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I Those who think 8 I hunger is the best $ sauce should try | | IF YOU REQUIRE ARTIFICIAL TEETH, 9 Send for particulars and:Prices t to KAY & SONS a (Established 1881), j TY'N-Y-FFORDD, t' j ABERGELE ROAD, I COLWYN BAY. AND BRANCHES. THE GREAT HERBAL REMEDY 10 9 Any Time 1 is Bliss Time Keep a box of Bliss Native Herbs on hand for all emergen- cies-for headache—distress after eating—biliousness—con- stipation—rheumatism—blood disorders. Take a tablet once in a while just for "health's sake." UT TOO NATIVE BLISS i is an old-time remedy of roots- herbs—and barks pressed into tablets-easy to take-200 tablets for 4/- —guaranteed to benefit or money back. Get the genuine in yellow boxes only-made by The Alonzo O. Bliss Medical Co., London, W. C. SOLD BY EDWARD GRIFFITHS, Bro Dawel, Tremeirchion, St. Asaph. 882 DO YOU Drink CHINA TEA? OUR CHINA CEYLON BLEND IS PERFECTION If not already using it please ask for tasting sample, and note the Mellowness and the total absence of astringency. The price is 2/4 Per lb. This Tea comes as a boon and a blessing to men" and women who love the Cup that Cheers but are debarred from drinking = ordinary Tea. = PRYCE mUlMS & CO., COLWYN BAY, COLWYN, RHOS-ON-SEA. For best Household and Steam COALS, TRY W. T. HARRIS COAL MERCHANT, CONWAY. 5S R. B. DA VIES, BILLPOSTER, BELLMAN, & ADVERTISING CONTRACTOR, 51, HIGH STREET, 4- BLAENAU FESTINIOG
Vale of Conway ChairI Eisteddfod.
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Vale of Conway Chair I Eisteddfod. SUCCESSFUL GATHERINGS. HUMOUR IN WELSH MUSIC. Held under very distinguished. patronage, the Vale of Conway Chair Eisteddfod on Wlhit- Mondlay is eagerly looked for to by all the Eisibeddfodiwyr of Nonth "Wia/les and the adjacenit English coiuraties, from which latter place a number of competitors participate in the com- petitionis. The sixth annual event was held in a spacious marquee at the back of Plasyndre, Llanrwst, Vi" Whit-Monday. Following upon the hard work of the Committee and officials, and the prospects for the success of the festival were exceedingly rosy, especially so in respect of the niuinibex of competitors, for the entries this year created a record. However, the hopes of the authorities that the event would be financially successful were somewhat shattered by the heavy down- pour of rain during Sunday night, and through- out the morning otf the! Eisteddfod. The President this year again was the Right Hon. the Earl Carrington, K.G., P.CjG.C., M.P. (President of the Board of Agricultruine), and the Vice-Presidents were Dr. W. Carter, J.P., Deganwy; Cbunty-Coiuncillor T. Rogers Jonas, and Cbumty-Couincillor W. J. Williams, J.P., Llanrwst. The Rev. W. Cynwyd Williams was the Chaimman of an excellent Executive Committee, with Mr R. R. Owen, Carrington- terrace, as Vice-Chairman. Mr J. M. Williams, Metropolitan, Banik, was again the Hon. Treasurer, and the duties of General Secretary were once mors ably carried out by Mr J. D. Jones, solicitor. Mr David Jones, Berlin House, acting as musical secretary. The Committee were fortunate in having prizes presented to them by the following -The Liter- ary and Historical Associations of the Vale of Conway, Mr A. Lloyd Griffi,th, Messrs W. S. Williams, Limited, Mr Owen Williams, Rev. W. Cynwyd Williams, Mr G. T. Phillips, Rhyl; Mr William McGauil, Tiiiefriw Messrs Hughes & Son, Wrexham Dr. Huw Williams, Mr Maurice Williams, Mr R. R. Owen, Mr F. A. Charlton, Mr E. M. Jones (Afallom), Mrs. Herbert Lewis and the Literary Committee of the North Wales Women's Temperance Union, Mr G. Dickens Lewis, Shrewsbury; Mr John Williams, Cion- way-terrace'; Mr Tom Lewis, Bangor; Miss Jones, Dallas; the Denbighshire Branch of the Welsh Industries As.sociation (per Misls, Main- warimg) and the Carnarvonshire Branch of the same Association (per Miss May Jenkins, Pen- maanimawr). The Presidents of the day were announced to be Mr William Jones, Liverpool; Earl C airing- ton, and Sir W. H. Preece. The literary adju- dicators were Eifion Wynn, the' Rev. Evan Dav- ies, Trefriw, Alderman W. J. Williams, J.P., Rev. O. Gaianydd Williams, and the Rev. W. Williams, M.A. The musical adjudicators were Mr David Evans, M,us;. Bac., Cardiff, and! Mr John Williams, Carnarvon. The other adjudi- cators were Dewi Mai o. Feirion, Mr G. Dickens- Lewis, Mr J. G. Rowlands, Llandudno Rev. J. E. Cardigan: Williams., Mr William Hughes, Llanrwst; Mr R. Williams, R.S.S., Ty'nygroes; the Hon. Mrs Henry Mostyn, Miss May Jenkins, and the following members of the ladies' com- mittee :—iMiiss Leighton, Miss Jones, Dallas; Miss Jones, Dorset Mrs W. G. Owen, Mrs Thomas, N.P. School; Mrs Williams, Station Houise; Mrs. Huw Williams Mrs. Wilt- liams, Council School; Mrs Williams, Regent House; Mrs Williams, G-wymfa; and Miss White, Trefriw. Liew Tegid was the conductor, and he kept the audiences in a very good humauir Ths ac- companists were Madame Maggie Evans-Parry, Birkenhead Mrs J. M. Williams, Llamrwst; and Professor Bryan Warhurst.
The Morning Session.
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The Morning Session. Owing to. the illness of Sir W. H. Preece, and the unavoidable absence of Earl Carrington, the arrangements for the presidents of the differ- ent meetings had to be altered, and Mr H. J. W. Watling, J.P., Chairman of the Llanirwsit Urban Council, took the chair at the morning meeting. He was accompanied on the stage by Mrs Watling. A pianoforte solo. by Madame Maggie Evans- Parry opened the proceedings. Mr. Watling, in the course of his address from the chair, said that he had taken the chair at a moment's notice only. He greatly regretted the absence of Lord1 Carrington, who had been, a very good friend to' the movement ever since its inception, and he also regretted that they did not see more of Barl Carrington in the Val- tey. He could only hope that when his Govern^ ment went out of office they would see- more of him in his ancient seat of Gwydyr. (Cheers.) It was also a thousand pities that Sir William Preece would not be present owing to an illness. Regarding the history of the Eisteddfod, it was five or six years ago since a number of young men—woilking men., he might say-made up their minds that Llanrwst should have an Eisteddfod, and they could: that day see with what dimen- sions it had corns. He sincerely hoped that it would prosper year by year, until the Llanrwst Eisteddfod rivalled even the National. (Ap- plause.) He had heard it said that people did not %-are. for anything at the Eisteddfodau but for pot-hunti-nig, and that they learnt a piece and went round from one Eisteddfod to. the other to .see what they could get. He refused to. believe that, although in some cases it might be so. He jbíeleved that the Welsh nation loved the Eis- teddfodiau simply for the pure love of music and art. (Hear, hear.) One word to the com- mittee. He was afraid that the weather that dav looked by no means propitious, and they would find a balance on the wrong side. Hie was sure they all regretted that at the first Eis- teddfod:, when there was such a handsome oal- ance, they did not keep it by for a rainy day such as that, and not distribute it in, the charit- able way that they did. He knew personally that it had been distributed in a very charitable manner, but it wouild have been wiser had they kept it, and he trusted that when they got a good balance again they would hold it and keep it for such an occasion, as. that. He thanked them one and all for the hearty reception given himself and his wife. Their hearts were ill Llanrwst, and with everything connected with Llanrwsit. (Applause.) The following were the awards — Samples of darning and patching