0:00:00 > 0:00:00- 888
0:00:00 > 0:00:05- # Calvary's blood the weak exalteth,
0:00:05 > 0:00:10- # More than conquerors to be.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16- # Calvary's blood the strong abaseth
0:00:16 > 0:00:19- # Myriad hosts to bow to Thee.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- The idea of Wales - Land of Song...
0:00:23 > 0:00:26- ..is a stereotype - that we have become used to.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30- Wherever you go in the world, - from New York to New Zealand...
0:00:30 > 0:00:34- ..if you come from Wales, - you come from the Land of Song.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36- "You Welsh guys sing, right?"
0:00:36 > 0:00:40- Maybe. Every stereotype - is true to some extent.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45- I work as a lecturer in - the University of Glamorgan by day.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48- I enjoy it very much.
0:00:48 > 0:00:52- Twice a week, I rehearse with one - of Wales's best-known choirs...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55- ..the Pendyrus Male Voice Choir.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56- I enjoy that even more.
0:00:59 > 0:01:05- # Thou alone canst bring me nearer,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10- # Self but draws me far from thee.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16- That's a distinctive song - - robust, fervent, yet full of warmth.
0:01:16 > 0:01:21- To many people, it's the sound - that sums up the Welsh nation.
0:01:21 > 0:01:23- Like many of you, I like singing.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26- Not on my own, mind.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30- Ask me to sing solo and I'll - empty a room in five seconds.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34- What gives me pleasure is singing - with others - in cynghanedd.
0:01:44 > 0:01:51- # I will thrust Thy might unmeasured
0:01:51 > 0:01:58- # Great the work that marks Thy way.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01- So what am I doing here?
0:02:02 > 0:02:04- Amongst the dead - in Aberdare Cemetery.
0:02:05 > 0:02:07- The dead are very important to me - - I'm an historian.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11- I'm trying to find out - how we became the Land of Song.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14- I think the story starts right here.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18- # Hill of Calvary! Hill of Calvary!
0:02:18 > 0:02:23- # I shall praise for evermore. #
0:02:24 > 0:02:27- The man responsible for earning - Wales the title Land of Song...
0:02:27 > 0:02:29- ..was Griffith Rhys Jones.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32- He was so famous in his day...
0:02:32 > 0:02:36- ..that he was known - by only one name - Caradog.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44- This is Caradog's grave.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46- He played the violin.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51- That's not the reason - he became a national hero.
0:02:51 > 0:02:52- Here's the reason.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57- He was a large, - highly ambitious man.
0:02:57 > 0:03:01- A statue was erected in his honour - in the centre of Aberdare.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09- There are statues across Wales - - to honour generals, politicians...
0:03:09 > 0:03:11- ..and great sportsmen. And why not?
0:03:12 > 0:03:15- This is the only statue to honour - a choral conductor...
0:03:15 > 0:03:19- ..in the Land of Song. - He created that phrase.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26- 130 years ago, Caradog took - a choir of over 400 voices...
0:03:26 > 0:03:28- ..to the Crystal Palace in London.
0:03:29 > 0:03:33- There, they won the main choral - competition in successive years.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36- Most of the choir - hailed from Aberdare...
0:03:36 > 0:03:38- ..but there were contingents...
0:03:38 > 0:03:42- ..from various industrial centres - in south Wales.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46- His choir, - the South Wales Choral Union...
0:03:46 > 0:03:51- ..was the first group of people - to represent Wales...
0:03:51 > 0:03:55- ..long before a Welsh rugby team or - a Welsh orchestra had been formed.
0:03:55 > 0:03:57- Caradog's great choir.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01- It's fitting that he stands proudly - in front of the Black Lion.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04- He was the son of the pub.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07- He was born in the Crown - in Trecynon, further up the valley.
0:04:07 > 0:04:12- He started out as a blacksmith, - but by the time he died in 1897...
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- ..he was the wealthy director - of a number of pubs and breweries.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21- Literal and spiritual thirst - was a feature of this period.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29- The Welsh were singers before - the Industrial Revolution...
0:04:29 > 0:04:31- ..but the congregations - were scattered.
0:04:31 > 0:04:35- Now, they flocked to ironworks - and coal mines in the south.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39- They came in their thousands - to the narrow valleys.
0:04:39 > 0:04:45- They brought their culture, their - hymns and their ballads with them.
