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