Choirs like the Pendyrus and Treorchy are known worldwide. Choirs sprang up like wildfire, some of them 150 voices strong. Since its pious and political 18th century heyday, Wales has been appropriately referred to as “the Land of Song.”. Nor are there competition categories for choirs of the unemployed, as at the 1938 Cardiff National (there were five entries). Choirs and solo singers alike performed their repertoire at festivals, namely Eisteddfod. With choir rehearsals twice a week, friendship and commitment become the glue, and, of course, there’s the afterglow that so many choirs speak of—the more informal, spontaneous singing in pubs or bars following concerts. Baptist, Methodist) origins in the 18th century. The B.W.M.C. Visitors do make us change gear a bit!”. The nonconformist revival of the 18th/19th centuries, particularly strong in Wales, was a “people’s religion” with its emphasis on harmonized congregational singing and participatory fervor whipped up by pulpit orators. Exact figures are difficult to pin down, but there are probably in the region of 100 male choirs across Wales today, and many welcome visitors free of charge to their weekly or even twice-weekly practices. Frequent TV and Radio appearances, national and international concert tours and Charity, Corporate and Wedding events make Cardiff Arms Park Male Choir one of the busiest in Wales. There’s a lilting musicality inherent in Welsh conversation. The Treorchy Welsh Male Voice Choir singing When I Survey The Wonderous Cross to the tune Morte Christe. Cor Meibion Pontypridd Male Choir at The Great Hall of the University of South Wales, Treforest Pontypridd on the 13th. Then the most glorious swell of sound fills the hall. As the most Welsh Welsh men's choir in Australia: At least 25% of what we sing is in Welsh (it's in our constitution) - often it's a lot more; Our Musical Director since 1994, Faleiry Koczkar OAM, is a native Welsh speaker Here's 10 great British war movies th... Long the focus of folklore and legend, including Dan Brown's Da Vin... © 2020 Irish Studio. I can practically hear my great-great-grandfather singing with the other men as he returns home from the coal mine in Maerdy. I put this on at the request of another user. Audio CD MP3 Download Listen with Music Unlimited. Eager to hear elderly men with snow-white hair and beer bellies sing about the plight of their coal-stained homeland and their faith in God, and not necessarily in English? Brian is a secondary school teacher and is active as a clarinetist and saxophonist, performing regularly as a soloist and with ensembles. Suo Gân. The Welsh male voice choir has become the country’s most treasured and remarkable feature, with nonconformist (e.g. Our patron – Alwyn Humphreys has said of the choir “it is the best Welsh choir heard outside of … Listen to music from Welsh Male Voice Choir like Bread Of Heaven (Cwm Rhondda), Men of Harlech & more. David was very committed to the male voice choir cause… Take a bunch of cheerful, bantering chaps. The London Welsh Male Voice Choir: the tradition permeates. Chepstow was formed in 1988, renewing the presence of male choral singing in the town that had lapsed during World War II, and members currently number around 40. Every choir has its own sound, but there is also merit in talking of a national characteristic. Welcome to the Gwalia - Bringing you the ‘Joy of Music’ The Gwalia delights audiences at concerts, weddings, cabarets, charity and family functions, in London, the Southeast, Home Counties, across the UK and abroad.. With more than 50 years experience, the male voice choir is based at the London Welsh Centre, and is formed of men of all ages and backgrounds. Welsh male voice choirs have become something of a spectacle to the outside world: Only Boys Aloud, a choir made up of 130+ boys aged 14-19 from the financially depressed and socially troubled South Wales valleys, was featured on Britain’s Got Talent in 2012 (and placed third!). The scone undoubtedly, the perfect British treat. It has been 23 years since our founder and current active chorister, Gwyn Roberts, formed the Toronto Welsh Male Voice Choir with the intention of keeping the … We hope that the website will provide our friends, associates and the wider public with useful information about the choir and its music. “The two essential requirements for being in the choir are,” said Dr. Naylor Firth, a founding member and top tenor, “the ability to sing the same note as your neighbor and to have a sense of humor.”, Naylor and fellow choristers Alf Giaquinto and Elvin Hart (both baritones) chatted to me enthusiastically about the choir’s impressive fundraising for charities and singing at weddings, funerals, and concerts. Fortunately, these traditions are still (mostly) robust today. www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYOxBncgmLQ (mixed choir), www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEAAdqRVJY0 (male choir). And with them came the opportunity to travel and tour, and the tribal desire to compete—a spirit still to be witnessed today at the annual National Eisteddfod and smaller eisteddfodau, though times do change: Prizes no longer include a pair of boots and a pair of trousers, as they did for winning conductors in a competition held in Tonypandy in 1899. Recording of “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer” set to the traditional tune of Cwm Rhondda: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s1suWhb5KA, Music for “Guide Me, O Thou Great Redeemer.”