0:04:45 > 0:04:51- Their love for singing was a comfort - to them in this strange new world.
0:04:51 > 0:04:55- They were "pilgrims - in a desert land".
0:05:05 > 0:05:08- In the first half - of the 19th century...
0:05:08 > 0:05:12- ..the Heads of the Valleys was - a desolate, dangerous place to work.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15- Jackson's Bridge in Merthyr...
0:05:15 > 0:05:18- ..and a part of the town - known as China...
0:05:18 > 0:05:21- ..were notorious dens - of criminality and vice.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26- The sound of tap dancers, - ballads and the fiddle...
0:05:26 > 0:05:31- ..could be heard in a tavern - such as this day and night.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33- This was the place - for a pint, a fight...
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- ..and a poem or two - to the sound of the violin.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- In Dowlais, the hard stuff - was a curse and a comfort.
0:05:49 > 0:05:54- There were over 200 pubs here - by the middle of the century.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58- In Blackwood, there was one pub - to every five of its residents.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02- The iron masters - - the Guests and the Crawshays...
0:06:02 > 0:06:06- ..wanted to see their workers - abstain from drinking.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- They welcomed - the Temperance Movement...
0:06:10 > 0:06:13- ..which attracted thousands - of supporters.
0:06:13 > 0:06:17- Temperance society choirs - competed against each other.
0:06:17 > 0:06:23- But where? The taverns couldn't - accommodate so many singers.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27- The only alternative was the chapel - - and they were soon in abundance.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34- During the 19th century, a chapel - opened every week in Wales...
0:06:34 > 0:06:36- ..for 100 years.
0:06:36 > 0:06:41- During the middle of the century, - 50 chapels were opened in Aberdare.
0:06:41 > 0:06:48- Here, in 1859, Ieuan Gwyllt - led the first cymanfa.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54- Fervent congregational singing - helped people forget...
0:06:54 > 0:06:56- ..their dire circumstances.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00- Soon, choirs were formed - throughout the Valleys.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02- But what would they sing?
0:07:02 > 0:07:07- They sung in chapels - but they didn't want to sing hymns.
0:07:08 > 0:07:13- They sung choruses - from oratorios, and anthems...
0:07:14 > 0:07:20- ..which were freely available - in the new tonic sol-fa notation.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23- The sol-fa translated - the old notation...
0:07:23 > 0:07:27- ..to letters of the alphabet, - creating "doh, ray, me, fah".
0:07:27 > 0:07:31- This enabled singers - to read music fairly easily.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- The sol-fa reached Wales - in the 1860s...
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- ..and thanks primarily - to the Sunday school...
0:07:37 > 0:07:41- ..the Welsh became fluent - in a new language almost overnight.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44- CHORAL SINGING
0:07:51 > 0:07:59- The choruses of Mendelssohn - and Handel's oratorios...
0:07:59 > 0:08:03- ..appealed to the taste and - the instincts of the Welsh nation.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10- We have to evaluate the nature of - Welsh religion during this period.
0:08:11 > 0:08:17- After all, Wales during this period, - was a very religious country.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21- People were well aware - of the religious icons...
0:08:21 > 0:08:24- ..and the stories - from the Old Testament.
0:08:24 > 0:08:28- It was an integral part - of their everyday lives.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- Did Welsh people subscribe - to this form of composition?
0:08:35 > 0:08:38- Yes, indeed. John Ambrose Lloyd - played a significant part...
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- ..in the history of choral singing.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45- He composed the famous anthem - 'Teyrnasoedd y Ddaear'.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50- Dr Joseph Parry called it - Wales's 'Hallelujah Chorus'.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55- It comes as no surprise...
0:08:55 > 0:09:00- ..that 'Teyrnasoedd y Ddaear' became - a popular set piece in eisteddfodau.
0:09:00 > 0:09:04- The music was robust and dramatic - - like its composer.
0:09:04 > 0:09:06- It appealed to Caradog.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11- When it was announced that - the National Music Meeting...
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- ..which resembled - a large eisteddfod...
0:09:14 > 0:09:18- ..would be held in the - Crystal Palace in London in 1872...
0:09:19 > 0:09:23- ..the interest from Wales - was substantial.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- Several leading musicians - met in Aberdare...
0:09:45 > 0:09:46- ..and formed an united choir...
