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The Porth and Cymmer Male Voice Party at Reading Enthusiastic Welcome. The Reading Standard," in referring to the recent visit of the Porth and Cymmer Male Voice Choir to Reading, says —" The singing of the choruses at the concert on Saturday evening was ex- cellent, and characteristically Welsh in fervour and in expression. They sang many old favourites, and concluded the performance with the Welsh National Anthem, Hen Wlad fy Nhadau,' but, though space forbids the particular men- tion of each, reference must be made to a charming serenade for male voices (com- posed by Prof. Edwards), which was sung as an encore during the evening. It is an exceedingly tasteful and light com- position of music, set to the words of Mr. W. Wilsey Martin—' Sleep, dear one, sleep '—the quiet beauty of which was well rendered by the party. The lay vocalist, (Miss Bessie Jones) was very successful in her solo contributions, 6 Divine Redeemer' (Gounod) and Sing, sweet bird (Ganz), singing with easy style and a pretty voice also in her duets with Mr. Rowland James—' Tell me, gentle stranger (Parry)—and Mr. William Davies-' Howell and Blodweii (Dr. J. Parry). In the latter duet the vocalists first sang in Welsh and then, as an encore, in English, and their actions were suited to the play of the words. Mr. William Davies sang with telling effect, using his effect with the skill of the artiste he is. He sang The Death of Nelson' and My dream,' being en- cored for each. His mannerisms quite tickled the audience, with whom lie speedily established himself a favourite. Mr. Allan Frame sang beautifully, and was also encored each time he appeared. His first contribution was The Sailor's Grave (Sullivan), and his second 'Thora (Stephen Adams), his encores being Bonnie Mary of Argyle and Sally in Our Alley.' He earned the admiration of the members of the choir and delighted his audience. Mr. Rowland James was also very successful in his songs, 'Wreckers of Dunraven (Pughe Evans) and The Soldier's Song (Macheroni). The piano- forte accompaniments were played by Prof. Edwards, and Mr. Rhys Evans con- ducted the choir. Another feature of the entertainment was the recitation by Mr. arfield Thomas—' The Pit of Death.' The young elocutionist held the audience in rapt attention while with true dramatic effect lie related the story of li\o poor fellows entombed in a mine for days, how four of them, including the son of the only survivor, one by one sank into the silent sleep of death, and how the one tottering and exhausted man was at last rescued. One could have heard a pin drop, so great was the silence all over the hail, and it 'was testimony to the power of the artiste that there were many tear-dimmed eyes before the finish." During the evening, Dr. Clialke, M.A. (Principal of the Rhondda P.T. Centre), who acted as representative" speaker for the choir, in a very eloquent manner thanked the Reading folli for the kind welcome which they had accorded the Welshmen. v Sunday was by no means a day of rest" for the choir, as they were asked to attend the morning and evening ser- vices at Broad Street as well as the P.S.A. in the afternoon. At the morning service, the choir exquisitely rendered The Little Church," and fully main- tained the excellency which had charac- terised their singing on the previous evening. At 2.30, the choir appeared at Castle Street Congregational Church, where they entertained a very large audi- ence for about an hour, proceeding thence to Broad Street Chapel, which was crowded to its utmost capacity with an audience almost exclusively consisting of men. They were greeted with rounds of cheers. Here numerous choruses were rendered under the able conductorship of Mr. Rhys Evans, each being loudly ap- plauded by the enthusiastic audience. A short address was delivered by Dr. Chalke, who dwelt chiefly upon the im- portance of education in the national life. He spoke as one with a knowledge of his subject, and pointed out that in future the battle of the world would be one of brains and no longer that of the 4.7 gun and the pom-pom, the Gatling, and the rifle. It behoved them, therefore, if they were to keep pace with their commercial rivals, to make the educational equip- ment of the nation efficient and up-to- date and, as the elementary school was still and would be the only university which the majority of children would ever reach, he urged the working men to see to it that those schools were properly staffed and maintained. On Sunday evening, the choir held two sacred concerts, both of which drew very large audiences which filled the large buildings to overflowing. Those who realised what a busy day the choir had experienced, did not expect them to do themselves justice at. these evening gatherings. However, the choir showed no signs of "falling off," and the solos rendered by Miss Bessie Jones, Mr. Wm. Davies, and Mr. R. James, as well as the -choruses by the choir, evoked long and loud cheering from both audiences. A feature of these concerts was the reciting by Mr. Garfield Thomas. He was every- where well received, and was often con- gratulated by the Chairman for the ex- cellent way in which he recited. Prof. Edwards, Porth, acted as accompanist at all the concerts. On Monday, the members of the choir visited many points of interest in the town, including the Reading Abbey, and Huntley and Palmer's biscuit factory— tho arrangements having previously been made by the members of the P.S.A. The choir had a hearty send-off at the station on Monday afternoon. The platform was crowded with people, and by special re- quest the choir sang Hen Wlad fy Nhadau." They commenced their home- ward journey about two o'clock after spending a most enjoyable week-end, and having fully satisfied those who gave them suchu. warm reception.

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