. Since its pious and political 18th century heyday, Wales has been appropriately referred to as “the Land of Song.”, Some traditional songs include, as given above, classic hymns like “Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer” (sung most often in worship settings), “Myfanwy” (a tragic love song), “Llef” (a prayerful song for the dead), and “Calon L. ân” (a patriotic song and anthem of almost all Welsh rugby matches today). Welsh Association of Male Choirs Patron - HRH The Prince of Wales. Treorchy Male Voice Choir & Sam Griffiths. I caught up with the Caerphilly Male Voice Choir (British Heritage Travel last visited in 2006 for the choir’s centenary). We have a broad repertoire suitable for all occasions including Welsh hymns, traditional choral music, musical theatre numbers and pop songs. Add the boom in coal mining, iron and slate, and the seething concentrations of populations that grew around pit and quarry, the perils men faced and the comradeship that saw them through—you begin to understand how choirs, demanding committed shoulder-to-shoulder teamwork as well as providing emotional release, became so firmly planted in industrial areas. Top tenor John Morgan reports current membership numbers in the 30s and encouraging news of five new choristers recruited in 2017, although senior choristers, “the troopers,” remain the backbone; one or two have been members for more than 50 years. These singsongs quickly developed into a full-fledged choir led by David Humphreys and David Jones, well known Edmonton tenors. The Choir is also available to sing at weddings. And then there’s the famous hwyl and hiraeth (any translation falls short of the depth of fervent humor, energy, and longing contained in those words). As early as the 12th century, the wandering clergyman Giraldus Cambrensis (Gerald of Wales) noted the Welsh love of music and gift for singing in harmony, “melding in the soft sweetness of B-flat.” But in truth, the modern phenomenon of male voice choirs was stirred from the cauldron of the 18th/19th-century religious and industrial revolution. 187 likes. Melbourne Welsh Male Choir was formed in 1984 by a group of mainly Welsh migrants who wished to bring the culture of their homeland to their new home. The Guernsey Welsh Male Voice Choir was first formed in 2003 under the guise of “Welsh Boys Aloud”, when a group of Welsh expatriates from the Guernsey Rugby Club decided the time had come for Guernsey to experience the unique sound of a Welsh male voice choir. Item ordered 2 cd “A Welsh Male Voice Choir Christmas”, item delivered “A Welsh Male Voice Christmas” cd two. When one goes to Wales and hears everything from the Welsh accent to the vigorous sound of choirs resounding in the hill-valleys of the Rhondda, you will also hear the song of a people with lyricism and pride sewn into their hearts. Brian also conducts the Dublin Youth Male Voice Choir, an ensemble within Dublin Youth Choir. Welsh Association of Male Choirs Cymdeithas Corau Meibion Cymru There are currently 100 member choirs including 11 choirs from elsewhere in the UK, 1 choir from the Channel Islands and 6 … is a Canadian Male Voice Choir, based on the Welsh tradition of Male Voice Harmony. Guernsey Welsh Male Voice Choir, Guernsey. A Welsh Male Voice Choir Christmas. St. David's Welsh Male Voice Choir can trace it roots back to 1904 when a small group of Edmonton Welshmen began gathering for singsongs. During this time, congregations in both the north and south of Wales formed tenor-bass choirs that led chapel-goers in the singing of hymns, both in English and in Welsh. One evening recently, in a school hall just a few minutes away from the great medieval fortress of Chepstow Castle, I shared a little bit of magic. During this time, congregations in both the north and south of Wales formed tenor-bass choirs that led chapel-goers in the singing of hymns, both in English and in Welsh. Choir member and social historian Gareth Williams notes in his book Do You Hear the People Sing? Did you know that as well as singing for pleasure, our performances help to raise many thousands of pounds each year for local charities. Men have sung together throughout history. Additionally, more localized choirs’ rehearsals are popular sights for tourists, and visitors are often invited to audit or observe them. Choirs and solo singers alike performed their repertoire at festivals, namely Eisteddfod (roughly pronounced: “ei-steth-VOD”), an annual gathering of performers in different cities around the nation. 