0:09:47 > 0:09:50- ..from the main choral areas - of south Wales.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- Many of the set pieces - were familiar...
0:09:53 > 0:09:58- ..and they had the perfect conductor - to lead the vocal talent on offer.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- Caradog.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04- In a time before phones - and e-mails...
0:10:04 > 0:10:09- ..it was a logistical nightmare - to organise the trip to London.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14- Throughout 1872, selected groups - rehearsed with local conductors.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16- They all met up in Aberdare.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20- Singers from Blaenavon, Tredegar, - Rhymney, Dowlais and Merthyr...
0:10:21 > 0:10:22- ..Swansea and Llanelli.
0:10:22 > 0:10:28- Choral centres in the heart - of industrial Wales.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31- The choral army of 450 - set off for London.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35- The city had never heard - anything like this before.
0:10:41 > 0:10:47- # Then round about - the starry throne... #
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- One of the set pieces was - 'Round About the Starry Throne'...
0:10:54 > 0:10:56- ..from Handel's 'Samson' oratorio.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59- When the choir started singing...
0:10:59 > 0:11:03- ..the sound so staggered - the accompanying orchestra...
0:11:03 > 0:11:06- ..that they raised their heads up - in astonishment.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08- The choir won unopposed.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12- They returned the following year - to win...
0:11:12 > 0:11:15- ..against one of London's - primary choirs.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18- They impressed the Times - correspondent who was present.
0:11:18 > 0:11:23- The singing of the Welsh choir was - remarkable for its force and power.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27- Comparing them with the Londoners, - who were usually heard...
0:11:27 > 0:11:31- ..a Welsh voice was about equal - to three London voices.
0:11:31 > 0:11:35- When it is remembered that this - chorus is almost entirely drawn...
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- ..from the labouring classes - of the principality...
0:11:38 > 0:11:42- ..miners, colliers, their wives, - daughters and relatives...
0:11:43 > 0:11:47- ..we cannot but wonder at - the excellence they have attained.
0:11:47 > 0:11:52- An excellence unattainable - except through continued study.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56- 20 years earlier, parliament - had commissioned a report...
0:11:57 > 0:11:59- ..about the state of education - in Wales.
0:12:00 > 0:12:04- Here it is - in two volumes. - The famous Blue Books.
0:12:04 > 0:12:10- It condemned the Welsh for being - primitive, immoral and uncultured.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15- It also claimed that the - Welsh language was an obstacle...
0:12:15 > 0:12:19- ..preventing the Welsh - from becoming civilised people.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23- The double triumph - at the Crystal Palace...
0:12:23 > 0:12:27- ..exposed the prejudice baloney - for what it was.
0:12:27 > 0:12:32- We had shown that we were able - to learn, appreciate...
0:12:32 > 0:12:39- ..and master the works - of the great European composers.
0:12:41 > 0:12:44- English wasn't the language the - majority of Welsh people spoke...
0:12:44 > 0:12:46- ..even in south Wales.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49- The triumph of the Choral Union - vindicated us.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52- This was merely - the tip of the iceberg.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54- An abundance of choirs...
0:12:54 > 0:12:59- ..were formed in chapels, temperance - societies, workplaces and villages.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04- Wales truly was, as Caradog claimed, - the Land of Song.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10- # And thee,
0:13:10 > 0:13:18- # Oh, time. #
0:13:20 > 0:13:20- 888
0:13:20 > 0:13:22- 888- - 888
0:13:25 > 0:13:28- Singing in choirs - was an useful distraction...
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- ..from the problems at home.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35- When the Choral Union won for the - second time in the Crystal Palace...
0:13:35 > 0:13:39- ..a strike by 150,000 miners - had paralysed the mining industry.
0:13:39 > 0:13:41- The dispute soon ended...
0:13:41 > 0:13:46- ..but the image of Wales as the Land - of Song was to be more permanent.
0:13:46 > 0:13:49- We had a splendid trophy - to prove it.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52- Tell us more - about this trophy, Emma.
0:13:52 > 0:13:56- It's a trophy that symbolises Wales - as the Land of Song.
0:13:56 > 0:14:00- It was made in 1871 - at a cost of 1,000.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04- It was awarded to the winners - of the choral competition...
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- ..and later, to the winners - of the brass band competition.
0:14:09 > 0:14:11- It has an encrusted crown - at the top...
