Posts Tagged William Salesbury
Guide me O, Thou great Jehovah
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Hymns, The Welsh Bible on May 23, 2020
In the 18th century, William Williams (1717-1791) wrote the well known Welsh hymn “Guide me O, Thou great Jehovah”. This hymn in the original Welsh was known as “Arglwydd, arwain trwy’r anialwch”.
Today in Wales, it is known as “Cwm Rhondda”. In the Anglican Church it is often known as ‘Guide me O, Thou great Redeemer‘. In other traditions ‘Bread of Heaven‘.
When I was a boy, I often looked through my fathers record collection. He had a vinyl LP called “Songs of the Valleys” by the London Welsh Male Voice Choir. The sleeve had a green cover with a picture of the Welsh hills on it. I loved that album, and the track “Bread of Heaven” stood out to me more than most.
There was something about the sound of the Welsh Male Voice Choir singing the chorus “Bread of Heaven”. The sound called my soul to stand up and rejoice and know that some things are beyond us.
The above YouTube video is my version of this timeless and wonderfully powerful hymn. I love Anglican music and my version reflects that tradition of that great organ sound.
I originally recorded the track as part of a larger project. But I have decided to give it a brief, none commercial hearing, for now, during the ‘Coronavirus’ pandemic.
May our Lord Jesus Christ guide you, and your spirit, as this East Wind continues to blow.
WILLIAM SALESBURY The Man from Llansannan, now on YouTube
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Documentaries, Martyr George Marsh, The Welsh Bible on April 17, 2020
Hello all, I trust you are well. Here is some good news: my long awaited documentary on 16th century Welsh Bible translator William Salesbury is now available from free viewing on YouTube.
To introduce the narrative, William Salesbury was a Welsh man who lived in the 16th century and sought for many years to publish a New Testament in his own language. At that time the Welsh language was being ignored, but Salesbury cared greatly for his own people and wanted to preserve the Welsh language and give the Welsh speaking people a Bible that they could call their own. In order to see his quest fulfilled, he himself underwent much travelling and suffering.
William Salesbury is a hero of Wales and a historically mysterious character and today many have never even heard of him. Yet his legacy has continued on for over 400 years. With this in mind, it should be no surprise to learn that the documentary has taken me many years to complete and I have chosen release it this year, because 2020 is the 500th anniversary of his birth.
Today, (April 17) is also the day Luther went before the diet of Worms. History is not unfamiliar with suffering. So let us remember, even though suffering continues and the world appears to be uprooted and in a mess, let us know that Christ is King and Sovereign. The Bible says that Jesus Christ upholds “all things by the word of His power” (Hebrews 1: 3)
So focus your attention on the Word of your souls health and take some time out from ‘COVID-19’ and uplift your souls and read, read, read the New Testament.
May the grace and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with us all, now and forevermore.
Simon
Stay at home WILLIAM SALESBURY clip
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Documentaries, The Welsh Bible on March 27, 2020
William Salesbury Welsh Bible documentary interview
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Documentaries, The Welsh Bible on September 26, 2017
William Salesbury, Welsh Bible documentary
Posted by simon peter sutherland in Bible translation, Documentaries on August 12, 2015
William Salesbury documentary © 2016 Simon Peter Sutherland
Over the past two – three years, I have been sporadically presenting and producing a documentary on Welsh Bible translator William Salesbury.
Salesbury was born c 1520 in Llansannan, Wales. He was educated at Llanrwst and Oxford and spent time in London where he became involved with the printing press. However, during the reign of Mary Tudor (1553-1558) he returned to Wales and went into hiding. Upon the accession of Elizabeth 1 Salesbury appealed to Parliament to translate and publish the New Testament. He was granted his request and he became the first person to translate the New Testament into the language of Welsh.
Salesbury was a mysterious character, who suffered for the faith and although many aspects of his life remain unknown, it is the legacy of the man which is arguably of the greatest interest. From my perspective, researching ancient Welsh, Latin and English Bibles is always a joy, and travelling hundreds of miles around the beautiful countryside of North Wales, and the great cities of England, in the footsteps of the 16th century Linguistic Reformed Scholar has been an intriguing adventure.
The documentary will be released in the future. Keep posted!
Simon Peter Sutherland
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Simon Peter Sutherland 