Welsh Voices Songs of Praise


Welsh Voices

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MALE VOICE CHOIR SINGS

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There's a part of the world

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where the hills and the valleys are alive with the sound of music.

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So, as we've just celebrated St David,

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the patron saint of Wales, what better time

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to explore the past, present and future

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of a sound that's synonymous with the land of song?

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In a Songs Of Praise dedicated to male voice choirs,

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we have the men from Treorchy,

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Classical Brit winners the Fron,

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plus the winners of BBC One's Last Choir Standing, Only Men Aloud,

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and their proteges, Only Boys Aloud.

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CHORAL SINGING

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For well over a century, male voice choirs have provided the soundtrack

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to much of Welsh life, particularly the lives of working men.

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What the Welsh call the Cor Meibion, or male choir tradition,

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emerged in the late 19th century,

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fuelled by the non-conformist Christianity

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that was dominating Welsh churches,

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and the Industrial Revolution that brought large groups of men together

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in a tough working environment.

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Above the noise, dirt and danger of the mines,

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quarries and heavy industry,

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men's voices were raised in harmony.

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SINGING CONTINUES

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Our first hymn comes from the Fron,

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short for Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir.

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They've enjoyed success in both the pop and classical charts

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and they're singing for us in the splendid setting

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of St Asaph Cathedral.

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HARMONISING

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SOFT SINGING IN WELSH

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Male voice choirs are to be found all over the country,

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but in the valleys of South Wales,

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almost every community has its own male choir.

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At one time, many men spent their lives down the pits and in the pubs,

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punctuated by attendance in chapel on Sundays.

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This is the Rhondda Heritage Centre, formerly the Lewis Merthyr pit,

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at the heart of a community which, for over a century,

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was dominated by the pursuit of coal, or black gold.

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SINGING CONTINUES

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The mine generated certainly a sense of danger.

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I mean, this idea of walking in the valley of the shadow of death,

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this had a great, I think, immediacy to the people of these valleys.

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There's a high casualty and fatality rate here,

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you know, colossal accidents.

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In Wattstown, 1905 - 119 people killed.

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Senghenydd - 439 killed.

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You know, villages decimated by these explosions.

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Men and boys. So they're living constantly on the edge of danger

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and chapels and singing are solace and especially when those words

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are both spiritually uplifting and they're about struggle

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and conflict and sacrifice

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and coping with almost overwhelming odds.

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The sacrifices men made are now a memory as the pits have closed.

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The decline of traditional industries has also affected

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the membership of male voice choirs.

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However, there are definite signs of a resurgence, like the youth choir,

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Only Boys Aloud, who sing our next hymn.

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It's sang at every match involving the Welsh national team.

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But the real meaning of Calon Lan is far from macho.

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It places a pure heart above all the fame and riches of the world.

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# Calon...lan. #

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MALE CHORAL SINGING

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The village of Froncysyllte in the Vale of Llangollen

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may seem like an unlikely home

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for an amateur choir that's broken records in the music charts.

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SINGING CONTINUES

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But in 2006, their debut album

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became the fastest-selling classical record of all time.

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# ..home again... #

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They've been called the oldest boy band in the charts,

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the Fron Male Voice Choir.

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-75 members. Do you know what the average age is?

-The average age...

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Well, the oldest in the choir I believe is 86,

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-but the combined age is about 3,995.

-LAUGHTER

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# ..to be free... #

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But at their heart, the Fron's members epitomise values

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and a commitment that's replicated

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in countless male voice choirs across Wales.

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# When I survey the wondrous... #

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'The male voice choir, when you're singing, when the music starts up,'

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my best description would be to have 70 arms around you.

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It's a lovely warm feeling.

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You feel safe.

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'My father was in the choir, in the bottom basses,

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'so, as a young lad, I grew up with my dad shaving

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'and singing these songs. So it's a great comfort to me.

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'Whenever we sing one, I can still hear my dad's voice.'

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That comes into play as well with my faith, you know.

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I believe that, one day, I'll see my dad again,

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so when I hear these songs again, I feel good.

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You've heard the Fron rehearsing it. Now hear them perform it,

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as they sing Issac Watts' heartfelt words of humble praise

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When I Survey The Wondrous Cross to a tune which has become

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a classic of the Welsh male voice choir repertoire - Morte Criste.

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# Down by the... #

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'How do you feel, then,

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'when you're singing as part of a male voice choir?

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'Excited. Often moved.'

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Emotionally engaged with the words and with the music

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and not least when singing

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some of these powerful hymn tunes,

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which have been arranged particularly for what we call TTBB,

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which is the two tenor parts and the two bass parts.

