I Sang In My Chains

Dylan Thomas was one of the greatest lyric poets of the twentieth century. Inspired by the musicality of his writing, the composer David Lancaster and I began a project in 2020 to produce a suite of new settings of Dylan's poems and have them performed to mark the seventieth anniversary of his death, in November 2023. This project - titled 'I sang in my chains', from 'Fern Hill' - comprised seven new settings of Thomas’ lyrics by five leading composers (Philip Grange, Sadie Harrison, Hayley Jenkins, Rhian Samuel and David himself). These were performed, to great acclaim, by Christopher O'Gorman (tenor) and David Pipe (piano) as part of the prestigious Late Music concert series in York on 4 November 2023.

But we don’t want to stop here! Our future plans include a CD recording of all the new songs, plus further concerts, particularly in Thomas’ home town of Swansea. Following the success of the York concert, Steve Plews, director of Manchester-based Prima Facie Records, has offered to produce a CD of the existing songs, with additional settings by Hayley and David and newly commissioned ones by the composer Richard Allain, to make an hour's worth of music. For a taste of what to expect, here's David's powerful setting of 'The force that through the green fuse drives the flower': https://on.soundcloud.com/RBEZyLk7dg6UJk9S8

We are now seeking funding to take this exciting project further. Thanks to generous support from the composers, performers, record label and Manchester University (where recording will take place in August), we are able to produce the CD recording for as little as £2,000. £3,000 would enable us, in addition, to hold further concerts in 2024, the 110th anniversary of Dylan's birth.

We've applied to various Welsh and English funding bodies for support, but without success. It may be that we fell between two stools - that, to adapt what someone once said of Dylan Thomas himself, our project is just too English to fit the criteria for Welsh funding, and too Welsh to fit the criteria for English funding. Whatever the reason, we do know that this is a brilliant venture, featuring terrific original music which demands to be made available, via CD, to a wider audience than those who can get to one of the concerts. Hence this appeal.

So here's the deal. £2,000 will cover the costs of making the CD. Anyone who donates over £20.00 to our JustGiving appeal will receive a copy of the CD by way of thanks. In the event that we make more than our target, the extra money will go towards our other big priority, a performance in Wales.

And that's it - please, please donate, if you love music and / or the work of Dylan Thomas and wish to support original musical and great poetry!