"Diwedd y Gân?" Canu'r Cymoedd


"Diwedd y Gân?"

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-Tonight, my choir, Pendyrus,

-joins Dowlais Male Voice Choir...

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-..to sing in a concert in Morriston.

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-Like all other choirs,

-we're getting older.

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-The hair is going grey

-and there's less of it.

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-Is the long day closing on the

-choral tradition in the Valleys?

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-The number of choirs

-in this neighbourhood...

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-..is still remarkable even today.

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-Apart from the Tabernacle choir...

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-..there's the Morriston Orpheus and

-the Morriston Rugby Club choir...

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-..both with over 100 members each.

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-And there's

-the Morriston Ladies choir...

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-..and the Morriston

-Salvation Army Songsters.

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-There's a concert here today,

-so I'd better get a move on.

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-There are 250 choirs in Wales today.

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-There were 2,000 choirs here

-a century ago.

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-Given what the Valleys have gone

-through in the past century...

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-..it's a surprise to see

-any choirs there at all.

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-Choral tradition in the Valleys...

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-..has gone hand in hand

-with economic fortunes.

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-Between the World Wars,

-the Depression hit the Valleys.

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-It had a catastrophic effect

-on choral singing.

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-"How's the tenors in Dowlais?" asked

-Dylan Thomas in 'Under Milk Wood'.

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-"Not well," was the answer.

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-The steelworks closed...

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-..and the Dowlais choir was

-disbanded by the end of the 1920s.

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-At the beginning of the 1920s...

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-..there were over 250,000 miners

-in south Wales.

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-When the world market

-for Welsh coal collapsed...

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-..the number halved

-by the beginning of the 1930s.

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-Once, thousands of people had poured

-into the Valleys looking for work.

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-Now, thousands were looking

-for a way out.

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-The Rhondda lost a fifth of its

-population between the World Wars.

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-A thousand people left Merthyr

-each year.

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-The institutions

-that upheld society...

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-..the churches,

-the football and rugby clubs...

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-..the unions and the choirs -

-all buckled.

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-Pendyrus Male Voice Choir

-was formed in 1924...

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-..in the mining town

-of Tylorstown in the Rhondda.

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-They walked straight

-into the Depression...

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-..and within a few years,

-80% of Pendyrus' 140 choristers...

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-..were unemployed.

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-West Wales also suffered

-during the Depression.

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-But the tin plate industry

-was healthier...

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-..than the mining industry

-in east Glamorgan.

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-This explains the rise

-of Morriston's two famous choirs...

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-..the United and the Orpheus.

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-This area was once the busy hub

-of the tin plate and alcam world.

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-It was also the hub

-for other things.

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-Morriston is one of Wales's

-most musical towns.

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-Most of the musical activity

-has taken place here...

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-..in the Tabernacle -

-the Welsh nonconformist cathedral.

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-The Tabernacle

-dominates the landscape.

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-Look at its thrusting steeple

-and its classic columns.

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-It's been a focal point for music

-lovers in the Swansea Valley...

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-..since it was built in the 1870s.

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-The rows of seats in the gallery

-were designed to accommodate...

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-..the area's large choirs.

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-Its walls have echoed to the sound

-of electrifying 'cymanfaoedd'.

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-There was a strong choral tradition

-in west Wales...

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-..which stretched from Swansea

-to the Amman Valley...

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-..and on to Pontarddulais

-and Llanelli.

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-Choirs from this area had a chance

-to gain national recognition...

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-..in the years

-following World War I.

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-They seized that opportunity

-with open arms.

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-# I hear Thy welcome voice

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-# That calls me, Lord, to Thee,

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-# For cleansing

-in Thy precious blood

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-# That flowed on Calvary. #

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-Singers from the Swansea Valley

-made a great impression...

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-..in the 1920s and 1930s.

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-On August Bank Holiday...

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-..thousands congregated

-at the Eisteddfod pavilion...

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-..to hear the main

-choral competitions.

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-The most successful choir at

-the time was the Ystalyfera choir...

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-..conducted by W D Clee.

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-At the height of its success,

-it had over 300 members...

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-..reminiscent of Victorian choirs.

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-Their arch rivals were the choirs

-from Llanelli and Pontarddulais.

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-Both industrialised towns

-with a strong choral tradition.

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-Llanelli's musical saucepan

-had been boiling since the 1880s.

