the next three years. She then received the Open Scholarship in Composition from the Royal College of Music in London and studied composition with Herbert Howells and piano with Kathleen McQuitty there. She moved to Oxford while her husband attended Mansfield College. She taught music from 1946 to 1972.
In the 1960s they moved back to Wales,
Music She was known for her soft, melodic art songs (Lied) for voice in both Welsh and English. Charlotte Church and Aled Jones have recorded Caneuon y Tri Aderyn (Three Welsh Bird Songs; 1962): Y Gylfinir (The Curlew), Tylluanod (Owls), and her most famous song, Mae Hiraeth yn y Môr (There is longing in the sea, R. Williams Parry's sonnet set to music). This work was commissioned by the BBC in 1961 for the Welsh tenor Kenneth Bowen. Bryn Terfel recorded in 2004 on his DG CD "Silent Noon" The Cloths of Heaven/ Gwisg Nefoedd by Elwyn-Edwards (with text by W.B. Yeats ).
Works Aderyn Crist (The Bird of Christ), 1948 Memory Come Hither (text by William Blake), 1954 Gwlad Hud (Countryside Magic), 1955 Gwraig Lleu (The Wife of Llew) Y Darganfyddiad (The Find) Yr Hela Hud (A Fairy Hunt) Dylluan Deg (Sweet Suffolk Owl), 1957 In Faerie, 1959 Mari Lawen (Merry Margaret), 1959 Chwe Chân i Blant (Six Songs for Children), 1959 Y Ddwy Wydd Dew (The Two Fat Geese) Pen Felyn (Golden Hair) Hwyaden (The Duckling) Morys y Gwynt (Morris the Wind) Cwningod (Rabbits) Guto Benfelyn (Goldheaded Gitto) Caneuon y Tri Aderyn (Songs of the Three Birds), 1962, Solo-S/T Y Gylfinir (The Curlew) Tylluanod (The Owls) Mae Hiraeth yn y Môr (There's Longing in the Sea) Caneuon Gwynedd (Songs for Gwynedd) Rhos y Pererinion (The Pilgrims' Isle) Rhodio’r Fenai (Beside the Wide Menai) Ynys Afallon (The Isle of Avalon) The Shepherd (text by William Blake), 1968 Tre-saith. Geiriau gan Cynan (What do you see in Tre-saith?), 1970, SATB Enter these enchanted woods (text by George Meredith), 1972 Caneuon Natur (Nature Songs), 1977 Y Mynydd (The Mountain) Deilen (Leaves) Noson o Haf (Night of Summer) Eirlysiau (Snowdrops), 1979 Y Llong (A Ship on the Blue Sea), 1979 Salm 23 (Psalm 23) Salm 121 : Codi fly llygaid wnaf i'r bryniau draw (Psalm 121: I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills) (1985) Salm 100 (Psalm 100) Hwiangerddi (Lullabies), 1986, Solo Boneddwr mawr o'r Bala (The gentleman from Bala) Cysga di (Go to sleep) Y gwcw (The cuckoo) Hwyaid (Ducks) Mae gen i ddafad gorniog (I have a horned sheep) Mae gen i ebol melyn (I have a yellow colt) Pedoli (The horseshoe) Pwsi meri mew (The Kitty Cat) Caneuon y tymhorau (Songs of the Seasons), 1991–1993 Gaeaf (Winter) Y Gwanwyn (Spring) Yr Haf (Summer) Hydref (Autumn) Bro a mynydd: dwy gan i fariton a phiano (Two songs for baritone and piano), 1993, B Mi Welais Dair o Longau (I Saw Three Ships), 1993, Solo Dwy Gân i Fair (Two Songs for Mary), 1997 Dywed, Fair (Tell us, Mary) Noël (Noël) Yr Eos (The Nightingale), 1997 Cân a Dwy Garol, 1998 Llygad y Dydd yn Ebrill (A Daisy in April) Ave Maris Stella (Hail, Star of the Sea) Stille Nacht (Silent Night) Y Griafolen (The Rowan-Tree), 2001, Solo-S/T Dwy gerdd gan Walter de la Mare (Two poems by Walter de la Mare), 2002, Solo-S/T Cerddoriaeth (Music) Beddargraff (An Epitaph) Ar gyfer heddiw'r bore (For this morning), SATB Can y tri llanc (Song of 3 youths), SATB Clychau'r Gôg (Bluebells) Ffliwt a phib (Sound the Flute) Hynod Hen (All that's past) (text by Walter de la Mare) Offeren Fer (Missa Brevis, Short mass), SATB In Excelsis Gloria Jubilate Deo Molwch yr Arglwydd (Laudate Dominum, Praise the Lord) Kyrie Pum can fyfyriol (Five Reflective Songs) (These appear in other song cycles) Dywed, Fair (Tell us, Mary) Noël (Noël) Rhos y Pererinion (The Pilgrims' Isle): Rhodio'r Fenai (Beside the Wide Menai) Ynys Afallon (The Isle of Avalon) Roedd yn y wlad honno (It was in that country), SATB The cloths of heaven (text by William Butler Yeats)
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Important facts
People in Dilys Elwyn-Edwards's life
Named in this biography and alive at the same time
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Dilys Elwyn-Edwards's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Dilys Elwyn-Edwards?
Welsh composer (1918-2011)
When was Dilys Elwyn-Edwards born?
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards was born on 19 August 1918 in Dolgellau, Gwynedd.
When did Dilys Elwyn-Edwards die?
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards died on 13 January 2011 in Gwynedd, Llanberis.
What was Dilys Elwyn-Edwards's occupation?
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards was a lecturer and composer.
What nationality was Dilys Elwyn-Edwards?
Dilys Elwyn-Edwards was British.
Sources & further reading
· Wikipedia: Dilys Elwyn-Edwards
· DBpedia: Dilys Elwyn-Edwards
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Dilys Elwyn-Edwards. https://biography.guide/dilys-elwyn-edwards/
MLA: "Dilys Elwyn-Edwards." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/dilys-elwyn-edwards/.
Chicago: "Dilys Elwyn-Edwards." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/dilys-elwyn-edwards/.
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