Written by Daivd Smith
Mounted on a wall opposite the entrance to the former chemical weapons site at Rhydymwyn is a plaque commemorating a visit to the village by Felix Mendelssohn and the fact that he composed a piece of music during his stay at nearby Coed Du house. It also notes that Charles Kingsley, author of The Water Babies, walked in the area. Presumably, this was when he was a canon of Chester Cathedral in the 1870s. While there, he founded the Chester Society for Natural Science, Literature and Art, which was prominent in the establishment of the Grosvenor Museum.
In the course of a period of European travel to perform and promote his music, the 20-year old Mendelssohn travelled to Wales with the intention of visiting Ireland. He never achieved this as very bad weather and reports of nasty crossings dissuaded him from going. After a short stay at Llangollen, he moved on to Coed Du, just outside Rhydymwyn, where he spent a week with the Taylor family. He had been introduced to the Taylors in London by a lady who had known his cousin in Germany. John Taylor was a mining engineer who rented this large house while working in the local lead mines.
Impressions of life at Coed Du can be gained from letters Mendelssohn wrote at the time, One of them reads:
“My stay at the Taylors was one of those times of which I shall never lose the flowery memory, and I shall always recollect the meadows and woods, the brook with its pebbles and rustling sound … I am truly fond of these girls … I owe them three of my best piano compositions. …. For the two younger sisters I took the carnations and roses and began to write music. And for the other sister I composed the ‘Rivulet’ which has pleased us so much during our ride that we dismounted and sat down by it ….. I believe it is the best I have done in that way; it is so flowing and quiet, and drowsily simple, that I have played it over to myself every day, and have got quite sentimental over it. I drove away in the evening. The lights in the house sparkled through the bushes in the distance. I passed by several favourite places, the gentle brook already mentioned, the last hedge of property, and then off I went at furious English speed.”
He was very pleased to discover “a good English grand-piano” at Coed Du Hall. As a leaving present and as a token of his gratitude for the hospitality of the Taylor family, Mendelssohn composed three piano pieces, one for each of his host’s daughters and published today as ‘Trois Fantaisies ou Caprices’ (Op. 16). Of the third piece, The Rivulet, Mendelssohn wrote, ”and to the middle daughter I made a present of the brook that had so caught our fancy during our ride that we dismounted and sat down at its side… This last piece is, I feel, the best of its kind that I have yet dreamt up: it is so slow-moving and quiet, and a bit boringly simple, that I played it to myself day after day and got quite sentimental in the process.”
Mendelssohn yn Rhydymwyn
Wedi’i ysgrifennu gan Dave Smith
Ar y wal gyferbyn â’r fynedfa i’r hen safle arfau cemegol yn Rhydymwyn, mae plac i goffau ymweliad i’r pentref gan Felix Mendelssohn a’r ffaith y bu iddo gyfansoddi darn o gerddoriaeth yn ystod ei arhosiad yn nhŷ Coed Du gerllaw. Mae hefyd yn nodi bod Charles Kingsley, awdur The Water Babies, hefyd wedi mwynhau cerdded yn yr ardal. Yn ôl pob tebyg, roedd hyn pan oedd yn Ganon Eglwys Gadeiriol Caer yn y 1870au. Yno, sefydlodd Gymdeithas Gwyddorau Naturiol, Llenyddiaeth a Chelf Caer, a oedd yn amlwg wrth sefydlu Amgueddfa’r Grosvenor.
Pan oedd yn 20 oed, yn ystod cyfnod lle’r oedd yn teithio ar hyd a lled Ewrop i berfformio a hyrwyddo ei gerddoriaeth, teithiodd Mendelssohn i Gymru gyda’r bwriad o ymweld ag Iwerddon. Ni gyrhaeddodd pen ei daith oherwydd i adroddiadau o dywydd a mordeithiau garw wneud iddo feddwl dwywaith am fynd. Ar ôl arhosiad byr yn Llangollen, fe symudodd i Goed Du, y tu allan i Rydymwyn, ac fe dreuliodd wythnos gyda’r teulu Taylor. Cafodd ei gyflwyno i’r teulu yn Llundain gan ddynes a oedd yn adnabod ei gefnder yn yr Alban. Roedd John Taylor yn beiriannydd cloddio a oedd yn rhentu’r tŷ mawr hwn tra’r oedd yn gweithio yn y pyllau plwm lleol.
Gellir cael argraffiadau o fywyd yng Nghoed Du drwy’r llythyrau a ysgrifennodd Mendelssohn pan oedd yno. Meddai mewn un ohonynt:
“My stay at the Taylors was one of those times of which I shall never lose the flowery memory, and I shall always recollect the meadows and woods, the brook with its pebbles and rustling sound … I am truly fond of these girls … I owe them three of my best piano compositions. …. For the two younger sisters I took the carnations and roses and began to write music. And for the other sister I composed the ‘Rivulet’ which has pleased us so much during our ride that we dismounted and sat down by it ….. I believe it is the best I have done in that way; it is so flowing and quiet, and drowsily simple, that I have played it over to myself every day, and have got quite sentimental over it. I drove away in the evening. The lights in the house sparkled through the bushes in the distance. I passed by several favourite places, the gentle brook already mentioned, the last hedge of property, and then off I went at furious English speed.”
Roedd yn falch iawn o ganfod piano neu “a good English grand-piano” yn ei eiriau ef, ym Mhlasty Coed Du. Fel anrheg pan yr oedd yn gadael, ac i ddiolch i’r teulu Taylor am eu lletygarwch, cyfansoddodd Mendelssohn dri darn i’w chwarae ar y piano, un i bob un o ferched ei westeiwr. Mae’r darnau hyn wedi’u cyhoeddi heddiw fel ‘Trois Fantaisies ou Caprices’ (Op. 16). O ran y trydydd darn, The Rivulet, dywedodd Mendelssohn, “and to the middle daughter I made a present of the brook that had so caught our fancy during our ride that we dismounted and sat down at its side… This last piece is, I feel, the best of its kind that I have yet dreamt up: it is so slow-moving and quiet, and a bit boringly simple, that I played it to myself day after day and got quite sentimental in the process.”