Robin Huw Bowen (born 1957) is a player of the Welsh triple harp, known in Welsh as ''Telyn Deires'' ( en, Three-row Harp),. He was awarded the

Glyndŵr Award The Glyndŵr Award ( Welsh: Gwobr Glyndŵr) is made for an outstanding contribution to the arts in Wales. It is given by the Machynlleth Tabernacle Trust to pre-eminent figures in music, art and literature in rotation. The award takes its name af ...

in 2000. Born into the Welsh community in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

, into a family originally from

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, Bowen learned to play the Celtic Harp while at school, inspired by the Breton harper,

Alan Stivell Alan Stivell (; born Alan Cochevelou on 6 January 1944) is a French, Breton and Celtic musician and singer, songwriter, recording artist, and master of the Celtic harp. From the early 1970s, he revived global interest in the Celtic (specifically ...

. In 1979 he received a degree in Welsh Language and Literature from the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth , mottoeng = A world without knowledge is no world at all , established = 1872 (as ''The University College of Wales'') , former_names = University of Wales, Aberystwyth , type = Public , endowment = ...

. He was first exposed to the Welsh Triple Harp by two members of the Welsh traditional music group

Ar Log Ar Log (Welsh for "for hire") are a Welsh folk band. They have performed since the 1970s and are recognized as the first professional Welsh folk band. They perform instrumental music and songs in Welsh. Career The original 1976 members were ...

, brothers Dafydd and Gwyndaf Roberts. They had learned to play the instrument from Nansi Richards, one of the last traditional Welsh folk harpists from the previous generation. Although he regularly performs as a soloist, Bowen joined the Welsh traditional group Mabsant in 1986 and later joined Cusan Tân. Since 1998 he has been a member of the Welsh 'super-group' Crasdant. In 2004 he and four other Triple Harpists formed Rhes Ganol, the first Welsh Triple Harp 'Choir' to exist since that of Llanover Hall during its heyday at the beginning of the twentieth century. Robin Huw Bowen worked for many years at the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales ( cy, Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru), Aberystwyth, is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million ...

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location i ...

. While there he discovered several old collections of Welsh tunes and arrangements for harp, some of which have since been published. His research has also drawn on living sources, in particular the harpist Eldra Jarman (1917–2000), a great-granddaughter of . In 2015, Bowen was allegedly banned from a branch of

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

in Aberystwyth, a largely

Welsh-speaking Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language of the 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 Province, Argentina). Historically, it ha ...

area, for complaining that the bank gave precedence to the English language in its signage.

Albums

*''Trwy'r Weiar''(Through the Wire) (1987) ''with Mabsant'' *''Telyn Berseiniol Fy Ngwlad'' (Sweet Harp of My Land) (1991) *''Cusan Tân'' (Kiss of Fire) (1992) ''with Cusan Tân'' *''Hela'r Draenog'' (Hunting the Hedgehog) (1994) *''Cerddoriaeth Telyn Cymru'' (Harp Music Of Wales) (1995) *''Esgair'' (The Ridge) (1996) ''with Cusan Tân'' *''Hen Aelwyd'' (Old Hearth) (1999) *''Crasdant'' (1999) ''with Crasdant'' *''Nos Sadwrn Bach'' (Not Yet Saturday) (2001) ''with Crasdant'' *''Yn y Gwaed'' (In the Blood) (2004) ''with Rhes Ganol'' https://www.discogs.com/Rhes-Ganol-Yn-Y-Gwaed/release/1865198 *''Dwndwr'' (The Great Noise) (2005)'' with Crasdant'' *''Y Ffordd i Aberystwyth'' (The Road to Aberystwyth) (2007) *''Harp Music of Wales'' (Cerddoriaeth Telyn Cymru) (2011) *''Iaith Enaid'' (2015)

References

External links

Personal website

Crasdant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowen, Robin Huw Alumni of Aberystwyth University Welsh harpists Living people Musicians from Liverpool Welsh folk harpists Welsh language activists 1957 births