Wales: the new commission and its historical partner-piece
Goleuni'r Dyffryn (The Light of the Valley) by Sarah Lianne Lewis is inspired by the well-known Welsh folk song ‘Dafydd y Garreg Wen’ (‘David of the White Rock’). Legend is that the song was composed by Welsh harpist David Owen (1711-1741) whilst on his deathbed. The melody has since been passed through generations of musicians and composers, each interpreting it in their own way over the years, with accompanying words added more than a hundred years later by John Ceiriog Hughes (1832-1887). In ‘Goleuni’r Dyffryn’, fragments of the original folk melody surface and vanish like echoes across a valley, while Baroque-influenced dance rhythms and contrapuntal textures are reflective of the harpsichord’s golden age. The result is part neoclassical, part folk in spirit; a nod to the canon of existing harpsichord music, whilst offering something new. (S L Lewis).
This piece, in several sections, enjoys all the colours of the harpsichord while not employing extended technique.
Left: Despina Homatidou performing the work in Cardiff University, 2026.
RECORDINGS
of Dafydd y Garreg Wen, arranged by Percy Grainger and performed by Janet Oates (soprano) and Despina Homatidou in Cardiff University, 2026
of Goleuni'r Dyffryn by Sarah Lianne Lewis, performed by Despina Homatidou in Cardiff University, 2026
SCORES
Goleuni'r Dyffryn by Sarah Lianne Lewis (short extract below)
- contact the composer here
Daffydd y Garreg Wen by David Owen / trad: a public domain version is available here; there are many other arrangements including those by Benjamin Britten or Percy Grainger (which we used, as we thought it was interesting and harpsichord-friendly).
Sarah Lianne Lewis
Sarah Lianne Lewis is a Welsh composer of bold and imaginative contemporary classical music that blurs the boundary between acoustic and electronic sound. Described as “quiet and delicate” and “full of imaginative sonorities", her music explores subtle intricacies of texture, engaging audiences in unique soundscapes and sonic atmospheres. She often writes about connection, climate change and the natural world, informed by a female disabled perspective.
Sarah was Composer Affiliate with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales 2020-2024; the youngest, and the first ever woman, to hold such a residency with the orchestra. Her work for solo piano, 'letting the light in', written for Siwan Rhys as part of Drake Music Scotland's 'Beyond Borders, Beyond Barriers' project won the Royal Philharmonic Society's Chamber-Scale Composition Award in 2025.
Sarah’s music has been performed in the UK, Europe, Canada, & Australia, and featured on UK, US, and European radio stations. Recordings of her music are available through the Birmingham Record Company, Ty Cerdd records and NMC Recordings.