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Paul Mealor 1975

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Mae Paul Mealor wedi ei ddisgrifio yn “un o gyfansoddwyr pwysicaf cerddoriaeth gorawl Gymreig ers William Mathias” (New York Times, 2001) ac mae ei gerddoriaeth â “hol rhywbeth sydd tu allan iddo sydd yn brydferth o ran gofod a thirwedd.. mae’n bwrw golau ar ein gorffennol a dyfodol” (The Guardian, 2011).


Wedi ei eni yn Llanelwy yn 1975, astudiodd Paul Mealor gyfansoddi pan yn fachgen gyda William Mathias ac yn hwyrach gyda John Pickard, ac ym Mhrifysgol Efrog gyda Nicola LeFanu ac yng Nghopenhagen gyda Hans Abrahamsen a Per Nørgård. Mae ei gerddoriaeth wedi ei gomisiynu a pherfformio yn nifer o wyliau a gan nifer o gerddorfeydd a chorau ac wedi ei ddarlledu ar deledu a radio ar draws y byd. Ers Ionawr 2003 mae wedi dysgu yn Adran Gerddoriaeth Prifysgol Aberdeen lle y mae’n Athro Cyfansoddi.


Hyrddiwyd Paul i enwogrwydd rhyngwladol ym mis Ebrill 2011, pan glywodd 2.5 biliwn o bobl (y gynulleidfa fwyaf yn hanes darlledu) ei fotet, Ubi caritas yn cael ei berfformio yng Ngwasanaeth Briodas
Frenhinol Ei Mawrhydi’r Tywysog William a Catherine Middleton yn Abaty San Steffan. Wedi hynny aeth i frig y siartiau sengl clasurol yn yr UDA, DU, Awstralia, Ffrainc a Seland Newydd.

 

Yng Ngorffennaf 2011, arwyddodd Paul Mealor gytundeb gyda Decca Recordsac arwyddo cytundeb cyhoeddi gyda Novello & Co. Treuliodd ei albwm cyntaf gyda Decca, A Tender Light – casgliad o anthemau cysegr wedi eu recordio gan Tenebrae a’r Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – chwe wythnos yn rhif 1 yn y Siartiau Clasur Arbenigol. Ar hyn o bryd mae’n paratoi ei ail albwm i Decca ac wedi cyfrannu gweithiau newydd i nifer o albymau eraill Decca, gan gynnwys ei gan In My Dreams i seren yr X Factor Jonjo Kerr; De Profundis i Gôr Siambr St Petersburg ar yr albwm Tranquillity (a aeth i rif 1 yn Siartiau Clasurol ym mis Awst 2012), a’r gosodiad cerddorol cyntaf erioed o weddi Francis Sant, You Are The Holy Lord God i albwm cyntaf FriarAlessandro.

 

Ysgrifennodd Paul nifer o weithiau i Jiwbilî Diemwnt EM Y Frenhines Elizabeth II ac yn ddiweddar mae wedi cwblhau ei symffoni gyntaf, Passiontide – gwaith mawr ar gyfer soprano, bariton, côr a cherddorfa a dderbyniodd ei berfformiad cyntaf yng nghyngerdd penblwydd y cyfansoddwr yn ddeugain ym mis Tachwedd 2015, ac ar hyn o bryd mae’n gweithio ar nifer oddarnau i gorws a cherddorfa.

Paul Mealor has been described as ‘the most important composer to have emerged in Welsh choral music since William Mathias‘ (New York Times, 2001) and his music is ‘marked by something outside of himself that is beautifully spatial and evocative of landscape… it illuminates both our past and our future‘ (The Guardian, 2011).

 

Born in St Asaph in 1975, Paul Mealor studied composition privately as a boy with William Mathias and later with John Pickard, and at the University of York with Nicola LeFanu and in Copenhagen with Hans Abrahamsen and Per Nørgård. His music has been commissioned and performed at many festivals and by many orchestras and choruses and has been broadcast on every major TV and radio throughout the world. Since January 2003 he has taught in the Music Department at the University of Aberdeen where he is Professor of Composition.

 

Paul was catapulted to international stardom in April 2011, when 2.5 billion people (the largest audience in broadcasting history) heard his Motet, Ubi caritas performed at the Royal Wedding Ceremony of His Royal Highness Prince William and Catherine Middleton at Westminster Abbey. It since topped the Classical singles charts in the USA, UK, Australia, France and New Zealand.

 

In July 2011, Paul Mealor signed to Decca Records and signed a publishing deal with Novello & Co. His first album for Decca, A Tender Light – a collection of sacred anthems recorded by Tenebrae and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra – spent six weeks at No 1 of the Specialist Classical Charts. He is currently preparing his second album for Decca and has contributed new works to a number of other Decca albums, including his song In My Dreams for X factor star Jonjo Kerr; De Profundis for the St Petersburg Chamber Choir on the album Tranquillity (which also made No 1 in the Classical Charts in August 2012), and the first ever musical setting of St Francis’ prayer, You Are The Holy Lord God for Friar Alessandro’s debut album.

 

Paul wrote a number of works for HM Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee and has recently completed his first symphony, Passiontide – a large work for soprano, baritone, choir and orchestra – which received its premiere at the composer’s fortieth birthday concert in November 2015, and is currently working on a number of pieces for chorus and orchestra.

ENGLISH
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