for table cloths: Second prize, Mrs W. S. Williams, Llandudno. Violin solo- competition, Cavatina Thos. Roberts, George-street, Llanrwst. Best map of the County of Denbigh, by child- ren not over 16 years of age: Secondprize di- vided between Ivor Williams, Llanirwsit, and CJwvdian." Recitation, of "ArafaDdyn," for children under 16 years: Equal first D. J. Jones, Post Office, Old Cblwyn, and Nesta Jones:, Blaenau Fesrtiniog; 2, Iorwerth Williams, Sailem, Pen- maenrnawr. Best lady's chemise hjaudisiewn with tucks in- sertion and frilled trimmings: 1, Mrs Jones, College, Llangernyw. Only one party appeared on the platform in the action-song competition, My Dolly," for children under eight years, of age, and not ex- ceeding ten in number. The prize, a solver medal -to each child, was awarded to the Rhiw- las party, Trefriw, the adjudicator stating that thev had given a very capaMe rendering. Epigram, The Cloud Out of eight com- petitors, the prize was divided between Dan-y- Dail and Camlan." r Sample otf embroid'ery stitches: 1, MISS Evans, Sanilea, Liscard, Liverpool. Solo competition for boys under 16 years of age, O'er the Stone 1,. Percy Jones, Rhyl, '"Contralto, solo (prize of a guinea given by Mr Tom Jones, Glan Beiuno, Carnarvon) Miss b. .Blodwen Jones, Liverpool. Writing Welsh shorthand: E. J. Pugh, Cae Glyn, Penrhyndeudraeth. Best patching, one in print, one in flannel, and one in calico, confined to children not over 14 years of age: 1, Lucy Knock, Bridge-street, Llanrrwst; 2, Nellie Hughes, DeJrubigh-stroot, Llanrwst. CHILDREN'S CHOIRS. The chief item on the programme of the morn- ing meeting was the juvenile choir competition for choirs not less than twenty and not exceed- ing thirty voices, and under 16 years. of hse. The tesrt piece was The Voyage," by T. Hop- kin Evans, the prize offered being Z6. The following choirs competed out of eight who. had entered:—Rhyl Children's Chair, Penmaen- mawr United, Salem, Penmaennuawr; Talybont, Bethlehem, Trefriw, and sang in the order given. Mr John Williams, in giving the adjudication, said that the first choir had not paid enough attention to expression and: intonation, and in the minor movements the altois were not in tune. The sopranos alrSlO went flat towards the end. The second choir commenced well, but the time was too fast. The third sang in good time and. the altos were more at home than the previous choirs. The piano, was too. strong for the fourth choir, and the voices, were not pure, the altos being also out of tune. The fifth choir had. ex- cellent voices, and gave a finished and masterly iflenidiition of the piece. There was not enough feeling in this rendering of the sixth choir. His co-adljudicator and himself had no hesitation in. awarding the prize, to the choir who sang fifth, viz., the Bethlehem Choir, St. Asaph, conducted by Mr E. Lloyd Simon. A PROTEST. In the choir competition, a protest was Laic. against the winning choir by the conductors of other choirs, alleging that some of the members were over 16 years of age. The Emergency Committee of the Eisteddfod met, and after a discussion, they decided to, adjourn the protest for a week, in oirdletr to allow a Penmaemmawr conductor to prove his assertion that there were members of the choir over 16 years of age.
The Afternoon Session.
