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r11 ustard and Cress. ♦

R', Y\L CLARENCE THEATRE.I

For Delicate Children.

- PONTY P HI D D GU A R DlAN…

PONTYPRIDD DISTRICT COUNCIL.I

[No title]

fountain Ash Cottage Hospital…

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fountain Ash Cottage Hospital Eisteddfod. Tin fifth annual eisteddfod in aid of that popular institution the Mountain Ash Cottage Hospital, was held at the Poplar Grounds, Mountain Ash, en Easter Monday, under the most favourable circumstances possible. The msrnir.g dawned most threateningly, but towards the opening time the sun peeped out and a. most glorious day resulted. Upon the arrival 0: numerous special trains, crowds wended their way towards the field where most elaborate and substantial preparations had been mads for the huge attendance which was X.p3rt:1. A large pavillion was erected by Mr C. D. I-hi Hips, the inner part being decorated by numerous flags and streamers. Along the i'-vt of the stage choice plants were most taslefu'dv armnged. At the appointed time the eisteddfod was punctually opened. On the pia'rn: were the Right Honourable Lord Aber lare, Sir C. Hubert H. Parry. The Hon. Lyndhurst Bruce, H. Bonham Carter, Esq., director of Messrs Nixon's Colliery Company; Mr G'.vilym Jones, manager, Cwmpennar, 2t the committee; Mr Ebenezcr Morgan, Pen- ri'.iw.^eiher vice-chairman; Mr David Harries, treasurer, and Mr D. T. Evans, secretary. The presidents for the day were the Right Hon. Lord Aberdare and Sfr H. Bonham Carter. Mr Clifford J. Cory, J.P., who had also inten- ded presiding, was unavoidably absent. The adjudicators were: Vocal, Sir C. Hubert H. Parry, Mr Rhys Thomas, Mtis. Bac.. and Mi IIFivns, F.T!.C.O.; bands, Mr It. Stead; arts an l industries, Mrs Morgan Morgan, Mrs F. N. Gray, Mr A. Morgan, and Mr J. Am- conductors, Mr J. Williams, surveyor, in i Mr W. Bevan, Brynhyfryd, both of whom showed narked ability in the conducting of the Eisteddfod. Artistes, Miss R. A. Thomas ^Liinos Pennar), and Miss S. A. Jones; ac- companists, Mr R. Howells, Maesgwynne, an i Mr T. D. Jones, Plasrnarl. The preliminary contests were held in large tents situated in close proximity to the Pavilion. The adjndi caters being Mr Rees Thomas and Mr Harry Evans. Sir C. Hubert Parry acted as chief adjudicator in the pavilion. The attendance at the opening, which included the elite of the district, W3.3 exceptionally good, and greatly surpassed all previous occasions.. Amongst those present were observed Lady Aberdare. The Hon. Misses Bruce, The Hon. Clarence Bruce, Mrs Bonham Carter, Mr anl the Hon. Muir Mackenzie, London; Mr and Miss Knox Mtrgan, Rev B. ijloyJ, B.D., R.D. chairman of the Hospital Committee; Majo- and Mrs Morgan, Dr and Mrs E. P. Evans, Dr R. W. Jones, and Mrs Jones, Dr David Jones, and Mrs Jones, Mr W. P. Nicholas and Mr G. Jones, solicitors, THE COMPETITIONS. PIAKOFOltTE SOLO. The first competition disposed of was a pianoforte solo for juniors, the test piece being Sir C. H. H. Parry's "Resignation," for which a prize of El Is was offered. There were three selected to play in the pavilion, and the prize was awarded to Miss Maria Williams; Maesteg. A protest was, however, lodged, it being alleged that she was Beyond the age allowed in the competition. In the event of it being sus- tained the prize will go to the second competi- tor, viz., Master T. J. Edmunds, Mountain A EISTEDDFOD SONG. Following this event the Eisteddfod song was given by Miss R. A. Thomas (Llinos Pennarl. This talented singer gave an admirable render- ing of "Gwlad y Delyn." CONTRALTO SOLO. "Children's Ways" (Gerald Lane) was the test piece selected for the contralto solo, the prhe of two guineas was divided between Miss Anne John, Abercarn, and Miss Eunice Thomas, Glais, Swanser), Valley. The adjudi- cator observed that the second displayed better phrasing, but an excellent musical performance was given by both contestants. PRESIDENT'S ADDRESS. At this point Mr H. Bonhan Carter delivered his presidential address. After explaining the object of the Eisteddfod—the providing for their Cottage Hospital—he observed that the last year's report told them that noble insti- tution was increasing in its usefulness from year to