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-The town's people knew as much

-about the cynghanedd...

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-..as they did the scrum.

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-When the Eisteddfod was held

-in Llanelli in 1903...

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-..the congregation

-was so familiar...

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-..with Mendelssohn's

-St Paul's Oratorio...

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-..that they couldn't resist

-singing along...

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-..during the choral competitions.

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-The exciting signing

-had a lasting effect...

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-..on the English adjudicators.

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-The tradition

-was totally alien to them...

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-..until they came face-to-face

-with it on the Eisteddfod stage.

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-When Ystalyfera won

-in Neath in 1934...

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-..the adjudication group

-was chaired by Sir Edward Bairstow.

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-He was a choirmaster, organist and

-music teacher at Durham University.

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-These were his exact words.

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-"We have been through

-a great experience.

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-"The emotional feeling imparted

-by the music was so great...

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-"..that I feel like a wet rag.

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-"I would not have missed it

-for the whole world."

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-# Coming now to Thee!

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-# Wash me, cleanse me in the blood

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-# That flowed on Calvary!

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-# Amen.

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-# Amen.

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-# Amen. #

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-Reading through the newspapers

-of the time...

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-..we see that outsiders couldn't

-understand what drove Ystalyfera.

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-"It's a choir,"

-wrote one commentator...

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-.."of coal miners, tin-plate workers

-and their families.

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-"A quarter are unemployed,

-the choir has no wealthy sponsors.

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-"Goodness knows how Ystalyfera

-finds the money...

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-"..to keep the choir

-and the band alive.

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-"It costs 350 to travel to

-the Eisteddfod for a prize of 150.

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-"Why? To ask the question is to

-show an Englishman's incapacity...

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-"..to grasp the fact that to

-these people, music is life."

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-Allied to the Welsh way of singing

-dramatically and passionately...

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-..the Depression added

-a new element of intensity...

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-..to create a very special

-and unique sound.

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-We're dealing

-with a choral tradition...

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-..that stretches

-from Caradog to Clee.

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-What were the characteristics

-of this choral singing?

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-The singing was full of emotion.

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-It was strong and fiery.

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-That's how everyone knew it.

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-The adjudicators, especially

-those from outside Wales...

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-..noted these as characterising

-Welsh choral singing.

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-That became the accepted norm

-in Welsh choral singing.

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-The singing was full of emotion.

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-It was almost singing

-beyond all control.

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-The singing was full of feeling...

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-..and it summed up

-people's desire to sing.

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-This way of signing had its critics.

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-That's apparent in the history

-of Ystalyfera's choir and W D Clee.

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-There was a feeling

-that they were over-singing.

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-People felt the climaxes

-were over-exaggerated...

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-..and that was condemned

-as choral stunts and vocal stunts.

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-That was partly due to the fact

-that the choir was so large.

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-It was difficult to keep a rein

-on a choir of over 300 members.

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-Apart from one defeat against Haydn

-Thomas's choir from Pontarddulais...

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-..Clee's grasp on the prize

-was difficult to loosen.

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-Ystalyfera won the first prize

-so often...

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-..that the Eisteddfod

-asked them not to compete...

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-..and instead, perform in a concert

-at the Eisteddfod in Caernarfon.

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-When they returned

-to the competitive arena...

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-..something strange happened.

-They started to lose.

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-# Sleep my child

-and peace attend thee,

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-# All through the night. #

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-Ystalyfera began to lose because

-of the reaction to their stunts...

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-..and because of the revival

-in the east Glamorgan valleys.

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-Choirs in Merthyr and the Rhondda

-had been ravaged...

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-..by unemployment and poverty.

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-But their spirit

-were as strong as ever.

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-Throughout the dark nights

-of the Depression...

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-..it wasn't only the men

-who suffered.

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-Their mothers, sisters

-and daughters...

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-..suffered the most,

-but withstood gallantly.

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-During this period,

-when times were hard...

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-..a woman's work was keeping

-the family together.

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-She ensured that there

-was food on the table...

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-..that the children had clean

-clothes and that life carried on.

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-They were in charge

-of the household finances.

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-They were under pressure

-to make ends meet.

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-They would leave the house

-sometimes to attend chapel...

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-..or sing in a choir.

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-Men had a better social life -

-they could go to the pub...

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-..or the workmen's institute.

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-Women were tied to the home.

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-Attending chapel

-and singing in a choir...

