28 February 2022

S4C has announced that Eirian Dafydd from Cardiff has won the Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol hymn writing competition.

It's a big year for the iconic S4C series Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol with the long-running programme celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and amazingly there were 60 entries to this special competition to compose the words for a new hymn.

Eirian won a prize of £200, and according to the judges Catrin Alun and the Chief Bard John Gwilym Jones to earn its place, the words of a hymn need to be memorable, based on personal experience and reflect our journey as Christians

"There was one which stood out and appealed to us from the beginning," said John Gwilym Jones.

"The poem talks about feeling the hand, the hand that heals, well something like that grabs you at once, particularly during the pandemic."

"This hymn stopped me in my tracks, and this was the only one to do did this," added Catrin Alun.

"The metre is very different and at first I wasn't sure if this was a problem, but no, I think that this is an advantage because it will have to have a new tune."

Eirian Dafydd said: "I was aware that a number of churches had closed over the pandemic.

"There are members who have had to withdraw and it was the idea of coming back that was with me to begin with.

"For me, this fitted in to the parable of the Prodigal Son – someone who withdrew but who came back.

"There is some personal experience in the second verse – when I was young, I spent several spells in hospital and during that time I went to church services to heal. And that is what is behind the words."

With the words safely in place then, Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol has now announced a new competition to compose a hymn tune to go with Eirian Dafydd's words. There will be a prize of £200 to the winner and the hope is that the new work in its entirety will be performed on Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol before the end of the series.

The closing date is 29 April and all the details are on the S4C website. Eirian Dafydd's winning words are also available on the website.

https://www.s4c.cymru/cy/cerddoriaeth/dechrau-canu-dechrau-canmol/