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"TIPYN 0 BOB PBTH I

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"TIPYN 0 BOB PBTH I IWM SO NOT NECESSARILY tllUa; THE OPINIONS KXFEESSBD I BX WBITIKS IN IBIS COLUMN.} A good deal is being said and written, just now, in optimistic anticipation of what we all hope may happen in the near future, as to the necessity for laying down plans of after- war reconstruction in many directicns. There is one particular direction, however, in which attention is not being turned quite so per- sistently or so urgently as it migh. be. Allu- sion is made to some attempt to iv institute musical organizations and enterprises upon something like the pre-war basis. The extent to which the war has interfered, say with choral combinations—and this is but cua illus- tration-is forcibly marked by the difficulty which those responsible for festivals find in obtaining, with anything like the readiness manifest in happier times, the necessary com- plement of artistes and what is true of choirs in general is equally true of individual performers in particular. The Executive of ?he National Eisteddfod-which, by the way is to be held at Corwen in 1919, Lhe Proclama- tion ceremony presumably taking rlace next I month-must feel this sh^rta^e with excep- tional keenness; and perhaps in direction is this more manifest than in regard to Male Voice Choirs, the most popular cu-tests at the national sra^hering,, that. owing to the impos- sibiHty of securing entries, are having to be abandoned on all hands. ,110 .♦ However, faced by .the fact that something like a clean cut has been made of the old order of things,and opportunity may be presen- ted, of building up upon new foundations,it is surely not too much to hope that, profitting by the lessons of the past, those who under- take theresprinsP 1 duty will build truer and obtain better results. The condition into which. musical matters at Llangollen had drifted prior to the war was' every way typical of others that prevailed in scores of plaoos: in North Wales, where, somehow or other, it has become a common attitude of mind for people to imagine they inherited, as a peculiar grace of God, the powers of musical expression and had no call to cultivate them. The idea thalt artistry of this kind was a mat- ter of: nationality and that it was presump-, tuous for opy oth-er parts of the kingdom to question the Welshman's claim to the first place in the realms of music, had not only be- come firmly established in the naitonal mind -let it be addiitt-ed not entirely without cause—but it had led to the spread of a spirit of overweening confidence, giving tiie native vocalist what a writer, terms an elegant con- ceit of himself," and leading to the whole- sale neglect of methods to preserve the stan- dard high, so that, in this direction, Welsh supremacy was being seriously auestioned on the native death and on eisteddfod platforms, and threatened, eventually, to "go under" before the plodding,painstaking persistence of competitors from other parts of the kingdom. To be beaten at its own game its not a pleasant experience for any nation. Germany is feeling something of this to-day in regard to the ghastly war game into which she has waylaid Europe, and this is undoubtedly what would'have happened in Wales bad not the war intervened Take the history of musical effort and development at Llangollen a quar- ter of a century ago,to go no further back than this, and what do we find? There was an abundance of well-trained local talezifc always available; no difficulty in arranging a con- cert or organising a choir when needed for any event; and, what is more, when their ser- vices were obtained they were always able, whether in competitions or otherwise, to give a very good account of themselves. There were no difficulties in those days—at any rate this is what those who should know assure me—of getting students to come regularly to practices, or of securing harmony and good understanding on committees, and the result is pleasurable to look back upon. Then, somehow or other, crept ri the attitude of mind aptly expressed »bv the phrase "resting upon oar laurels," and we know where it was leading. • # Now, what were the contributory causes to this lack of sustained effort to maintain the standard—it is well to recognise them, if they are to be successfully avoided in the future. Tn this respect it is almost impossible to ex-J aggerate the bad effect upon mqsical progres,4, exercised by denominational ism. There are many directions in which denominationalism j has been the pioneer of dry-rot; this is one of them. At times we hear something of the bad effect of the competitive spirit upon Welsh singing it is as dust in the balance compared with the disintegrating force of de- nominaitionaHsm. Its bad < ".ect r-rent into I choirs, causing cliquism, petty jealousies, and all kinds of retarding obstacles, with the ulti- mate result that organisation on anything like the scale necessary to ensure e production of really good work became impossible.. So it same to pass that every chapel had its own eisteddfod, and there was not a good one • amongst them. < Sufficient has been written to indicate the nature of the dry-rot; of course, there were many other causes of disunion at work, apart from denominational differences. All of these, however, point, to one plain, straight road, along which future progress must be attemp- ted, if it is to be attempted sueeessfuljv. and it leads to complete unity of effort. Musical talent exists to quite as great an extent in the, Dee Valley as ever it did; all that is I needed is capable and united organisation to develop it. There is no scope for sectional effort in little towns—the best, the whole best, and nothing but the bes?, irrespective of .any I consideration but musical ntness—must be or- ganised and brought together under one baton and then there is no question that a -^result will be obtained that will add new I laurels in the future to those gained by Liall- I gollen choirs and vocalists in the past. One I wonders if there is sufficient enthusiasm for music in the locality—and one would not care to ihink there is not—to ensure the sacrifice of personal prej udices, sectarian differences, class distinctions, and so forth, to promote its highest development along the line of least resistance. If there is. one may look con- fidently forward to what, will happen when the opportunity for reeonstifcution occurs, as ■we all trust it will, so very soon. I < I RW,FA GLYN,

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