year. (Applause). It had been es- tablished now over three years and a. half, and consequently had tested its usefulness. Twenty sir patients had been successfully treated in the hospital last yea.r up to October, and since then the hospital was continually improving Several bad cases had been treated, and pa- tients had gone out convalescent. (Applause). It gave him great pleasure in noting that the Eisteddfods held contributed considerable sums towards the maintenance of the hospital. The first year E470 was contributed from this source; second year, £336; and the third wear, R308. Last year they could not expect much result owing to the ill-luck which had attended it. £ 128 was, however, subscribed, an amount which was quite sufficient to pay the current expenses of the hospital. The hospital were now in the proud position of having got an invested capital ofL546 to de- vote, if necessary, to unexpected occasions. (Applause). Lady Aberdare had been persua- ded that more beds were wanted for the very serious cas.es, and she had generously increased U em by building one or two wards for such cases as these. (Applause). After referring to the numerous entries for the contests at the Eisteddfod, which amounted to 265, Mr Carter remarked that they were very fortunate n obtaining the services of Sir Hubert Parry,who hld greatly inconvenienced himself to be pre- sent. That was the first time that he (the speaker) had had the pleasure of coming amongst them, and he could assure them that he had been welcomed with much. enthusiasm. (Applause). LTO SOLO. Out of eieht competitors who competed in this competition, the test piece being "Come unto me" (Willem Coenan), for which a prize of one guinea was offered, the prize was se- cured by Master David John Thomas, Plas- I niarl, Swansea. TWO PART SONG. "There's a friend for little children" was se- lected as the test piece for the two part song, prize, £ 1 Is. Two pnrties competed—(1) Miss IC. Jones' party, Troedyrhiw; (2) Mr David John Lewis' party, Ferndale. The prize was awarded to No. 1, and a special prize of 10s 6d generously given by Mr H. Bonham Carter, was awarded to the second. In the aijudica- tion it wan said that the first party had paid- more attention to detail, and that there was a great deal of nervousness displayed in both performances. JUVENILE CHOIR COMPETITION. Great interest was evinced in this competi- tion owing to the keen rivalry existing between the two choirs which competed—both of Moun- tain Ash-and the result was received with a great amount of cheering. The test piece was "The Angel of Rain" (Dr Roland Rogers). First prize, £ 10, and e, portrait of himself, value £3 3s, presented to the conductor by Messrs A. and G. Taylor, Cardiff; second prize, £ 4, and a volume of the "Strand Maga- zine." to the conductor, given by Messrs G. Nawneta, Ltd., The choirs were Bethania, conductor, Mr Albert Llewelyn; Gobaith y Khos, conductor, Mr Samuel Powell. The prizes were awarded in the order given. TENOR SOLO. A prize of L2 2s, which was given for the best rendering of the tenor solo. "When we two parted," was captured by Mr Percy Mer- day, Cardiff. Three competitors appeared on the stage, inclutung the tztnious singer Gwyn- alaw. VIOLIN SOLO. Mr S. J. Davies, Swansea, gave the finest performance of the violin solo, "Idvll" (Mr C. n. H. Parry), for which a prize of P.1 Is was given. Miss Cicely Tilney was awarded a special second prize of 10s 6d. Four con- testants competed in this competition. BARITONE SOLO. "The Maid of Elsincre" (Sir C. H. H. Parry), was the chosen test piece, prize L2 2s. Mr G. T. Llewelyn was the successful contest- ant out of four, which appeared on the stage. GLEE FOUR PART SONG. Up to this point of the day's proceedings, this was one of the best performances. The limit of the number of voices for each choir was 35. Ten pounds were given as a. prize for the best rendering of "How Sweet the An- swer" (Sir H. H. Parry), and a silver plate, Value zCl, presented to tho conductor. Three choirs competed—(1) Abercanaid Choir, con- ductor, Mr John Skim; (2) Mountain Ash Cl'oir, Mr Edwin Williams; (3) Ebenezer Choir Swansea, Mr T. Morris. The last choir named were adjudged the best. Sir H. H. Parry, in giving 