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THE LLANDUDNO CHAIR EISTEDDFOD.

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THE LLANDUDNO CHAIR EISTEDDFOD. GREAT VICTORY OF THS LLANGOLLEN CHORAL SOCIETY. London having monopolised this year's National Eisteddfod of Wales, the Principality has had to rest content with minor gatherings, which have been designated "chair" or "provincial" eisteddfodau. The first of these was held last month, at Portmadoc, and its pecuniary success or failure-the latter it is feared—has yet to be chronicled. Carnarvonshire is also the county selected for the second gathering, identified as "The North Wales Chair Eisteddfod and Musical Festival," which was inaugurated on Tuesday at Llandudno, under the presidency of Lord Mostyn, who has a large interest in this popular watering place-the greater part of the houses being built upon leases granted by the Mostyn estate- and who filled the same honourable position at the opening of the London National Eisteddfod. The Llandudno festival is upon a less extensive and pretentious scale than its rival at Portmadoc, its proceedings being limited to a couple of concerts and two ordinary meetings, and extending over Tuesday evening and Wednesday. The committee have been spared the expense of erecting a suitable structure—an item which always figures heavily upon the debit side of an eisteddfod balance sheet- being able to avail themselves of the commodious pavilion which owes its erection to the energy of the Pier Company. Again there was no difficulty as regarded the formation of an orchestra. At Portmadoc, that connected with the Liverpool Philharmonic had to be largely drawn up to rein- force local instrumental talent, whilst at Llandudno the promoters were enabled to avail themselves of the splendid orchestra conducted by M. Riviere, the performances of which have been amongst the principal attractions, and have materially assisted in prolonging a season which, commencing late, threatens, owing to the unsettled and unseasonable weather which has of late set in, to have a termi- nation earlier than will be satisfactory to the feelings of hotel proprietors and lodging-house keepers. Mr. John Jones (Central Buildings) is the chairman of the Executive Committee, which has laboured strenuously for months to ensure that success their efforts deserve and associated with him are the Rev. John Morgan, B.A., vicar of Llan- dudno. who acts as vice-chairman, the duties of honorary secretary and treasurer devolving upon Mr. T. W. Griffith and Mr. A. Foulkes. The Gorsedd was held early in the day "in the face of the sun,, the eye of light," on a piece of ground contiguous to the Tudno Castle Hotel. The Arch Druid (Clwydfardd) had charge of the cere- monies, and was assisted by Gwalchmai, Cadfan, Nathan Dyfed, and other minor constellations in the bardic firmament. Ap Myrddin (Mr. T. T. Marks, C.E.) was the trumpeter. Shortly after seven o'clock a torchlight procession met the presi- dent (Lord Mostyn) on his arrival from Gloddaeth, and, headed by the band of the Conway Rifle Volunteers, escorted him to the pavilion, which was reached nearly half an hour after the time announced, the audience, the largeness of which fully justified the anticipations which had been formed as to the success of the Eisteddfod, bearing the delay without any sign of impatience. The decorations of the building, although not over- lavish, were very suitable, and extremely creditable to the good taste of Mr. Elias Jones, who was assisted by Mr. Richd. Jones and Mr. John Roberts. The armorial bearings of the fifteen'tribes of Wales, very tasteful specimens of the designers' art, were displayed from the balcony running round the pavilion. A large eisteddfodic device, embracing the Red Dragon of Wales, the Welsh Harp, and other national embiems, was a striking ornamenta- tion of the platform; whilst prominence was accorded to the names of bards and literati past and present, that of Dr. Edwards, Principal of Bala College, occupying an honoured position in front of the orchestra.. Lord Mostyn, who was accompanied on the plat- form by Lady Mostyn and Sir John Puleston. M.P., remarked that the year had been a great one in the history and annals of Wales, the National Eistedd- fod having been held in London and presided over by the Prince of Wales, who had expressed a hope that at no distant future he would be able to visit the Principality—(cheers)—and preside at an eisteddfod. He agreed with Mr. Lewis Morris that an eisteddfod was not a place for long speeches or Drosy addresses, and so he would ap.h upon hig advice. In Lhe Creuaclyn district, in which Llan- dudno was situate, an eisteddfod was held in the sixth century, under the presidency of Prince Maelgwyn, who made harpists and bards swim across the river, an old bard recording that, although the harpers were not worth a halfpenny after swimming over the stream, the bards, thanks to the attention of their wives, were able to go on with their