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-..was far more important to women.

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-If you imagine the experience

-of singing...

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-..in a beautiful chapel or church...

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-..performing an oratorio

-with a large choir...

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-..it's something that takes you

-beyond your daily routine.

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-I'm sure that experience

-would have given the women...

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-..the opportunity,

-albeit temporarily...

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-..to forget about the trials and

-tribulations of their daily lives.

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-The Dowlais wives

-joined their husbands...

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-..as they sought to escape

-their depressive lives...

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-..to win the main choral competition

-in Fishguard in 1936...

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-..even though 90% of the men

-were unemployed at the time.

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-Merthyr came third,

-and both choirs...

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-..were enthusiastically

-welcomed home at midnight.

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-The atmosphere was similar

-to the days of old.

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-In Cardiff, in 1938, choirs from

-Merthyr, Rhondda and Dowlais...

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-..won the three main competitions.

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-There was a renewed confidence

-in the Valleys.

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-New factories are being built

-in the Valleys.

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-Light industries

-are being introduced.

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-Where once the man worked in a mine

-and the woman stayed at home...

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-..a new dawn emerged with new

-factories and a variety of jobs...

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-..to alleviate the Depression

-in the Valleys.

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-There was a revival

-in the choral tradition...

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-..in the old

-coal mining communities.

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-The government finally responded...

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-..to the industrial crisis

-in south Wales.

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-Industrial estates, like this one

-in Treforest, were established.

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-Unemployment figures

-began to fall.

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-But unemployment had affected

-the Valleys greatly...

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-..during the Depression years

-between the two World Wars.

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-888

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-# Oh, Jesus, let Thy spirit bless,

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-# This frail one

-in the wilderness... #

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-Hardship and social adversity

-had added a new intensity...

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-..to the Valleys'

-choral tradition...

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-..as some of the principality's most

-prominent conductors discovered...

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-..when they visited Mountain Ash

-at the height of the Depression.

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-This is a vast building.

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-It now houses a number

-of industrial units.

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-At one time,

-Mountain Ash's pavilion was famous.

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-It was built in time

-for the National Eisteddfod in 1905.

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-Later, it was a venue

-for boxing contests and concerts.

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-In the 1930s, there was no greater

-symbol of the determination...

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-..of the depressed communities

-of the Rhondda, Cynon and Taff...

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-..than to carry on singing

-and to live in hope.

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-The Cynon Valley's choral tradition

-stretched back to Caradog...

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-..when Aberdare was one of Wales's

-most important musical centres.

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-This is where the Choral Union

-was formed...

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-..and here, 60 years later,

-the same idea was revived.

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-A thousand singers

-would congregate here...

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-..to perform in front

-of an audience of up to 12,000.

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-They were conducted by Henry Wood,

-Adrian Boult and Malcolm Sargent.

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-Sargent relished working

-with the innate voices and talents.

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-His aim

-was to polish the technique...

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-..without comprising

-the intensity of the singing.

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-Here was a choir

-in the same valley...

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-..as Caradog's great choir

-60 years earlier.

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-The choral tradition had been

-threatened, but it had survived.

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-Caradog would have been proud

-of that.

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-# Amen,

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-# Amen,

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-# Amen,

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-# Amen. #

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-The impression created when Malcolm

-Sargent conducted 'The Messiah'...

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-..in Mountain Ash

-lives on in the memory...

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-..of those who were present.

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-Mr Morris, you were part

-of the festival of three choirs.

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-What are your memories of that time?

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-I remember going to the concerts

-in the 1930s.

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-They were held on three nights.

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-Malcolm Sargent was the conductor.

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-Everyone liked him.

-He was very laid-back.

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-The venues were always full.

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-Every seat was taken.

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-There was never enough room.

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-I remember singing in the choir

-in May.

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-The concert finished

-and everyone went home.

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-I think Malcolm Sargent went down

-to see the coal mine.

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-He went underground.

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-He went down to see

-what it was like.

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-He was on the same level as us.

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-# Hallelujah, hallelujah,

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-# Hallelujah, hallelujah... #

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-The Second World War

-disrupted cultural activities.

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-When it ended,

-there was hope for a new dawn.

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-There was a revival

-in the coal industry...

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-..and the welfare state

-was established.

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-Singing in the Valleys

-returned with renewed vigour.

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-CHORAL SINGING

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-Choral singing continued unhindered

-for 20 years...

