Sheet Music: Men of Harlech

TitleMen of Harlech
Alternate titlesThe March of the Men of Harlech
Through Seven Years
Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech
The Woad Ode
ComposerTraditional Welsh
InstrumentationFlute solo
KeyG major
RangeD4–E5
Time signature4/4
Tempo112 BPM
Performance time1:10
Difficulty leveleasy
Download printable scorePDF Sheet Music (45 kB) (preview)
Download audio tracksMIDI (change tempo/key) MP3 (561 kB)
Date added2011-02-17
Last updated2011-02-17
Download popularity index☆☆☆☆☆ 0.5 (below average)
Categories
Marches, Military music, Patriotic, Traditional/Folk

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Thursday 17 February 2011

Tune of the Day: Men of Harlech

Traditional Welsh march

This Welsh military march is traditionally said to describe events during the seven year long siege of Harlech Castle between 1461 and 1468. Commanded by Constable Dafydd ap Jeuan, the garrison held out in what is the longest known siege in the history of the British Isles. “Men of Harlech” occupies an important place in Welsh national culture. It is the regimental march of several regiments historically associated with Wales.

The melody of this march was first published without words in 1794 as the “March of the Men of Harlech” in the second edition of The Musical and Poetical Relicks of the Welsh Bards, but it is believed to be a much earlier folk air.

The song gained international recognition when it was featured prominently in the 1964 film Zulu, although it had already appeared in John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941). More recently, the tune was featured in the 1995 film The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain, starring Hugh Grant.