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SINGING CONTINUES

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And we find that our audiences, not only in Wales,

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but in England and on the Continent, wherever we go,

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they expect and will be disappointed if we did not include

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some Welsh hymns and traditional Welsh numbers in the Welsh language.

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SINGING IN WELSH

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I believe, I think many people do as well,

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that the male voice sound is distinctive,

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but the Welsh male voice sound

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is even more distinctive within that tradition.

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Religion hit the Rhondda Valley like a Mills bomb 150 years ago

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and we're still carrying pieces of spiritual shrapnel around within us.

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We might not all be as chapel going as we were.

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There were 150 chapels in the Rhon, many now in a state of dilapidation,

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but the continuation of that spiritual element, and in the fervour

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with which we sing particularly hymns

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and other religious items is crucial to the repertoire.

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However, for decades, this fervent singing has been

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just as much at home in the pub and rugby field as in the chapel.

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And the male voice choir repertoire has expanded to include

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contemporary songs, like our next number.

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OTHERS HARMONISE: # Sit with me

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# Sit with me... #

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# Luck be a lady tonight! #

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In 2008, Only Men Aloud were the high-profile winners

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of BBC One's competition for choirs, Last Choir Standing.

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They walk and often dance the line

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between a traditional male voice choir and a more showbiz approach.

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# ..offers me protection... #

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'I wanted to form a young small male choir

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'with a big accent on performance, so that when people saw a concert,'

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it was more of a show. When I look back at those early performances now,

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they were very, very basic indeed,

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certainly not the big choreographed shows we do nowadays.

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But with all of that showbiz element to it,

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it's still got at the very heart of it the Welsh male choir tradition

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and we wouldn't be doing what we do if it wasn't for that tradition.

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# Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad... #

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# Guide me, O thou great Jehovah

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-HARMONY REPEATS:

-Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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-# Pilgrim through this barren land

-Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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-# I am weak, but thou art mighty

-Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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-# Hold me with thy powerful hand

-Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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# Bread of heaven, bread of heaven

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# Feed me till I want no more

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# Feed me till I want no more

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# Gwlad, gwlad Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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# Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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# Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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# Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, gwlad

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# Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad!

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# When I tread the verge of Jordan

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# Bid my anxious fears subside

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# Death of death and Hell's destruction

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# Land me safe on Canaan's side

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# O, am aros! O, am aros!

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# Yn Ei gariad ddyddiau f'oes

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# Yn Ei gariad ddyddiau f'oes

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# Bread of heaven, bread of heaven

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# Feed me till I want no more

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# Feed me till I want no more

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# Amen! Amen, amen! Amen! Amen, amen!

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# Amen! Amen, amen!

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# Amen! #

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If singing in a male voice choir is a powerful experience,

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what's it like to conduct one?

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SINGING IN WELSH

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'It's great, a real sense of power, although I don't say that to them.'

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But yes, it's really enjoyable, um,

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and when they're singing well, I feel like I can

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sort of play the choir in the same way that I'd play the cello or piano

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when they're on form and that's a really great feeling.

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I know that dynamics, they'll come with me.

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Phrasing, breathing, everything is there, you know.

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It's a great feeling, yeah.

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One of the legendary conductors of male voice choirs

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made his name in the 1870s.

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He was a valleys man, born in Aberdare, and his name was

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Griffith Rhys Jones, or Caradog, as he was commonly known.

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And it says something about the esteem in which

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he was held that a statue was erected in his honour.

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Caradog was a publican in Treorchy

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and the town's male voice choir has a long and proud history.

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They've gone on to make many TV appearances...

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Treorchy Male Voice Choir.

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..even singing on primetime television with stars such as

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Ella Fitzgerald, Julie Andrews, Burt Bacharach and Tom Jones.

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# ..but now I see. #

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STUDIO AUDIENCE APPLAUDS

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The legendary conductor of Treorchy would be proud to know

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that his choir is still in fine voice today.

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They'll perform Bryn Myrddin, which was written in 1945

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for a hymn-singing festival, or Cymanfa Ganu,

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which took place near Caradog's home town of Aberdare.

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THEY REPEAT:

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# Amen, amen. #

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Securing the future of male voice choirs in the modern world,

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with all its attractions and distractions, is no easy task.

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It's an issue that Only Men Aloud's founder,

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Tim Rhys Evans, is addressing.

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Back in 2010, he set up ten youth choirs

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in the valleys of South Wales,

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encouraging boys to follow in the footsteps

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of their fathers and grandfathers.

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Collectively, they're known as Only Boys Aloud.

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MUSIC: "Don't Stop Believing" SUNG IN WELSH

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The boys have come together to perform at major events

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in front of huge audiences,

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such as the National Eisteddfod and the Ryder Cup.

