The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-09-27
IN REALM OF MUSIC

The trinity of days Thursday. Friday
and Saturday. Oct. l. 2 and 3. 1908, be-
cause of the spirit of song, poesy and
oratory which will dominate in five
grand sessions i'm the tabernacle, VIII
be memorable in the annals of Utah.
| Utah, Idaho, California, Colorado and
other states will participate in a veri-
table Cambria, which is described by
ancient and modern critics as "a sea
| of song"
From time immemorial song, poem
and harp have been part and parcel CT
the domestic and social life of the peo-
pie of Wales, and of Greater Wales"
of the first six centuries of the Chris
| tan era During these earlier cenfu-
ries, Britons only were the inhabitants
of the isle-they were the worshtppers
of the oak groves, and the song and
poem competitors ofsthe home and So
cial circles. These competitions were.
indeed notable features of their nation
al life This is made clear by the ira
ditions. triads. poems and songs that
have come down the ages, and are To-
day precious heritage TO the Welsh
people i'm all parts of the world.
| Out of this home and grove of music
and worship grew the competitive Bar
die, song and harp festival, called the
Eisteddfod. which broadly means
session of bards and songsters III
friendly contests for excellence, under
the adjudication of the CHER Dards,
harpists and musicians.
These competitive exercises have been
the means of giving to Wales almost
all the poets, essayists, singers and
preachers who have made Welsh elo-
quence and Welsh songs famous the
world over England, Ireland ard
Scotland have initiated Wales in its
national festival, but only in the mu-
steal sense. One must visit Wales IL
self in order to see the national Els
teddfod i'm its glory, where the leading
essayists, poets, harpists and singers
represent and that in costume, the
druids, bards and ovites of old; where
the ceremony of chairing the prize
bard is, and has been, the chief feature
for six or more centuries; where harp-
lists. using the exquisite and fuli-toned
Welsh triple tringed harp as we'll as
the modern pedal harp contend in
studied and impromptu playing; where
oratory of the true Kettle type sways
the multitudes, and where choral glee,
anthem. solo. and today, orchestral
competition are the drawing cards Oh
the institution.
The Welsh people in this country
hold annually many Eisteddfods in
their respective centers-sOme or them
are merely competitive musical fest-
walls and are not Eisteddfods in the
true sense This is to be regretted, be-
cause the literary characteristic fea-
lures of the Welsh people are omitted
in order to make room for more sing
ing contests in which cultured singers
OF other nationalities have taken away
important prizes But we must not for
get that in the states of Wisconsin,
Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and New
York there are many Welsh choirs
among the mills. mines and quarries,
which are considered by the American
critics to be quite excellent.
The Bardie Chair Feature.
In Great Britain the annual Eistedd-
fod is controlled by the Eisteddfod as
ISOLATION, and the "Bardic Gorsedd"-
the i'd in all cases has the sound of
9TH" in thou" This Bardic High Cir
Gle is a powerful organization jealousy
guarding the honor and place of the
Bardic chair as the chief recognition
of poetic merit in the form of the al
Lucrative "awdl' or ode-a word that
cannot possibly convey the Welsh
meaning. There are twenty-four al
lucrative metres to be mastered. be-
sides the production of poetic thought
. in each and every one, by the bard who
aspires to be installed in the "Bardic
chair" and who must be ready to an
swer in public all questions that may
arise as to his ability in these wonder
full metrical maZes, and as to the gen.
uine quality of his verse. The result
of these Bardic efforts is a rich poetic
literature utterly unknown to all ex-
cept Kettle. scholars who are convers-
ant with the Welsh system of allitera-
ton We write of the chief bardic fea-
! L; efa
compositions in the ordinary metres
and there exists a literature of lyrics
lchansons, extensive poems, battle songs
and elegies which are only beginning 10
appear in English in the mastery
TRANSACTIONS of Rev. Edmund o. Jones
vicar of Llanidloes, North Wales; the
poet EIved, and others.
The Adjudicating Feature.
A feature worth commenting upon is
that the judges in all departments OF
, competition read their adjudications in
which they point out the merits and
dement's of soloists and choirs. closing
by announcing to whom the prizes are
awarded. This is admirable and just
If the judges succeed in convincing con-
testants of the correctness of their crit
icism and the justice of their decision
In choral contests, and especially if the
prize Is large, the task or the Judge Is
painful enough, while the nervous ten
sion of choirs and audience. most OF
whom have no technical knowledge OF
music, is more painful still But most
of these choral adjudicatiOns, we are
informed. merely point out the "sins OF
omission and commission" and are OF
no particular educational value. The
adjudications upon essays, poems and
translations are well prepared and are
published, and are of literary value. II
would be well to arrange for the pub
lication of the musical adjudications
upon the main choral contests. This
would be in keeping with the spirit and
purpose of one of the most ancient
: unique and interesting of national in
! situations.
| Tho cararaaonx, canSistS In tanning fh<