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The Afternoon Session. Although the weather was. still, unsettled, there was a much better attendance at the afternoon meeting. Mr Wililiam Jones, Liverpool, presided, and he was given a hearty reception on ascending the platform. He was accompanied on the plat- form by Mrs Jones. The Chairman said he had something to say, Z" which would hurt the tender corns of some people. He would siuiggeist and encourage the composing of humorous Welsh slQlngrsnot comic songs, but songs of the type that Mynyddog used to sing, the titles, of. which had become proveirlbs in Wales at the present time. Give the working man something to. sing that would suit him in the. time and place where he was. The conductor endorsed the remarks of the Chairman as to. the procuring of humor- ous songs, and referred, to the good work being done by the Welsh Folk-Song Society, who are doing their utmost by collecting the genuine old Welsh melodies that still floated about the .mountain valleys. He hoped, that some of those present would assist in capturing these melodrlies before they flew away altogether. Tatting and edging: 1, Mrs. Hughes, Bryn- sianicyn., Anglesey. Translation., Molawd Llafur 1, E. G. Roberts, North-road, Aberystwyth. Baritone solo-, The Knight's Burial MT. Ted, Jones, Festiniog. Solo for gilds under 16 yeiars of age, "Dafydid y Garreg Wen." There were twenty entries for this competition, but two only were allowed to appear in the pavilion. The prize was awarded to Kate Morgan Jones, Penmachno.. White linen, tea cosiy coiver in dirawn. thread1: 1, Miss M. C. Parry, Cwmprysor, Traws- fynydd 2, Jones, Llanrwst. Best hand-made shirt blouse: 1, Miss Maggie Price, Dolwyddelen. Quartet competition, Good night, good night, beloved Mr. W. J. Matthews and. party, Liverpool. CHIEF CHORAL COMPETITION. The most interesting item at the afternoon, meeting was the chief choral contest for male voice choirs, not under 40 in number. The test piece was On. the Ramparts (A. Saintis), the prize being £ 30 (and a gold medal to the con- ductor, given, by Melssrs. G. Owen and Son, Llanrwst). There was also. a second prize of £ 10. The following choirs had entered and sang in the order menrtiOiIled: W ani ngton Miafe Voice Choir, conducted by Mr. E. B. North; Penimiaenmawr Male Voice Choir, con- ducted by Mr. Christmas Jones; Wigan Har- monic Prize Choir, conducted by Mr. A. Bul- lock, A.R.C.O., Moeilwyn Male Voice Choir, conducted by Mr. Cadiwaladlr Roberts; Cilgwyn, Male Voice Choir, conducted by Mr. R. W. Roberts. Keen interest was in, this competition, which took up the greater part of the afternoon. The following was the: re,sult:-i, Moelwyn Choir, conducted by Mr. Cadiwaladr Roberts 2, Penmiaenmawr Choir, conducted by Mr. Christmas Jones. A full report of the adjudica- tion appears in another column. Recitation competition for those over 16 and not 21 years of age, Newidiwn y Cywair 1, Edward Williams, Trefriw. Pianoforte solo, competition for children under 16 years of age, The Lost Chord Jennie Taylor, Shotton. Best half-inch measured drawing of the en- trance to. Gwydr Castile, Llanrwst. Mr Dickens Lewis, in delivering his adjudication, said that out of four drawing only one complied with the condition, the three others, sending ^in pen- and-ink sketches. To encourage this art he would, offer a prize next year for a sketch. The winner was Mr. David. Roberts, Eagles Hotel, Llanrwst. THE CHAIRING CEREMONY. Next came the interesting ceremony of chair- ing the successful bard. The title of the poem., which was not to be more than 250 lines in length, was Y Tan, Cymreig," the prize being a beautifully carved oak chair, valued at five guineas, and! a further prize of £2 2 s. Seven poems were sent in, and Eifion, Wyn in a long adjudication awarded the prize to Mr. J. B. Rees (" Morlaistfab ''), Llangennech, South Wales, who was represented by Mr. Herbert Hughes, Llanrwst. The victor's representative was conducted! to t3je platform by the bards, whilst the air See the conquering hero, comes" was played on the, comet by Mr. Wm. Griffith, The chairing ceremony was, carried out amidst all the pomp that is uisually attached to it by LOieiw Tegid; and the chairing song, Gwlad y Delyn," was beautifully rendeired by Miss Blod- wen Jones, Liverpool. The bards delivered complimentary poetical effusions to. the successful bard.
Evening Session.