0:14:12 > 0:14:17- ..and the base consists of figurines - of Mozart, Handel, Palestrina...
0:14:18 > 0:14:22- ..and Arentino, which represent - music through the ages.
0:14:23 > 0:14:25- It was hidden away - from 1938 onwards...
0:14:26 > 0:14:29- ..but it regained prominence - in the early '70s...
0:14:29 > 0:14:35- ..when it was exhibited here - at St Fagans from 1974 onwards.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37- It's remained here ever since.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43- If the Choral Union's success...
0:14:43 > 0:14:46- ..had highlighted Aberdare's - love of music...
0:14:46 > 0:14:51- ..they were crazy about it over - the mountain in the next valley.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56- If there was anywhere - where the flames of passion...
0:14:56 > 0:15:00- ..for choral music reached - a white heat of furnace intensity...
0:15:00 > 0:15:02- ..it was here in Merthyr Tydfil.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06- I wonder if the people of Merthyr - shared that passion.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22- This is the Merthyr Express and I'm - looking for a particular article.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27- Merthyr was a great musical centre - at this time.
0:15:27 > 0:15:29- Listen to these words.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32- "If Wales is the Land of Song, - Merthyr is its capital.
0:15:33 > 0:15:38- "It is thickly populated with - a large Welsh-speaking section.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42- "Music is the very breath of life - to the majority of the people.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46- "The Eisteddfod is the most popular - form of social entertainment.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50- "Its methods imbibed - from earliest childhood."
0:15:58 > 0:16:01- Merthyr had a great - musical heritage...
0:16:01 > 0:16:04- ..because it was Wales's - first industrial town.
0:16:05 > 0:16:07- The Guests of Dowlais - and the Crawshays of Merthyr...
0:16:08 > 0:16:10- ..had built the biggest ironworks - in the world.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14- Robert Crawshay's private band - used to play here...
0:16:14 > 0:16:17- ..on the terrace - of Cyfarthfa Castle.
0:16:17 > 0:16:20- Their music could be heard down - in Chapel Row...
0:16:20 > 0:16:23- ..where it inspired - a young Joseph Parry.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34- Joseph Parry was the creator - of an elegant musical culture.
0:16:34 > 0:16:40- This Merthyr boy wrote a song for - choirs that has been immortalised.
0:16:42 > 0:16:47- # Why is it anger,
0:16:47 > 0:16:51- # Oh, Myfanwy,
0:16:52 > 0:17:00- # That fills your eyes - so dark and clear?
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- The Welsh population grew - at a colossal rate...
0:17:04 > 0:17:08- ..during the second half - of the nineteenth century.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10- It increased by a million.
0:17:10 > 0:17:13- Two-thirds lived in - the south Wales industrial belt.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16- Coalmining communities - needed to create...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19- ..a new identity for themselves.
0:17:19 > 0:17:23- Bands, teams and choirs - were a way of doing so.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- # Where is the smile - that once most tender...
0:17:27 > 0:17:32- Choral singing provided - the same dramatic expression...
0:17:32 > 0:17:35- ..and produced the same - psychological needs...
0:17:35 > 0:17:37- ..as the playing fields.
0:17:37 > 0:17:43- 15,000 spectators watched Wales beat - England at the Arms Park in 1893...
0:17:43 > 0:17:48- ..and later that year, at the - Eisteddfod Pavilion in Pontypridd...
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- ..20,000 witnessed - the main choral competition.
0:17:52 > 0:18:05- # That drew my heart - to follow you? #
0:18:10 > 0:18:14- There was another side - to the Welsh choral coin.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18- The best-known musician in - late nineteenth-century Merthyr...
0:18:18 > 0:18:21- ..was fiery Dan Davies of Dowlais.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25- Here, at Cyfarthfa Castle museum...
0:18:26 > 0:18:29- ..are some of the cups - and medals he won.
0:18:32 > 0:18:37- This is the baton presented to Dan - Davies when his Dowlais choir won...
0:18:37 > 0:18:40- ..at the Aberdare - National Eisteddfod in 1885.
0:18:41 > 0:18:43- They were shouting odds of 6/1 - on Llanelli...
0:18:44 > 0:18:45- ..around the Eisteddfod field.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49- There was a lot of gambling - on the choral competition.
