Wikipedia:Featured sound candidates/Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau

A recording of the Welsh national anthem, "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" (composed in January 1856 by James James, with words by his father Evan James), sung by Madge Breese for the Gramophone Company on 11 March 1899.

Articles: Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, James James (any other ideas?); also in use for the Welsh national anthem pages at the Spanish, Polish and Russian (and now also the Welsh!) Wikipedias.
Reason for nominating: It is the first known recording in Welsh, and so has historic importance transcending the less-than-brilliant sound quality.

Nominate (as uploader) and support. Bencherlite ^Talk 22:29, 22 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Comment—I wonder whether anyone is able to clean up this recording? Even though historical, we'd do it a favour if some of the noise could be reduced—all the more because the level is low. Good to see the performers' names, etc, listed. Tony (talk) 13:59, 19 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- I'd be delighted if someone thought that they could improve the current version; I have no technical skills in this area, alas! Any volunteers, please? Bencherlite ^Talk 14:10, 19 July 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Comment Shouldn't the copyright tag be PD-US-record? In the USA, neither 1923 nor life-plus-70 are relevant to a sound recording (as distinct from the underlying musical composition.) ReverendWayne (talk) 23:55, 4 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for this, that wasn't a tag I'd seen before. Well, the composition is out of copyright, so a PD-old tag seems useful; I've changed the 1923 tag to PD-US-record, but I do get the distinct impression from reading through the archived discussions at Commons that this area is a complete confusion. Bottom line is that it's not in copyright in the UK and I'd be amazed if it was somehow still protected anywhere else. Bencherlite ^Talk 00:07, 5 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

OK, I've had a go at cleaning up the noise on this recording - any further comments, please? Bencherlite ^Talk 12:34, 6 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Support based on clear historical interest. Probably cleaned up about as well as it could be, given the source recording. ReverendWayne (talk) 03:55, 17 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Oppose A very tentative, faint and thready performance. Find one recorded later with a little more volume and confidence. The volume of the transfer is also very low. And what is the purpose of 5 seconds of dead silence at the end? Edison (talk) 00:39, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
- Did you notice that it was recorded in 1899 and was nominated for its historical importance as the first known recording in the Welsh language? Saying "find one recorded later" suggests you didn't: one recorded later wouldn't have the same historical importance as this one, would it? Bencherlite ^Talk 00:49, 18 December 2010 (UTC) (later: sorry if this comes across as a bit "snarky", that wasn't my intention, it's just I don't understand the point you're making in the light of the reasons for nomination)[reply]
- From WP:FS? on recording quality: "(b) Historical recordings are of reasonable quality for their age. Exceptions can be made for importance when it is unlikely that any better-quality copy of the same recording could be found." I think that this file is one of those exceptions. It is highly unlikely that anyone in possession of another 7-inch disc of the same recording would be able to extract a starting point any better than the National Library of Wales can. Bencherlite^Talk 01:02, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
  - Primitive as recording technology was in 1899, it seem that this was not a good rendition by the vocalist. Any average church choir then or now likely has vocalists who could do as well or better. That is the substance of my objection. Let' have a good rendition, rather than the earliest recorded rendition, unless reliable sources say that this recording was somehow influential. Edison (talk) 01:37, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
    - Well, you and I are clearly not going to agree on whether the first known recording of any type in the Welsh language is the stuff of Featured Sounds, so I'll leave it there and give up trying to persuade you. Bencherlite^Talk 01:51, 18 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
      - I just cannot find a guideline that says "the first recording in any language is inherently notable" regardless of its merit in terms of the quality of the performance. Edison (talk) 20:00, 23 December 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Support Notable because it is historical. Z gin der 2010-12-24T22:09Z (UTC)
Comment I suppose I can close this rather soon. I'd like to get a few more voices in, but at over six months, this nomination is long overdue for a closing. Personally, I only close things that if I were to vote in instead of close, my vote would not change the outcome. If I were to vote, I'd have to say I am leaning towards supporting it, but I really don't know. Also, I'd much prefer if the dead time was cut off the end, and when I wake up tommorow, I need to stick the sound in the article for Evan James. All that being said, I must reiterate, this really needs to be closed. Sven Manguard Wha? 08:13, 1 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Promoted Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.ogg --(X! · talk) · @144 · 02:27, 4 January 2011 (UTC)[reply]