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On Saturday 7th June the Chelmsford and District Welsh Society staged its 36th annual male voice choir concert. The society president, Jim Armishaw welcomed everyone and explained that, as is custom, the president chooses the choir for this event. Being brought up in the Bala Lake area of north Wales he had no hesitation in asking Cor Godre�r Aran to perform at this year�s concert. Indeed he was re-united with a few old school friends, now members of the choir. The choir, under musical director Eirian Owen, have won innumerable firsts at Eisteddfodau. Eirian Owen is accompanist and conductor and she leads from the front with her commitment, enthusiasm and abounding stamina. The choir have travelled extensively around the world and is due to make a further tour of Australia and New Zealand in the autumn. The choir started the first half with the South African anthem �Nkosi sikeleli� Africa� and left the audience in no doubt as to the high standard and meticulous quality of the singing to be expected during the evening. The opening soloist in the first half was tenor Aled Wyn Davies singing �Cartref� and �Because�. Aled, awarded the 2001 �Young Singer� at the National Eisteddfod has recently taken up advice and is having his voice professionally trained. The second soloist, Bass Si�n Goronwy gave excerpts from several operas including the Magic Flute and the Barber of Seville. Si�n is is studying for a postgraduate diploma at the Royal College of music. As if his big round, rich, bass voice was not enough, he enhanced his performance by slipping into character with each song. The first half ended with the choir singing "Pilgerchor" (the Pilgrims Chorus) from Wagner�s Tanhauser. Volunteers of the �Save the Children Fund� supplied the well-received refreshments on such a warm evening, with all profits going to their charity. After the interval the Lord Lieutenant of Essex the Rt. Hon. the Lord Petre welcomed the choir to Chelmsford and adding that he appreciated the distance they had travelled to entertain us, although in hindsight, Chelmsford is but a mere stroll compared to the great distances covered during their globetrotting tours. The choir started the second half with Gunod�s Sanctus featuring choir soloist, tenor, John Ifor Griffiths. Bass, Si�n Goronwy returned and gave us a further four songs during the second half and amused the audience with his rendition of �Foggy Foggy Dew� The choir then sang, �Do you hear the people sing� From Les Miserables. Tenor soloist, Aled Wyn Davies then received great audience appreciation for the popular songs �Little Welsh Home�, �O Sole Mio�, and �I�ll walk beside you�. Si�n Goronwy was then joined on stage by choir soloists, bass Trebor Lloyd and bass Tom Evans becoming �The Three Basses�, who gave us a memorable rendition of �Bless this House�.
The concert ended with the choir singing �Cwmni trwy dy gan� (Companions through song) a Welsh arrangement of the Rodgers and Hammerstein�s hit , �You�ll never walk alone� from the musical Carousel, and �World in Union�. Both songs said to signify that music can, and does, bridge all peoples and nations.
There was then a two minute standing ovation. To great acclaim �Roll, Jordan, Roll� followed as an encore. The audience and choir then sang �Unwaith eto�n Nghymru Annwyl� an anthem sung at the end of every concert.
After the presentations to the musical director, the choir and soloists the evening ended with everyone singing (or earnestly attempting to sing) the Welsh national Anthem �Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau�.
An extremely varied and enjoyable concert with the general opinion being that Cor Godre�r Aran was arguably one of the best choirs to have appeared in Chelmsford. For �10, the three hours of world-class entertainment witnessed at Christ Church London Road on Saturday must surely be Chelmsford�s best music bargain of the year. |
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