1irs adjudication, complimented the choirs upon the remarkably good performances they had given, further adding that they were of an extraordinary refined character. SOPRANO SOLO. Miss Clam Novello Davies's "Voice from the Spirit Land" was the test piece for the soprano solo. Miss Jennet Garnet secured the prize of L2 2s out of three competitors appear- ing in the final. ENGLISH RECITATION. "lanthe Sleeping" was feelingly recited by two chosen competitors, who appeared on the stage. Miss Gwenllian Williams, Treherbert, was awarded the prize of £ 1 Is, amidst much cheering. BASS SOLO. Out of eight contestants in the bass solo, "Old King Time" (J. Duffell), prize, £2 2s, two appeared on the stage. The prize was carried off by Mr G. T. Llewelyn, Port Talbot. AFTERNOON MEETING. At 2.30 the afternoon meeting commenced. The weather was delightful, and the crowd had swelled by many hundreds, so that when the afternoon president (Lord Aberdare) rose to deliver a few remarks, the pavilion was crowded, as was also the field outside. Lord Aberdare, who received a flattering reception, commented upon the beautiful weather which bd favouretl the Eisteddfod, and congratula- ted the committee on the presence among them that day of such a distinquisehd musician as Sir Hubert, who was not only a musician, but an accomplished athlete as well, and the fact that he captained the Eton XI. in his early days was a fact that would appeal strongly to nil Welshmen. (Applause). Referring to Sir Hubert's pointed observations in the different competitions, Lord Aberdare said he hoped they would pay heed to them, for assuredly they would benefit by them. (Applause). His Lordship then called upon Mr Harry Evans to lead the audience in singing the well-known congregational hymn-tune, "Crugybar, and quite an inspiring performance of that fine old melody was given, the whole of the vast audi- ence participating. CHIEF CHORAL COMPETITION. At three o'clock the chief contest of the day viz., the chief choral competition, was alL nounced. By this time the spacious marquee was literally packed, the excitement war at its highest pitch, and the interest evinced was ot the keenest character. The test piece was, "Lead, kindly Light" (Harry Evans, F.R.C.O.), open to all choirs of between 150 to 180 voices, for which, a prize of £100 was offered, and a gold medal presented to the conductor. Five choirs entered: (1) Cwmavon. conductor, Mr H. A. Hill; (2) Newport (Mr Fred Jones), (3) Pontycymmer (Mr James Garfield), (4), Ponty- pool (Mr Walter Protheroe), (5), Dowlais Mr Evan Thomas). The choirs competed in the above order. Sir Hubert Parry, at the close of the contest, gave his adjudication. He said that they ha7d heard a very fine-exhibition of singing, some of it of a very high standard. This being so, it became necessary to judge on very delicate points indeed, and while the personal predilections of the friends of the various choirs would make it difficult for them to appreciate these points, he had no hesita- tion in deciding which was the best- choir; it was No. 2. ((Loud, continued applause, and cries of "Newport pia hi.") After order had been restored, Sir Hubert proceeded, and pointed out that one of the small defects which he noticed with the singing of almost each choir was that when they wanted to hear a choir sing very softly, they wanted a round tone, and that. could only be obtained by re- straining the breath, and when a choir became excited this was impossible. Only the winning choir had done this on the pianissimo portions of the test piece. Another point was that ow- ing to the same excitement they were unable to hold on the pianissimo in the latter part of the test piece of the same tone, the moral of it all being that while he loved keenness and hesrtiness, those qualities should be held on tha balance by accuracy. (Hear, hear). SECOND CHORAL COMPETITION. In this contest, which was open to choirs of between 60 to 100 voices, there were four en- tries. viz., (1), Troedyrhiw (conductor, Mr O. T. Jones); (2), Abercarn (Stephen Allsopp); (3), Blaengarw (Mr T. E. Richards); (4) Peny- darren (Joseph Lewis). The test piece was "Pa le mae Gwaredwr Israel?" (Glyndwr Rich- ards). The prize was L-20. The choirs sang in