FROM A VALLEY CALLED THE RHONDDA LIVE IN AUSTRALIA CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF MUSIC-MAKING HISTORY

Transcription

1 FROM A VALLEY CALLED THE RHONDDA LIVE IN AUSTRALIA CELEBRATING 125 YEARS OF MUSIC-MAKING HISTORY

2 THE TREORCHY MALE CHOIR LIVE IN AUSTRALIA 1 With a Voice of Singing 2 19 Music by Martin Shaw. Words from the Bible. 2 Welcome Llef 2 32 Music by Griffith Hugh Jones arr. Mansel Thomas. Words by David Charles. 4 Y Darlun 4 16 Music by Davey Davies arr. Jeffrey Howard. Words by T. Rowland Hughes. 5 Speed Your Journey (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) 3 04 Music by Giuseppe Verdi. English words by Norman Tucker and Tom Hammond. 6 Dylan Thomas and rugby Hymn from Finlandia 5 04 Music by Jean Sibelius. Words by Lewis Edward Valentine. 8 Cwm Rhondda (Guide me, O thou great Jehovah) 2 56 Music by John Hughes arr. Arwel Hughes. Words by William Williams. 9 Nessun dorma 2 35 Music by Giacomo Puccini. Words by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. i 2 3

3 0 Ysbryd Y Nos 3 44 Music by Hefin Elis arr. Jeffrey Howard. Words by Clive Harpwood.! Introducing Ivor Novello 0 33 Iona Waltz of My Heart 2 31 Music by Ivor Novello. Words by Christopher Hassall. A brief history of the Treorchy Male Choir 2 12 $ ABBA Medley 6 41 Music and words by Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus arr. Jeffrey Howard, tenor, Ray Daniels baritone % Welshmen make great lovers 1 47 ^ Hywel a Blodwen 3 06 Music by Joseph Parry. Words by Richard Davies., Ray Daniels baritone & My Little Welsh Home 2 38 Music and words by W.S. Gwynn Williams. tenor * Les Misérables Medley Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. English words by Herbert Kretzmer after the original French libretto by Alain Boublil., tenor ( Time to say farewell ) Senzenina 2 36 Traditional Zulu melody arr. A. Humphreys. Ray Daniels baritone Men of Harlech 1 56 Traditional Welsh melody arr. Mansel Thomas. Words by William Duthie. My Way 4 24 Music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux arr. Mike Sammes. Words by Paul Anka. # Homage to the Treorchy Male Choir 1 09 We ll Keep a Welcome in the Hillside 2 22 Music by Mai Jones. Words by Lyn Joshua. Advance Australia Fair 0 53 Music and words by Peter Dodds McCormick. Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of Our Fathers) 2 21 Music by James James. Words by Evan James. Total Playing Time Treorchy Male Choir Janice Ball musical director tenor & compere Ray Daniels baritone Helen Roberts piano David Thomas organ 5

4 Choirs have flourished in the Rhondda Valley for more than 150 years and nowhere has this been better represented than in Treorchy. One of its first male choirs was formed in the inauspicious surroundings of the Red Cow Hotel in the summer of 1883 and developed into a national eisteddfod winner, culminating in a Royal Command Performance for Queen Victoria at Windsor Castle. Sadly, the choir later disbanded after suffering massive economic depression and two World Wars, but from those ashes rose a male voice choir that would become a household name. The present Treorchy Male Choir was reformed on 16 October 1946 under the baton of John Haydn Davies. They scaled the peaks of musical distinction in the eisteddfod field by gaining a record eight national wins, making a total of 22 first prizes out of 27 entries. The unique Treorchy Sound was heard worldwide as they made regular radio broadcasts, television appearances, commercial recordings, two feature films and an overseas tour to Switzerland. Treorchy was to become the first male choir to venture into the uncharted territory of popular music and subsequently has made more than 50 commercial recordings, making it probably the most recorded in the world. In more recent years their radical attitude to music making included a ground-breaking album of music by Freddie Mercury and Queen, two recordings of music by Bob Marley and, in complete contrast, they became the first British choir to perform Sibelius Kullervo symphony in Finnish. The Choir has also shared the stage with some of the world s greatest entertainers during its long and illustrious history. Television programs with Sir Tom Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, Julie Andrews, Sir Harry Secombe and Burt Bacharach were only the beginning of the Choir s long association with major celebrities and now their list of performances reads more like a who s who of international stars. This group of amateur Welsh singers has since appeared either on stage, screen or in the recording studio with the likes of Dame Shirley Bassey, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Michael Ball, Katherine Jenkins, Iris Williams, Max Boyce, Bryn Terfel, Aled Jones, Charlotte Church, Ozzie Osbourne, Jon Bon Jovi, Sir Cliff Richard, Andrea Bocelli, McFly, Russell Watson and Il Divo. Overseas tours have also played an important role in the ongoing success story of Treorchy. Since the early 1980s, the Choir has undertaken an enviable number of overseas tours, beginning with two visits to Canada and a performance in Strasbourg Cathedral for its congregation of almost 6,000 people. A series of four successful tours of the USA followed, with visits to the White House and performances in San Francisco, Denver, Seattle and the Midwest. Treorchy has also enjoyed an enduring love affair with Australia, becoming the first Welsh choir to appear at the Sydney Opera House, in Three further visits down under have seen the Choir appearing in Canberra, Geelong, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Mandurah, Adelaide, Brisbane, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast, as well as returning triumphantly to the Opera House in Sydney. Closer to home, the Choir has appeared on the Royal Variety Performance and has become a regular entertainer on the hallowed turf of the Millennium Stadium for various rugby international games. The Treorchy Male Choir, a registered charity devoted to raising tens of thousands of pounds per year for worthwhile causes, remains bound together and united in the common purpose of the enjoyment of music making and of giving pleasure to others. Long may this continue. Diolch o galon! Publicity Officer & Hon. Archivist 6 7

5 Treorchy Male Choir David Bebb Thomas Belmont David Birch Alan Bowen John Bowen Ernald Brooks Andrew Costin Graham Cox Norman Cox Raymond Daniels Anthony Davies Wayne Dury David Evans Gareth Evans John Fletcher Len Gale Terence George Joe Harris Stuart Hill Robert Hopkins John Jones Selwyn Jones Derek Langley Gareth Lawrence Dennis Lethbridge Alan Lewis Alwyn Lewis Ivor Lock Ernest Miles Mark Milsom Keith Newman Frederick O Brien Adrian Owen Keith Owens Rennie Phillips Jeffrey Powell Jeffrey Priday John Radford Ian Reynolds Michael Russ Daryl Stacey Gareth Thomas William Thomas Philip Tucker Tony Vaughan Roger Watkins William Watkins David Williams Ivor Williams Dennis Young Executive Producers Martin Buzacott, Robert Patterson Recording Producers Virginia Read (Sydney), Haig Burnell (Melbourne) Recording Engineers Tony David Cray (Sydney), Jim Atkins (Melbourne) Assistant Engineer Tim Symons (Melbourne) Editing and Mastering Virginia Read Editorial and Production Manager Hilary Shrubb Publications Editor Natalie Shea Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd Photo p8 Wendy Gaudie Recorded 31 May 2009 in the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall, Melbourne and 10 June 2009 in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. ABC Classics thanks Alexandra Alewood and Katherine Kemp Australian Broadcasting Corporation Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved. Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance or broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyright owner is prohibited. 8 9

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