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Lady Llanofer and
the Triple Harp
'... And the Bee [Lady Llanofer]
had, above all, doted utterly, of course, on the triple harp, on folk
songs, and on dancing, Welsh folk dancing, and there is no doubt at all
that the Abergavenny Eisteddfodau, between 1835 and 1853 had played a very
important part in safeguarding those elements in Welsh culture. It is
certain that the triple harp would have completely disappeared from the
land were it not for Gwenynen Gwent who employed a harper in Cardiff,
Bassett Jones, to make harps. That is, she put competitions in the
eisteddfodau for players of the triple harp and instead of money being
given to them as prizes, gave new harps to them. And it is likely that this
Bassett Jones in Cardiff fashioned somewhere around three dozen brand new
harps, and those went out to the country. And Gwenynen Gwent continued
very, very fervently for that which she considered traditional culture of
the Welsh, right up to the year of her death in 1896, 'a very fiery
Welshwoman', said one of her acquaintances. But in truth, as to her
lineage, she was English. Thank God for those of that nature.'
From an article found on
the internet
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