Edward Jones Stephen (also ''Stephens''; December 1822 – 10 May 1885), often known by his

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

of Tanymarian, was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

musician, singer and composer, mainly of hymns and songs. He was born in

Maentwrog Maentwrog () is a village and community in the Welsh county of Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), lying in the Vale of Ffestiniog just below Blaenau Ffestiniog, within the Snowdonia National Park. The River Dwyryd runs alongside the villag ...

Merionethshire , HQ= Dolgellau , Government= Merionethshire County Council (1889-1974) , Origin= , Status= , Start= 1284 , End= , Code= MER , CodeName= ...

, into a musical family. He went to school at Penralltgoch and was then apprenticed to his brother, William. He began preaching and in 1843 he went to the Congregational college at

Bala Bala may refer to: Places India *Bala, India, a village in Allahabad, India * Bala, Ahor, a village in the Jalore district of Rajasthan * Bala, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India Romania * Bala, Mehedinți, a commune in Mehedinţi ...

to train as a minister. While there he changed his name to Edward Stephen to avoid confusion with another Edward Jones. In 1847 he became a minister at Dwygyfylchi in Caernarfonshire and in 1852 he composed an oratorio entitled ''Ystorm Tiberias''. In 1856 he moved to another chapel at Llanllechid, and two years later he composed a requiem in memory of

John Jones, Talysarn John Jones, Talysarn (1 March 1796 – 16 August 1857), was a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist minister, regarded as one of the greatest preachers in the history of Wales. Because the name "John Jones" was one of the most common in Wales at the time ...

. He composed many hymns and also wrote books and articles about music, in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

Musical works

Anthems

*''Llawen floeddiwch i Dduw'' *''Wrth afonydd Babilon'' *''Disgwyliad Israel''

Hymn-tunes

*''Tanymarian''

Songs

*''Hen Gadair Freichiau'' *''Caingc y delyn'' *''Carlo''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen, Edward 1822 births 1885 deaths Welsh composers Welsh male composers 19th-century British composers 19th-century British male musicians People from Maentwrog