Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1883-01-18
THE WELSH CHOIRs.
uI!sin era Peculiar Custom welsh Love OF
Chorns sinGtBs-IIew the ChoIr. Are
PaFtned. f'

holding musical contests Is very old
haVing its origin in the meetings called
Eisteddyodan (the plural Of Elstcdd
lou) which were a sort of competitive
examination for the election of chief
bards' These bards formed very i'm.
porrtant LJl and influential class in the
community; they kept alive the ma
l u1nal spirit Of the people by stirring
LEGENDS Of tln wisdom and power of
their ancestors In fact. their power
was p. times such as " mike them the
virtual rulers Of the nation. As early
as $40 a. d., King IIowcl Dha found
IL necessary TO revise and limit their
privileges. A century and half later
Griffith ap-Conah still further re-
strained their prctcnsions, and their
power gradually wancd until il van
ished on the conquest Of Wales by the
English, when, as tradition says, the
bards were ruthlcssly extcrmnated-
a tradition that is now happily rclc-
gated to the rapidly increasing num-
Der of historical myths. These Eistedd-
Vodan were not held at any stated
tllne-but when the Office of chief bard
became vacant from death or some
other reason. They were gatherings
TO which all who could hy any means
attend, Hooked eagerly they were al
ways, at least in carlytimcs held in the
open air, some sheltered valley or
SIoplng hillside being generally chosen
for the purpose Here the bards WED
with each other in stirring mp the pa
triotism and enthusiasm Of their vast
audience, 10y rccounting in rugged
verse the warlik" deeds Of the kings.
and the wisdom Of the sagc5 Of old, ac-
comp1Hying their rccitations with the
Welsh harp, called crowd, or Growth,
when he who aroused 10 the highest
pitch the fcg ia national feeling that
characterize III Celtic peoples, was
chosen chic. lrd hy the acclauations
Of the multi Ie
After the conquest Of Wales by Ed
ward l., in 1851, the powerful influence
Of the bards WAS broken. But h. and
the succeeding soycro.gns. recognizing
the value Of such allies. cnlcarcd AS
they were from old associations 20 the
popular heart, wisely encouraged the
poctical and the musical aspect, of tho
Guild OF Bards. while they carefully
curtailcd their political power. The
last sovereign to make any special On
actmcnt concerning tn" hards was
Elizabeth. who in lJ0- issued com
mission for the holding Of an Eistcdd.
fod, at CTrwys. But tho ancient spirit
was dying out, and, from that time 10
the present. the efforts Of these aSsOcia-
tions have been chiefly directed 10 pre-
serving the scanty remains Of the an
cient poetry and music Of their people.
and to the encouragement Of their
modern national poets and musicians.
l9 isLs latter respect they .ayc not as
81 been productive Of any very i'm
portant results; the mere fact of a poem
or musical composition being by . ma
tive authgr and " the native tongue,
has been held sufficient reason TO give
It hearing without any regard TO its
merits.
At the present time. especially among
the Welsh in Pennsylvania they have
taken a much better direction. namely.
in the formation of large choirs for the
study Of the choruscs Of the great mas
ters, and in this way they are doing
great work in spreading a love and
knowledge Of the masterpieces Of
Handel, BACK, Haydn and Mcndclssohn.
SO universal among all classes Of the
Welsh people has this love FOR chorus
singing become. that il may with safety
be said that no other people have such
widely diffuscd acquaintance with
the very highest class of music ~ they
have. This is the more remarkable
when we take into consideration the
fact that both singers and listeners
were. for by far the greater part, com
posed Of miners and their wives and
children.
The members composing a choir are
Iften scattered over q wide cX-
.ent of territory, 80 that regular
weekly or even monthly meetings Of
the choir are impossible. When a new
chorus Is TO be learned, the various
members will procure, II they can
afford It. one copy for each member Of
the family, or, If the work is expen-
sive, one copy for the whole family.
Then the neighboring families will