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Evening Session. There was a still larger attendance at the evening meeting. .Soprano solo, The Better Land," Miss Ethisl Turtle, Birkenhead. Pair of gentleman's knitted, stockings Miss Ida M. Edwards, Colwyn Bay. Pair of fretwork frames: J. E. Jones, Tany- celyn, Maetian. Stanza on The Ear. Ilwyrd,rwm was awarded the; prize out of 21 competitors., but he did not respond to the call of the adjudicator. SOII101 for any voice not having previously won a prize of a guinea: Eqrual 1, Miss Frances Ellis, Birkenhead, and Mr. Owen M. Jones, Penmachno. Tenor solo. u Forth to 13 attic Mr. Evan Evans, Blaenau Festiniog. Collection of not lass than 30 simple part- songs or tunes for the use of whilte-ribbon choirs and bands of hope., two-thirds on, temperance: I 1, Mr. Owen Williams, A.C., Eglwysbach. Recitation for those o.ver 21 years of age 1, Mr John Williams Ellis, Llaethrwyd, Cerrigy- druidion. Pair of gent's knitte,d gloves: 1, Miss Ann Jones, Namt Onen, LIensanii-an 2, Mrs'Richard Owen,, Farmyard, Llanrwst. Best knitted waistcoat fronts.; Miss Jones, Collage, Llangernyw. Pair of ribbed stockings: Miss Davies, Sta- tijon House,, Llanrwlst. Mixed. Party competition,, not ovier 25 in num- ber, I am a blossom, and I fade" 1, Mr. Wililiiam Ellis, Llanrwst, and party. Best pair of d"oyleys, all croohet: Miss Jenny Parry, London House, Col wyn Bay. MIXED CHORAL. In the Mixed Chorall competition for choirs of not less than 40 in number, only two choirs competed, namely, Lllechwedid Isa' (Talybont), conducted by Mr Edward Jones; and Llanrwst and Trefriw Mixed1 Choir, conducted, by Mr. T. R. Williams, Trefriw. The pifce was When winds breiathe. soft," and! the first choir sang in Welsh, and the second in English. In his ad- judication Mr. John: Williams, Carnarvon, said the first choir oommlen,ced well, but rather too strong, and went out of tune very soon, and also quickened time until the 69 and 7° bars wane reached,, when they slowed down again until the time was too slow. In bar 71 adanitie and bar 87 larghetto both were rendered well; but in the last movement the voices did not Mend, and their best singing was in those parts that were sung low. The second choir (Llan- rwst and Trefriw) began well, but they again want out of tuine, in the second bar, but righted themselves in the next bar, sooner than the first choir were able to do so. The voices were good', blending well. and singing easily and effec- tively, this especially being most evident in bars 72 and 81, both of which were most satis- factorily rendered. The larghetto' was given in good time, and in bar 98 the voices were rich and full. The, conductor had a good conception of the piece all. through, and the rendering all along was accurate and intelligent, and he and nis co-adjudicator, Mr. David Evans, were un- animous1 in awarding the first prize to the Llan. rwst and Trefriw Choir. The second prize of is WéJJS, withheld, as only two choirs competed. After Mr. T. R. Williams rfl' had been invested, the meetings concluded bv the singing of thie Welsh and English National Anthems.
The Welsh Summer School.
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The Welsh Summer School. To THE EDITOR OF the Weekly News. Sir,—With your kind permission, I desire to call the attention of your readers to. the seventh annual Welsh Summer School. Since the estab- lishment of the School, and its recognition, by the Board of Education as a grant-earning in- stitution, we have reason to bctlip-ve that the Welsh language has received a great impetus. In his admirable preface to the new Code, Mr A. T. Davies, the Welsh permanent Secretary, says that the, Board of ducation "hope that the summer course in Welsh, which is now held annually, and in respect of which grants may be earned under the regulations for technical schools, will materially help teachers who ii,are not hitherto. had opportunities for learning how to teach Welsh. The Board wish that everv Welsh teacher should realise the educational value of the Welsh language and literature which, from its wealth of romance and lyric, is peculiarly adapted to the education of the young." The course has been arranged to' meet the needs of beginners, who have not had an oppor- tunity of studying Welsh in a systematic manner, as well as those of intermediate and advanced students. The Welsh Language Society have been successful in securing the services of such eminent authorities as Professors E. Amwyl, J. E. Laoyd, and J. Morris Jones, Mr S. J. Evans, Mr W. J. Griffydd, and Mr Ifor Williams. These lead the students into, the green pastures of Welsh grammar, literature ,and. history; and it is the unwavering opinion of those who, have attended in the past that the course wrill bear comparison with the best of the Continental courses. This year the Swansea Grammar School has been placed at the disposal of the Society, and through the valuable assistance of the Swansea Cymmirodorion and thctir indieffatigable Secre- tary, and of several education authorities, we have every prospect of a successful gathering next August. Excursions have been arranged to Neath Abbey, Penililteirgaer, Mumbles, Morriston, Worm's Head, and other places under the guid- ance of Messrs D. Rhys Phillips (Welsh Li- brarian), W. Davies (Morriston), and the Rev. D. Picton, Evans, B.A. The. hospitality of the people of Swanssa promises to. eclipse anything that the School has experienced in previous years. I should also like to. remove one miscon. caption which exists with regard to qualifica- tions for admission. Some believe that only those students who hold Council exhibitions are admitted. The doors of the School are much wider. They are open to all who may desire to learn Welsh. Neither is admission confined to teachers or a particular class of teachers. This course will benefit ministerial students, all grades of teachers, whether in training or ser- vice, students of evening classes, &c. Further particulars may be obtained on application.-T am, &c., D. JAMES (Defynnog), Secretary of the Welsh Language Society, Treherbert.
