Remembering Hedd Wyn
On the 31st July 2017, it was 100 years since Welsh poet Hedd Wyn was killed on the Western Front, shortly before the 1917 Eisteddfod where he was awarded the poetry chair. To recognise this occasion, S4C scheduled an evening of programmes, which included the renowned Oscar-nominated film Hedd Wyn (1992), for which John Hardy wrote the score. The film also won Best UK Single Drama at the Royal Television Society awards, was shown at the London Film Festival, and won several BAFTA Cymru awards including Best Music.
To mark the centenary of Hedd Wyn’s death, John wrote an insight into his process of scoring the film:
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“The score for Hedd Wyn was composed in around three weeks, followed by a few additional days copying the orchestral parts and preparing the studio, which is situated in the heart of Cardiff. I was young and optimistic and loved the film so much; having had the opportunity to read the script by Alan Llwyd a year beforehand, and to send recordings for the cast of the songs used on location, I had space to prepare the mind and prime the creative juices for when the cut was finished, and the brief and musical resources defined.
After I was shown the first complete edit in March 1992, the director, Paul Turner, responded to my opinion that the scale and style of the film required a full orchestra, not a chamber ensemble of just a few players, which was all there was in the budget. I will always be grateful to Paul for taking personal and professional risks in agreeing to one orchestral session and one small ensemble session – though nerve-wrackingly, this was only just enough to cover all the music cues, and several of the pieces on the final soundtrack were literally recordings of first time sight-reading by the players.
The editor, the late Chris Lawrence, cut in some orchestral music for the scenes depicting the soldiers’ advance to the front. He found this music on the shelf in his cutting room, and didn't know what it was - I was able to tell him it was Urlicht from Mahler's Second Symphony. Though I was apprehensive about Mahler suddenly appearing in the middle of the film, not least because it may feel too familiar to the audience, Chris and Paul had fallen in love with it. So, I rearranged the Mahler for the size of forces we had, and brought in Penelope Walker, an international Mezzo Soprano living in Wales at that time. She arrived at the appointed moment during the session, walked up to the microphone, and we played it through while she sang her part – perfectly – in one take.
Someone had the enterprise to get Hedd Wyn entered into the 1994 Oscars, and though the early 90s was not a particularly hip time to talk about the First World War – or the Welsh language – Hedd Wyn was nominated for ‘Best Film Not In The English Language’. Sadly, it did not win the Oscar, instead this was awarded to Pedro Almodovar (his first film). Nonetheless, it was a good experience, and helpful and important exposure for Welsh culture and history.
I thank the late Paul Turner for giving me the opportunity to respond creatively to his passionately heartfelt film, which is his love song to Wales and Welsh culture.”
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John composed and conducted the orchestral score. The Hedd Wyn Suite for concert performance is available from Faber Music.
