Connections between music and Welshness derive primarily from a period of Welsh nationalism in the nineteenth century, which coincided with the development of community choirs, the standardization of music and literary competitions (eisteddfodau), and the creation of popular hymn singing sessions (cymanfoedd canu). For many, Welshness became bound with musicality, particularly choral music-making. These associations persist today on both sides of the Atlantic.
For this dissertation, present-day musical signs of Welshness were observed during three years of ethnographic fieldwork. This research included qualitative and quantitative analyses of seventy-one interviews and one hundred and six questionnaires collected from Welsh singers and North American singers with Welsh identities. In this document, degrees of inclusiveness and exclusiveness of Welshness are discussed. As signs of Welshness, songs are also examined to reveal how and why singers of different ages reliably chose different song types. Drawing on theories from linguistics, anthropology, and cognitive science, this study reveals that the two most salient signs of Welshness today for singers in both Northwest Wales and North America are musicality and the Welsh language.
Another focus of this work is how these signs are being reinterpreted. Among these reinterpretations are Male Voice Choirs in Northwest Wales currently functioning as domains for socializing. Other reinterpreted signs include various choir types in Northwest Wales incorporating choreography and a popular culture image and repertoire, and North Americans exhibiting a predilection for specifically religious Welsh music and musical activities.
Throughout this dissertation, Welshness is presented as a cognitive model, a bundle of associations emerging from personal experience. This study examines how Welshness is affected by media, language legislation, age, gender, and temporal and geographic distance. Chapters I and II introduce theories and the history of various Welsh signs. Chapters III and IV present data collected through interviews and questionnaires in Northwest Wales, while Chapter VI presents data collected in North America. Chapter V focuses on reinterpretations of Welshness, while the final chapter, Chapter VII, offers conclusions about Welsh cultural identity in Wales and in North America. Although the autobiographical and contextual nature of Welshness is emphasized, the effects of sociohistorical factors are central to this discussion.