0:18:49 > 0:18:54- The result provoked uproar at the - back of a packed pavilion of 12,000.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57- People threw clumps of earth - at each other.
0:18:57 > 0:19:01- They couldn't see properly, - some couldn't hear...
0:19:01 > 0:19:04- ..and many had lost - money on the result.
0:19:10 > 0:19:12- It was a huge victory - for Dan Davies.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- He competed to win, - no matter who the opposition.
0:19:16 > 0:19:21- There was no sentiment involved when - Dan turned his back on Dowlais...
0:19:21 > 0:19:25- ..to conduct the Merthyr - Philharmonic choir two miles away.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29- Dan Davies was vilified in Dowlais.
0:19:29 > 0:19:33- He was stoned on the main street - in Merthyr.
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- His choir was jeered off the stage.
0:19:36 > 0:19:41- That wasn't an unique trait, though - - it happened to many choirs.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45- It was described as "mob rule" - by 'Y Cerddor' magazine.
0:19:45 > 0:19:50- Sometimes, police were called to - an eisteddfod in a chapel vestry...
0:19:51 > 0:19:54- ..because choristers - and their supporters...
0:19:54 > 0:19:59- ..were jeering and preventing - other choirs being heard...
0:19:59 > 0:20:01- ..or even getting up on stage.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07- Two eminent musicians - - William Thomas and JT Rees...
0:20:07 > 0:20:09- ..were chased from a hall - in Llandybie...
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- ..after giving an unfavourable - adjudication.
0:20:12 > 0:20:17- They were chased to the station - by the irate supporters...
0:20:17 > 0:20:18- ..of a losing choir.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20- Dan Davies - wasn't a good loser either.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23- An adjudicator, - a famous London musician...
0:20:24 > 0:20:26- ..was the target of his abuse...
0:20:26 > 0:20:28- ..at the Llandudno - National Eisteddfod in 1896.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33- He wrote, "I was accosted - by the conductor of a choir...
0:20:33 > 0:20:37- .."that had been top of the poll - at nearly all previous meetings.
0:20:37 > 0:20:42- "He advised me - if I valued my reputation...
0:20:42 > 0:20:45- .."never to set foot - in Wales again."
0:20:45 > 0:20:49- Merthyr has always been known - for its fighters.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51- Dan Davies's choir - were in the heavyweight class.
0:20:51 > 0:20:57- Choral competitions of the time were - described as musical prize fights.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01- London's papers sent their reporters - out to cover them.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04- There were over 60 press members...
0:21:04 > 0:21:08- ..at the Newport - National Eisteddfod in 1897.
0:21:08 > 0:21:13- Thousands crowded into the pavilion - and excitement ran high.
0:21:13 > 0:21:17- One commentator claimed that - the Welsh enjoyed a choral fight...
0:21:17 > 0:21:21- ..as much as a football match. - And they almost had one.
0:21:21 > 0:21:24- Dan Davies lost again - and when it was time...
0:21:24 > 0:21:28- ..for the distinguished adjudicator, - Sir Alexander Mackenzie...
0:21:29 > 0:21:31- ..to leave the pavilion, he was - advised to avoid the main exit...
0:21:31 > 0:21:35- ..as there was a group of - hostile-looking men waiting for him.
0:21:35 > 0:21:37- He escaped via the back exit.
0:21:37 > 0:21:40- Dan Davies left - the eisteddfod stage soon after...
0:21:41 > 0:21:45- ..but his talent would soon be - appreciated across the Atlantic...
0:21:46 > 0:21:49- ..as he discovered in 1904.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- FANFARE
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- This is Washington DC, and - behind me stands the White House.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07- 100 years ago Dan Davies - was welcomed here...
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- ..by American President - Theodore Roosevelt.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16- The President said he was proud - to meet a successful conductor...
0:22:16 > 0:22:20- ..one who had won more prizes - in his country than any other.
0:22:21 > 0:22:26- Dan Davies had won - countless prizes and honours.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30- He was welcomed and respected - at the White House...
0:22:30 > 0:22:33- ..as a musical capitalist.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45- By now, the Americans knew a lot...
0:22:45 > 0:22:48- ..about the choral tradition - of the Land of Song.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53- Welsh choirs would come to the most - competitive country in the world...
0:22:54 > 0:22:56- ..to compete and to win.
0:23:24 > 0:23:25