the order given above. Sir Hubert Parry, in his adjudicatio-n of their performances, lampooned the pianoforte accompaniment. When the choirs were trying to sing a beauti- ful piano passage with the delicacy it required, that hideous pianoforte accompaniment com- pletely spoilt the whole effect. Speaking of the singing, Sir Hubert said it did not quite reach such a hi?h standard as the chief choral. As a matter of fact, it had some conspicuous defects, many of which were doubtless ar- cenuated by that jungling piano. On the whole the singing of choir No. 4 was the moBt refined, and to them would be awarded the prize. The prize offered by the committee for tli2 best soloist in any choir would go to No. 2. This successful soloist was Mr W. E. Games, Aberearn. MALE VOICE COMPETITION. Unusual interest was also taken in this con- test, the vast assemblage paying the strictest attention to each performance. £ 30 was given as a first prize for the best rendering of "Anna- belle Lee" (Dr J. Parry) and B10 as second, choirs to consist of between 60 and 80 voices. Four parties competed in the following order: (1) Cwmbach (conductor, Mr Samuel Davies); (2; Ferndale (Mr Gwilym Evans); (3), Resol- ver (Mr W. Davies), (4) Abernman (Mr Thos. Phillips). In delivering his adjudication, Sir Hubert said that the singing of the second choir was most perfect. The whole of the choirs had really given fine performances. No. 2 were awarded the first prize and No. 4 the second. COMPOSITION OF A PART SONG. A prize of JE2 2s was awarded to Mr T. D. Edwards, Pontypridd, for the best composition of a part song suitable for children's voices, S.S.A. The adjudicator pointed out that many jf the contestants were rather common in their style, and did not show a liberal acquaintance with fine class music. PIANOFORTE SOLO. The pianoforte solo by Sir C. H. Parry, "Pre- lude" (open to all comers), prize, £ 2 2s, was won by Miss Maggie Jones, Waenwen. Two contestants appeared in the final. BRASS BA2JD COMPETITIONS. In Class A there were eight competing bands viz., (1). Arael Griffin, (2) Temdale, (3) Aber- are, (4) Tillery Collieries, (5) Mountain Ash, (61 Trebanos Sifver, (7). Ystalyfera, (8) Dow- lais. Mr R. Stead remarked that the contest was an exceptionally good one. A distinct im- ptcvement was observable, and he thougM, if the Lancashire bands came down that they would have to look to their laurels. The prizes went to (1) Arael Griffin (2) Ferndale, ( j, Aberdare. Second brass band contest (Class B), open to all comers, "Gems of Modern Melody' Wright and Round). Nine bands played in tile) following order: (1) Nelson Temperance Band, (2) Coifs Temperance Band (Pentre), (3), Deri Temperance Band (4), Trebanos Sil- ver Band, (5) Pentre Volunteer Band, (6) Ton- yrefail Temperance Band, (8) Aberaman Silver Band, and (9) Abertillery Town Band. The first prize of £10 was wen by the Tonyrefail Silver Band, which also won the prize earlier in the day at Tonypandy. The second prize of P,7 was taken by the Trebanos Silver Band, and the third prize by the Cory Temperance Band. DRUM AND FIFE BAND COMPETITION. The test piece was "11 Trovatore," first prize, E12; second. L8, third, P,4 and fourth, LZ. The first prize was won by Mountain Ash St. Mary's Catholic; second, Mountain Ash Rechabite; third, Brynaman; fourth, Llwyn- ria Temperance. ARTS AND INDUSTRIES. In this competition the prize £ 1 Is for the best drawing in light and shade was won by "W. Clittle," and in the needlework depart- ment for the working of a cushion in any de- sign (prize, a ladies' silver watch), first honours were won by "W.E.G." The names of the winners did not transpire. AMBULANCE COMPETITION. Four prizes, viz., P.2, P.1 10s, Ll, and 10s, were offered in this competition. The success- ful detachments were: 1st Nantwent; 2nd, Albion, Cilfynydd; 3rd, Cory Temperance (Pentre), 4th, Cwmbach. After the termination of the proceedings it was ascertained that over E500 had been taken at the gates alone, and that the attendance must have exceeded 12.000. This far exceeds the number which attended on any previous occasion.

— Ynysybwl.

. Barry.

Pontypridd.

Llantwit Fardre.

. Cosen, Cwmclydacfi.

Cardiff.

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