Decline of Sunday Schools.
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Decline of Sunday Schools. To THE EDITOR OF THE Weekly News. Sir, Under a heading similar to above you had an article in your publication, a week or two ago, which, I am sure, grieved many of your readers, to, see it. In a book which I am hoping to be able to publish some day, I have drawn attention. to the Revival of '59, and the contention and. strife which soon followed it to harm, it, by the dis- cussion and the contest for Board Schools. Now, also, we had: a Revival not long ago, and it almost appears that history must repeat it- self, for we have contention and strife brought on by somtething else to harm its effects, viz., D ise st abli shment. It's a very interesting subject, and gives abife men, the necessary opportunity to show their abilci,ty; but it's the darkness that gets; the best of the business, and it's quite natural that we should read, about the chief prop of religion, viz., Sunday SchooLs-that they are on the de- cline.—Yours, &c., T. B.
Testimonial to Dr. R. Arthur-Prichard,…
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Testimonial to Dr. R. Arthur- Prichard, J.P., C.C. At a well-attended meeting of the Coirnmittee of the above, held at the Guild Hall on Friday, Dr. Dalton, J.P., in the chair, pending the ar- rival of the Mayor, it was reported that the total subscriptions now amounted to upwards of £ 27s- It was unanimously resolved to remove the limit of £ 2. 2s., so that subscribers may for the iuture subscribe any amount they like. The following were appointed a sub-committee to advice the coi-nimiittee as to the selection of a motor-car, viz. :—Colonel Gee, J.P., Messrs. C. G. Assheton-Smith, J.P., D.L., George Barker, J.P., A. W. Jelf-Petit, J.P., and H. Eastwood, with a request to. the latter gentleman to act as convener of the sub-committee1. It was decided to close the subscription list at the end of June, and to make the presentation in July.
IEnglish v. Welsh Choirs.
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I English v. Welsh Choirs. DIFFERENCES AT THE LLANRWST EISTEDDFOD. At the Llansrwist Eisteddfod on, Whit-Monday Mr David Evans, Mus. Bac., Cardiff, who., with Mr John Williams, Carnarvon, was one of the musical adjudicators, delivered an interesting adjudication on the male voice choir competi- tion, for which five choirs had entered, two of them being English and the rest Wolsh choirs. The following is the adjiudiication:- The five choirs have done well, I must say, ITlotwithsltandiiiIlg that I have heard this piece suing better than, I have heard it to-dlay, even by the best choir. There is no doubt whatever which choir is best. That is quite a satisfac- tion to the adjudicators and to the audience, as well as to the choirs, I presume. The first choir that siang were Warrington. The voices were fair. I cannot use a stronger term, than that. The blending was fair, andi they pro- duced a fairly good tone. They were wanting rather in resonance on the whole. The staccato on page two was not rightly sung. It was no staccatoi at all. I don't quite agree with the way this choir sang the word fearless." I think it is quite uncalled-for for musical pur- poses. In page seven of the old notation, in the second score, the intonation, was cloudy, and when we heard the word silent," it was de- cidedly out of tune. In the same page, lower down, when we have the words1 Who sings to charm his Lady's ear," we had there the wrong time. They are only slight mistakes, but we are obliged to point out these blemishes. In page nine we felt that the tempo was not good with this ohoir. The attack throughout was fair; but I felt, nevertheless, theme was want of co hesion. in the whole performance. The intona- tion, speaking generally, was good, but the per- formance as a whole—and1 I hope you will take, this in. the least offensive siettnse—was colourless, too much sameness in. quality and no. colouring, and certainly in various movetmenfts you are ex- pected to do a little of that. Choir No. 2 (Penmaenmawr).—There were good voices in each of the parts, although we felt with the first tenor, for instance, there might have been one first tenor who had a little tremulo in his voice, which interfered slightly with the tone of the first tenors as such on the opening page," To the Ramparts now we go although this was commenced in the right time, we felt that the production was certainly to open with the second tenor and the first bass. You also noticed, on that page, they varied the time. Why they should do that I can't quite understand. Certainly it was not quite legitimate, and I gi\e them no credit for doing so. The second page was sung in good tempo, and the staccato was attended to, and so far as we noticed all the notes were distinctly sung and sung also with the right colouring. We feel with this choir, and you will allow me as a Welsh- man to point out that the enunciation