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-..but forces were at work

-to undermine the tradition.

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-Once, choirs were in fashion.

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-Now, they seemed old-fashioned.

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-With new forms of entertainment

-for the younger generation...

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-..the population favoured

-Elvis Presley over 'Y Pererinion'.

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-SOLO

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-CHORAL SINGING

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-Old favourites,

-like 'Martyrs of the Arena'...

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-..were as alien to the younger

-generation as working underground.

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-Choirs tried to adapt

-and appeal to the secular tastes...

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-..of their members and audiences.

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-They sang new arrangements

-of pop songs...

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-..and shows from Broadway

-and the West End.

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-But 'Myfanwy' and 'Delilah'

-have very little in common...

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-..even though some of us have

-a place in our hearts for both.

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-CHORAL SINGING

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-Choral societies have survived

-in the Valleys.

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-But sustaining an annual oratorio

-has defeated most of them.

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-There are some superb choirs

-in Cardiff and Swansea.

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-Their members

-are middle-class professionals.

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-In the traditional

-working-class strongholds...

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-..mixed choral singing

-has lost its past appeal.

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-For me, the traditional sound of

-the Valleys is the male voice choir.

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-A symbol of the toughness

-and strength of these communities.

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-That sound continues to fill halls

-from Ferndale to Phoenix, Arizona.

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-But for how much longer?

-There are over 100 choirs in Wales.

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-There are half a dozen here

-in the Rhondda.

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-But the members are getting older.

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-Without an injection of fresh,

-young blood, things look bleak.

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-Choir practices,

-with their camaraderie...

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-..and opportunities

-to travel the world...

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-..continue to be an attraction

-for a large number of us.

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-# The Lord is not distant,

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-# Nor is the night starlets.

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-# Love is eternal,

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-# Love is... #

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-How hopeful are our musicians for

-the future of our choral tradition?

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-I think the next 10 to 20 years

-are going to be critical...

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-..for the future

-of Welsh male voice choirs.

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-There's a shortage

-of choral conductors.

0:20:410:20:44

-There's a shortage

-of interesting pieces to sing.

0:20:440:20:48

-We always keep one foot in the past

-and that is very important.

0:20:500:20:55

-We should continue singing

-'Myfanwy' and 'Cwm Rhondda'...

0:20:550:20:59

-..for years to come.

0:21:000:21:02

-I am concerned that the older

-generation of choristers...

0:21:020:21:09

-..who are steeped

-in the choral tradition...

0:21:090:21:12

-..and are familiar with singing

-in chapels and the sol-fa...

0:21:130:21:17

-..are dying out.

0:21:170:21:19

-The kind of singer who joins

-male voice choirs these days...

0:21:190:21:24

-..is not part of that tradition.

0:21:240:21:27

-We should do our utmost

-to preserve this national treasure.

0:21:270:21:33

-Everyone in the world can recognise

-the sound of a Welsh choir.

0:21:330:21:37

-It's a sound that's full

-of passion and emotion.

0:21:370:21:41

-It would be a tragedy

-to lose such a treasure.

0:21:410:21:44

-# God is still,

0:21:450:21:51

-# God is still,

0:21:510:21:56

-# God is still,

0:21:560:22:02

-# God,

0:22:030:22:07

-# And his faith shall not ever... #

0:22:070:22:15

-In this series,

-we've traced the connection...

0:22:150:22:19

-..between Wales - Land of Song

-and the singing of the Valleys.

0:22:190:22:23

-The industrial

-and social surroundings...

0:22:230:22:26

-..which created a choral tradition

-in the mining communities...

0:22:260:22:31

-..have long gone.

0:22:310:22:33

-I wouldn't want to return

-to those days.

0:22:330:22:36

-There were choirs in other parts

-of Wales, too.

0:22:360:22:40

-But the history and unique sound

-of Valleys' singing...

0:22:400:22:44

-..has left us with

-a special legacy...

0:22:440:22:47

-..of which the whole Welsh nation

-can be proud.

0:22:470:22:51

-It's our duty to ensure

-that this tradition has a future...

0:22:510:22:55

-..that is worthy

-of its splendid past.

0:22:550:22:59

-# Christ is eternal,

0:23:000:23:06

-# Christ is eternal,

0:23:060:23:14

-# Eternal. #

0:23:150:23:22
0:23:230:23:24

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