A Fantastic Musical Evening

I am afraid I’m behind in my blogging.  Activities in the evenings gave me little time for journaling, so I’ll catch you up now.

I’ll start with the pinnacle of the trip so far — the Midsummer concert of the Welsh Association of Male Choirs.  It was an experience that will stay in my memory forever.  Forgive me if I give a particularly “thorough” review!”

I was a singer most of my life, as many of you know, so I have a great love of choral music.  Ever since I saw “How Green was My Valley” many years ago (don’t forget to see it!), I developed a special affinity for Welsh Male Choirs.  Something about the quality and harmony of a large group of tenors and basses enthralls me — and believe me, this was an evening beyond my expectations.  

I love this music so much I actually planned my Welsh adventure around this June 25th concert.  The concert featured 15 combined choirs from all over Wales.  Music flows in the blood of the Welsh people, and communities around the country offer male voice choirs.  Many have mixed choruses and brass bands as well.  I attribute my musical abilities to my Welsh DNA!

The massed choir sang all of the pieces together from memory, and I didn’t see anyone stumbling for words.  Two excellent young Welsh soloists sang between choirs sets.  It was obvious the men were of a “mature” age, so it worries me that this tradition may dwindle in years to come.  That would be a great tragedy. 

Welsh people also adore their Welsh hymns.  Some are familiar to Americans, but not often sung in church.  A crowd favorite is always “Calon Lân,” or “a Pure Heart.”  The audience enthusiastically joined in on this hymn to begin the second half of the program.  Of course it was sung in Welsh, but luckily I had sung it several times before at “Gymanfa ganus” (guh-MAHN-vuh GAH-neez) in the USA.  These are Welsh hymn singing festivals very common in Wales.  I include the music for my singing friends:

My Presbyterian ancestors might be appalled to hear the audience clap and cheer for hymns.  In fact, it surprised me how rowdy the audience was.  One woman behind me gave piercing whistles and cat calls after every piece.  It also seemed perfectly acceptable to bring beverages and snacks into the hall.  A group of ladies behind me obviously tippled quite a bit during the show. At the “interval” (our intermission), a young man stood in front of the stage selling ice cream from a sort of shelf hung around his neck.  Eating and drinking during a performance in our concert halls is grounds for expulsion, but here it added to the audience’s enthusiasm, even if it was sometimes distracting from the show.

Another wonderful aspect to the evening was making the acquaintance of a mother and daughter who sat next to me.  They were visiting from Kent, England, especially to honor the memory of their husband and father who had recently died.  During World War II, he was sent as a boy to live in Merthyr Tydfil in South Wales to escape the bombing in London and larger English cities.  He stayed in Wales for several years, and, according to my new friends, always considered himself part Welsh.  These two ladies were very lovely people.  When I got back to my lodging, I was sorry to realize I never thought to take their picture.  Perhaps we will meet again on April 27, 2024, when there is a massed Welsh Choir concert in the Royal Albert Hall, London.  The idea is already bouncing around my brain!

I will end this post here and begin a new post for the many highlights from the last two days.  Stay tuned!