compositions. (Laughter.) The Welsh were fond of music and poetry, and it was for these and the preservation of their ancient language that these eisteddfodau were kept up; and so long as these were the objects at which the eisteddfodau aimed, he was sure they would continue to flourish. He hoped that their English friends, whom he was glad to see in such numbers, would go away pleased with what they had seen and heard, and that there would be an appreciable surplus to benefit those charitable objects to which such surplus would be devoted. (Hear, hear.) Sir John Puleston, who had always been closely connected with the national gathering of Wales, was, he was glad to find, amongst those on the platform, and he was sure he was heartily congratulated by all Welshmen upon the honour her Majesty had been pleased to confer upon him during her Jubilee year. (Applause.) The programme was then proceeded with, Mr. J. Jones acting as conductor. Miss Mary Davies was the chief attraction, and had a most enthusiastic reception, her rendering of I will extol Thee," from Costa's Eli," being re-demanded. Mr. James Sauvage sang the old Welsh melody I Bias Gogerddan;" and, as a finale, "Hen wlad fy Nhadau," the chorus being sung by the audience. Miss Annie Hope, a contralto who is a great favourite with Welsh audiences, and Mr. Maldwyn Humphreys were included in the programme, and The March of the Men of Harlech" was played by M. Reviere's orchestra, the conductor being heartily received upon this his debut at a Welsh eisteddfod. During the evening there was a com- petition in pennillion singing, the president giving the three prizes, and Idris Vychan, who is an adept at this style of vocalisation, adjudicating..mere were also competitions in singing The National Anthem," and for soprano and tenor vocalists, Lady Augusta Mostyn and Mrs. Jones Williams being the donors of the awards. Mr. Parry (Llan- rwst) was the accompanist. Miss Parry, Llanrng, Carnarvon, was adjudged the best soprano. The only blot in the programme was allowing the Conway band to perform on the same platform as M. Reviere's orchestra. Comparisons, unfavourable particularly to the former, were invited thereby. On Wednesday what may be termed the practical Work of the Esteddfod opened, when a Gorsedd was again held. At ten o'clock the first meeting was commenced under the presidency of Sir John Puleston, M.P., who was escorted to the Pavilion by the Band of the 4th Battalion of Royal Welsh Fusiliers. The Rev. Hugh Hughes, Wesleyan minister, acted as conducter. The president having given an address, the programme was proceeded with. Owing to the various competitors not answering promptly to their names the proceedings were considerably delayed. Mr. Hughes (Elfyn), Bangor, was awarded the prize of 3 guineas for an ode" Yr Hebog (The-Hawk). Song, Bwthyn yr Amddifad" (The Orphan's Home), by Miss Annie Hope. For the best English essay on '• The Art of Pennillion Singing," Idris Fychan awarded the Prize of 5 guineas to Mr. Robt. Griffiths. Manchester. For the best satirical poem on '-The English Law Courts in Wales," the prize of £ •» was awarded by Llawdden and Cadvan to the veteran poet N atban Dyfed," Merthyr, who is now in his SiHh year of age. Much amusement was caused by the appearance on the platform of a male and female in Welsh costume, to compete for a prize given by the committee and Mr. Elias Jones, Glan-y-mor. The successful competitors were Miss C. J. Jones, Con- Way. and Mr. W. Foulkes, Llanboris, both of whom sang a Welsh song amid loud applause. A prize of 4 guineas for an ode upon the Queen's Jubilee was awarded to Elfyn Bangor. Owing to the want of time several items, including the bass solo com- petition, were deferred to the afternoon meeting. CHIBB1 CHORAL COMPETITION. Jhe greatest interest of the morning meeting Was cent-ed in the chief choral competition, the prize including £ 70 and a silver cup, valued at £ i>, for the conductor. The following choirs entered the lists, and competed in the following order :— Holyhead Choral Society (conducted by Mr. W. Owen), Llangollen Choral Society (Mr. William Williams), Llwynypandy, Mold (Mr. E. Davies), Tanygrisiau, Festiniog (Mr. Cadwaladr Lewis), and Gyrn Castle, Mostyn (Mr. Fritz H. Jackson). The test pieces were the chorus 1; Duw sydd Noddfa," by Mr. J. H. Roberts (Pencerdd Gwynedd), and the anthem Come unto Him (Gounod). The com- petition commenced shortly after twelve o clock, and occupied considerably over two hours, notwith- standing which the keenest interest seemed to be felt in the contest, the performances of each choir being closely watched and followed by a very large audience. At the close of the competition Mr. James Sauvage gave a splendid rendition of She must be mine," and was loudly applauded. The adjudicators, Mr. J. H. Roberts (Pencerdd Gwynedd), Mr. John Roberts, Llanwrtyd, and Mr. Benjamin Williams, Llandudno, took a considerable time to adjudicate, and after a slight pause in the pro- ceedings Llew Llwyfo, at the