4.4 out of 5 stars 36. It’s certainly an interesting way to pass an evening, to soak up some culture and meet a few locals. Methodism and chapel going, mining, danger, discipline, poverty, and patriotism all played their part in rooting male choirs into the heart of communities. Members of a Welsh male voice choir are finally able to sing together in person for the first time since lockdown began. The Cardiff Arms Park Male Voice Choir was formed in 1966 and has been entertaining audiences for more than 50 years. Musician/Band Welsh male voice choirs are regarded around the world as the best of their kind with good reason. Their motto today sums it up: “The pursuit of excellence through diligence, practice, good humor, and the occasional pint.”, “Music gets to people’s soul,” Edwards says. It’s said the Welsh way of talking and singing produces purer vowels. Baptist, Methodist) origins in the 18th century. We are extremely sad to record the passing of David Duggan, our Treasurer and highly valued member of our Bass Section. With the most prominent and active members of the male voice choirs rapidly aging, there is a great deal of concern surrounding the preservation of this tradition. Organizations such as The Aloud Charity (from which sprang Only Boys Aloud) help to make these choirs relevant again in the lives of young Welsh men yearning to find a sense of personal and national identity. These intimate rehearsals are typically held once or twice a week, and each town or village has a choir of their own, normally affiliated with the church, though not always. Baptist, Methodist) origins in the 18th century. Dropping into rehearsals with Chepstow Male Voice Choir, just up from Chepstow Castle, I was given a welcoming treat with a superb medley from the choir’s repertoire: the bittersweet love song “Myfanwy,” Tom Jones classics, “Unchained Melody” and “Wonderful World.” These days, choirs offer a broad range of music, adding to traditional Welsh hymns and songs opera choruses and popular hits from the shows. So where does this national love of song come from? Singing in these choirs was one of the crucial methods the Welsh used to establish their rugged individualism, especially in the wake of their dying language, political struggles (miners’ strikes and unionist skirmishes) and cultural constraints from the English (the Anglicization of Welsh national schools). Dublin Welsh Male Voice Choir is a male choir singing in four part harmony. The Pendyrus Male Voice Choir in the Rhondda Valley was formed in 1924 when out-of-work miners from the south Wales coalfield decided to take advantage of their enforced leisure time. Your best bet is to go to Wales. Hong Kong Welsh Male Voice Choir - Live Performing Choir. We pride ourselves on offering a quality and entertaining cross-section of songs including a number of songs in the Welsh choral tradition. Chairman and baritone Huw Edwards told me how he and “a small group of mates who used to go to pubs, watch rugby and do some singing afterward” decided to form a choir. December 22, 2017 4.6 out of 5 stars 11 ratings. The Welsh male voice choir has become the country’s most treasured and remarkable feature, with nonconformist (e.g. an annual gathering of performers in different cities around the nation. My personal understanding of the male voice choir is one that is decidedly political — a stunning reaction to historical cultural takeover (by the English), as well as a continuing soulful singularity that unites generations. A RIP OFF single cd, the second part of two cd box … The Queen’s summer ‘progresses’ throughout her kingdom endeared her... Have you seen these classics? When coal was King in the Welsh Valleys of the Rhondda. December, 2015. They have represented the best of the Welsh voice for generations with honour and integrity. Happy Birthday Tower Bridge! “It allows people to do things they would never have dreamt they would do.” The choir has sung at London’s Royal Albert Hall as well as in front of 70,000 rugby fans at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium before Wales beat Scotland in 2016. They are … If you like singing, our member choirs are always looking for new members. The Choir undertakes performances on television, at national and promotional events and provides corporate and after-dinner entertainment. Call for silence and ask them to stand. Camaraderie is in full evidence and, Morgan says, “It’s credit to the choristers, who give their time freely, that we regularly make thousands of pounds for local charities.”. You can find your local choir from our list of member choirs HERE. We always enjoy the opportunity to sing at special events whether it’s a wedding, a concert a recording or a TV/radio appearance. The London Welsh Male Voice Choir is in constant demand, performing regularly in major concert venues and for promotional events and corporate cabaret entertainment. www.wales.com/about-wales/music-wales/land-song, www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/welsh-choirs, www.welshassocmalechoirs.co.uk/aboutus.html, www.theguardian.com/music/2011/feb/01/welsh-choir-only-men-aloud, Eager to hear elderly men with snow-white hair and beer bellies sing about the plight of their coal-stained homeland and their faith in God, and not necessarily in English? Subscribe here to receive British Heritage Travel's print magazine! The Welsh Male Voice Choir of South Africa known in Welsh as Côr Meibion Cymru de Affrig, consists of amateur choristers led by an accomplished and professional music team of Musical Directors and Accompanists.

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