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When I registered the name of Only Men Aloud back in 2000,

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I also registered the name of Only Boys Aloud,

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cos I'd always had this dream that we would start a choir

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'and, in this part of the world,

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'there's often a lot of blame laid at the feet of teenage lads,

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-'they're the ones causing all the trouble.'

-Backwards footballs!

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'I'm very proud to be a valleys boy,

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-'but there are lots of problems in this part of the world.'

-And release!

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Unemployment, social and economic deprivation in some cases.

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And actually, people, when they're only seeing that,

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they're not seeing the true essence of the valleys, which is

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a deeply proud people with a wonderful spirit,

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with a wonderful sense of humour.

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Well, in rehearsals, we do warm ups first, which are quite silly,

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we make a fool of ourselves and some boys are so funny when they do it,

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but none of us get embarrassed, even though we look really silly.

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-LAUGHTER

-Good start!

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And shake it out. Shake them out.

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Good!

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'Working with 14 to 19-year-old boys,'

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I just wanted to encourage them to aspire, whatever the circumstances.

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So that none of the boys have to travel more than 15 miles,

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the rehearsals, led by members of Only Men Aloud,

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are held at venues across South Wales.

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'I think I get an amazing sense of pride

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'from being a team captain for Only Boys Aloud.'

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Giving young boys an opportunity to sing is really important.

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That's what's going to keep the choral tradition going.

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One! One!

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I get a really nice feeling when I go home and I get really high,

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go home with a smile on my face.

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It's better than being on the streets, if you ask me.

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It's full of mates, really,

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and gives you confidence and it's taken...taken us to big gigs.

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SINGING IN WELSH

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Being in a choir is cool and I'm thrilled that we attract

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every kind of lad, so you do get people like men and you,

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you know, keen musicians who love singing,

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but you also get boys who've never sung before

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that are just coming along, because they know we don't audition.

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It's open to anyone that can get to one of our ten rehearsal centres,

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um, that rehearse every week.

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I think, if you listen to the hymns and things

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and you understand the words,

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you can understand the whole song as a whole, really,

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and most singers make sure they know what the song means

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before they sing it.

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-What else must we need think about musically?

-Listening to other parts?

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The other parts and to the piano. A few of the notes were a bit under.

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'I've seen a massive growth in the confidence of the boys.'

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-LAUGHTER

-I thought it was only them.

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'Certainly, when they're singing, just the way they walk on stage now

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'is very different from the terrified crew that did the first concert.'

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They are proud of the music they make and so they should be,

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cos they work very hard and they do a damn fine job.

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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OTHERS HARMONISE # Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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ALL: # Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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PACE OF SONG QUICKENS

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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# Prepare ye the way of the Lord

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# Oh, bless the Lord my soul His praise to thee proclaim

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# And all that is within me Join to bless his holy name!

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-# Oh, bless the Lord!

-Oh, bless the Lord!

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-# Oh, bless the Lord!

-Oh, bless the Lord!

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# Oh, bless the Lord my soul

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-# His mercies bear in mind

-Oh, bless the Lord!

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# Forget not all his benefits

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# The Lord to thee is kind

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# He will not always chide

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# He will with patience wait

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# His wrath is ever slow to rise!

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-# Oh, bless the Lord!

-And ready to abate

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-# Oh, bless the Lord!

-And ready to abate

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# And ready to... And ready to...

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# And ready to... And ready to abate!

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# Oh, bless the Lord my soul Oh, bless the Lord my soul

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# Oh, bless the Lord

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# My soul!

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# Oh, bless my soul

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# Oh, bless my soul! #

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MALE CHORAL SINGING

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It is to the famous conductor Caradog that the phrase,

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"Wales, the land of song," is often attributed.

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And Psalm 96 entreats us to praise God

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and make every nation a land of song.

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We'll sing to the Lord a new song

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Sing to the Lord all the Earth

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Sing to the Lord, bless His name

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Tell of his salvation from day to day

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Declare His glory among the nations

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His marvellous works among all the peoples

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For great is the Lord

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And greatly to be praised.

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CHORAL SINGING CONTINUES

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SONG ENDS

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The words for our final hymn

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were originally written in English by an American.

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But with its Welsh translation, tune and passion, it sums up

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the gifts the Welsh male choirs have shared with the whole world.

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So we leave the men of Treorchy with Only Boys Aloud

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spanning the generations with Gwahoddiad.

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Next week, Eamonn is in his hometown of Belfast in advance

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of the centenary celebrations for the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage.

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He introduces hymns from St Thomas' Church

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and takes a look at the world's largest Titanic visitor centre.

0:33:410:33:45

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

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