urgent request of the conductor, sang in capital style, Cadlef Mor- ganwg." The adjudicators subsequently appeared on the platform, the award being made by Mr. J. H. Roberts, the composer of the Welsh chorus set down for competition. Amid great silence Mr. Roberts said that he and his co-adjudicators had been highly pleased with the high character of the competition which they had just been listening to it had given them the most intense pleasure and delight. The test pieces possessed considerable difficulty, more especially in the expressive portions of the music. Out of the five choirs which sang, there were two which excelled. They had had a little difficulty in coming to a final decision, but after weighing and balancing the comparative merits and defects of the two, they had ultimately arrived at a unanimous decision. The Llangollen Choir had given a magnificent (ar- dderchog) performance of the two pieces, while the Tanygrisiau Choir had also sung in excellent (rhagorol) style.. Had they not met with an accident with the intonation of the second piece their choruses would have been better. They had, therefore, great pleasure in awarding the prize to the Llangollen Choir. The announcement was received with tremendous cheers, especially by the members of the choir and the friends who had accompanied them that day. Mr. Wm. Williams (Pencerdd Berwyn), the conductor, them mounted the platform, and had the honour of being invested by Madame Riviere, who afterwards shook him warmly by the hand, the same compliment being paid to him by Sir John Puleston, the president, and a number of other gentlemen on the platform. The silver cup, which is a massive and elaborate piece of workmanship, was also presented to Mr. Williams, amid the rounds of applause by the audience. The morning meeting then terminated at about two o'clock, which was the hour fixed for the commencement of the afternoon meeting. The silver cup is on view at Mr. H. Jones's, stationer, Castle-street. In the afternoon meeting, Mr. Llew Jones, Llan- gollen, our favourite and promising basso, far distanced about 25 or 30 other competitors in singing Bedd fy mrawd" (" My brother's grave ") for which he received a prize of £ 1 Is. Elfyn, Bangor, obtained a prize of 2 guineas for a descriptive song. For a treatise on the history of Wales under Charles I., Cromwell, and Charles II., a prize of 10 guineas was divided between" Glan Menai" and the Rev. D. Griffiths, Dolgelley. Mr. David Jones, chemist, Carnarvon, obtained a guinea prize for the best rendition of "Y Cymro Dewr." The prize of £21 and a carved oak chair value £ 7 10s. was awarded by "Llawdden" and "Cadvan" to the Rev. J. Ceulanydd Williams, Baptist minister, Maesteg, the representative, the Rev. W. Edwards, Llandudno, being installed in the chair with the usual rites and ceremonies. Mr. Robert Roberts and Miss Maggie Williams, Festiniog, won the duet prize. The Trefriw Choir won the prize of £ 10 for juvenile choirs, the 2nd prize of Y,5 being divided between Llanberis and Llanrwst Choirs, The soprano solo prize was won by Miss Emily Mowll, Birkenhead, and the contralto by Miss Catherine Jane Jones, Conway. The prize of £10 and a gold medal for the best rendering of "Y Gof was carried off by the Tanygrisian Male Voice Choir. THE CONCERT. In the evening, a grand concert was held, and it was believed that at least about 3000 persons attended. The president was the Rev. J. Morgan, B.A., Vicar of Llandudno, and the following were the artistes :—Miss Mary Davies, Miss Annie Hope, Mr. James Sauvage, Mr. Maldwyn Humphreys, the winning- choira, and M. iii v*iorc^ orcHcM;i:;iI band. The concert was opened by the Llangollen Choir singing the test pieces, and as was the case in the morning meeting their capital rendition again evoked the hearty plaudits of the vast audience which had lassembled. At the close of this per- formance, the President called for cheers for the winning choir, which were repeated again and again as the members left the platform in order to catch the train. The concert was then proceeded with. The train arrived at Llangollen at 11 o'clock after a fast run. The approaches to the station were crowded with people, who set up a hearty cheer on the arrival of the victors. A torchlight procession, under the command of Mr. Hiram Davies, was formed, Mr. Wm. Williams and Llew Jones were borne up shoulder high, and to the strains of the Llangollen Volunteer Band, who played;" See the conquering Hero comes," the crowd marched up Castle-street, through Chapel- street, Church-street, Regent-street, and finally halted in Victoria Place. Here, at the request of Mr. Williams, Mr. Clarke briefly thanked the crowd for the splendid reception they had given him and also to Llew Jones, and the crowd afterwards dispersed. Great credit is due to Mr. Hiram Davies for the admirable arrangements he made in connection with the reception demonstration. The eisteddfod was a financial success.

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