Cwm Rhondda

This article is about the hymn tune written by John Hughes (1873–1932) and the words most commonly sung to it. For the South Wales valley, see Rhondda Valley.
Cwm Rhondda
Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer
Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah
GenreHymn
Written1907
TextWilliam Williams
Based onIsaiah 58:11
Meter8.7.8.7.4.4.7.7
MelodyJohn Hughes
A modernised version of 'Bread of Heaven', sung by John Owen-Jones
Traditional version, sung by Cymanfa Treforus

Cwm Rhondda is a popular hymn tune written by John Hughes (1873–1932) in 1907. The name is taken from the Welsh name for the Rhondda Valley.

It is usually used in English as a setting for William Williams' text "Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer" (or, in some traditions, "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah"),[1] originally Arglwydd, arwain trwy’r anialwch ("Lord, lead me through the wilderness") in Welsh. The tune and hymn are often called "Bread of Heaven" because of a repeated line in this English translation.

In Welsh the tune is most commonly used as a setting for a hymn by Ann Griffiths, Wele'n sefyll rhwng y myrtwydd ("Lo, between the myrtles standing"), and it was as a setting of those words that the tune was first published in 1907.[citation needed]

  1. ^ John Richard Watson, An Annotated Anthology of Hymns, Oxford University Press 2002, p. 228. "Hymns Ancient and Modern and the English Hymnal have always printed Guide me, O thou great redeemer, as the first line."