The group formed in 1963 as a trio comprising Arwel Jones, Elwyn Jones and Myrddin Owen. They initially performed under the name Triawd yr Wyddfa (the Snowdon Trio) and gave their first concert to a group of young mothers in their native
Llanberis. They became a quintet with the addition of guitarist Vivian Williams and piano accompanist Richard Morris. They adapted poems for some of their material, with Arwel Jones commenting in 2011 "we didn't want to sing covers of English or American songs – the poems of
R. Williams Parry and
Cynan said much more about us as boys from Llanberis." The group initially received criticism for their practice of adapting poetry, but their songs were later credited with popularising the works they were based on. In later years, contemporary Welsh poets wrote lyrics for the group. By the end of the decade, the group's recordings and appearances on television and at
Eisteddfodau had made them household names in Wales. In 1971, Hogia'r Wyddfa toured the United States and Canada as part of 48-strong entourage. They performed with Parti'r Ffynnon in
Ohio,
New York,
Michigan and
Ontario. By 1972, they were described as "the leading Welsh folk group" by the
North Wales Weekly News. In 2017, Myrddin Owen commented "I don’t think there’s a village in Wales where we didn’t perform at least once, the amount of time we spent travelling and performing is almost frightening." In 1973, the group performed at the
Royal Albert Hall, an appearance they considered the pinnacle of their career. Alongside tenor
Trebor Edwards, they became one of Sain's best-selling acts. In November 1990,
Dafydd Iwan presented the group with gold discs for selling more than 10,000 copies of their second Sain album
Caneuon Gorau (1975). With Edwards, soprano Marian Roberts and
Cerdd Dant exponent Rosalind Owen, the group again toured the United States and Canada in 1984. Hogia'r Wyddfa searched for a successor and selected
Annette Bryn Parri, who began touring with them in 1992. The band continued to perform concerts in the 1990s and released
Rhaid i Ni Ddathlu, their first album in over a decade, in 2001. The concert, televised on
S4C, followed the announcement that they would retire. Elwyn Jones died in 2017 aged 79. ==References==