of the Weish choirs was not what it should have been. I must point this out in justice to the English choirs. We, as Welshmen, are accustomed to it. It might have appeared rather strange to English. I must say that should a Welsh choir and an English choir be on an equality in every respect and the English sang the words with better enunciation, I should feel, in duty bound, to give the English choir preference. I think I could not come out of that. Taking everything musically on an equality, and as Englishmen would naturally give a better interpretation or enunciation, that must count. The attack of this choir could be a little better in places, with the exception of the first page. The tempo was good, taking the middle portions, for instance, page 7 and page 8 especially were very finely sung. We had not only the right time, the right phrasing, but we had absolutely the right colouring and the right feeling. I can't apply that to the singing of the other. It was a decidedly good performance with a few blemishes. Choir No. 3 (Wigan).-The voices were very fair. 1 don't think I am prejudiced. I have heard English, Welsh, and other choirs. When this choir came on the platform I did not like the tone they produced but I must say that as they went on I got reconciled to it, and rather enjoyed it. The voices were fair-better than fair, rather good as a whole. On page 2 the tempo was rather too fast-taken too quickly. The recit at the bottom of that page was not quite distinctly sung-rather muddled. They were wanting rather in precision when we chose a few slips with the voice parts, but taking the performance throughout from a purely mechanicle standpoint, this was a good performance. The little points such as expression marks were well attended to. I don't decidedly agree with their performance of the serenade. The first tenois did not seem quite together. We felt more than one first tenor-just a little slovenly, due to carelessness or a mistaken idea to try to infuse some sentiment into it by gliding from one note to the other. Mechanically, it was a good performance, but rather colourless and cold. Choir No. 4 (Moelwyn)—We have the best voices of any in the competition in this choir. They produced a better tone, and they were certainly more resonant. They produced that unity of colour and tone, which is really essential in choral sing- ing. I quite agree with the tempo, taken on every movement. There are some notes, such as soh, fe, and fall, that we don't get quite distinctly from any of the Welsh choirs, and we do with the English choirs. Referring to that alone, English choirs were more noie-perfect than Welsh choirs. This choir commenced in good tempo., and the varied parts and movements were just as I should like them. Take, for instance, the second move- ment. On page 2 the staccato was quite distinctly sung, and another portion was delightfully sung with just a touch of the real first tenor tone, with some sap in it. We had that excellent tone quality which I consider is very important in good singing. We come to the serenade. I feel that could have certainly attained a higher standard. Although the phrasing was good and the notes correctly sung, still in temperament they did not strike the right note. The last movement on page 9 was taken in good tempo., and from that to the end we had that excellent body, forming variety of tone without any forcing, from beginning to end. This choir, as the others, sang in good intonation. Decidedly a very good performance. Choir No. 5 (Cilgwyn).—Possibly if we took these voices individually they are very good voices indeed, but as a body of singers they don't produce exactly the best kind of tone. We felt from the first line that they were forcing just a little. The first movement was sung in good tempo., but page 2 was a shade too fast. I have referred to the enunciation of the choirs, and with this choir it was decidedly not as good as any of the others, owing to the fact that the first tenors and tenors generally were forcing. The intonation was not quite as it should be. We felt rather uncomfortable in many movements. The notes soh, fe, fah, were not nicely sung, and page 9 was a little too fast. In the last movement again, we felt that the tenors again were rather too fiery and although they did that, there was not enough body of tone. There were several splendid points with this choir, but taken as a whole, I did not quite enjoy the performance- not with the greed I should have done if they had sung before No. 4. Still, it was a good perform- ance. There is no doubt whatever which choir is best, and there is just as much doubt which is second. Mr. Williams and myself have come to a decision without any hesitation whatever, and although not exactly satisfied with the best, but at the same time two choirs had excelled. The second prize goes to Penmaenmawr, and the first prize to Moelwyn.
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