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THE POWYS pnOVIN OIAL EISTEDDFOD…

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THE POWYS pnOVIN OIAL EISTEDDFOD AT MEIFOD. The Powys Provincial Eisteddfod was held on Tuesday in the pretty village of Meifod, in a field kindly lent for the occasion by Mr Evan Thomas. As this was the first meeting of the kind held in the Tillage, it is a matter of much gratification that so many ladies arid gentlemen should have thrown them- Eolveg into the necessary preparations for the Eisteddfod so heartily. Unfortunately the weather wu anything but propitious, but this did not prevent ft We attendance at the morning meeting. The marquee in whi< h the meetings were held was sup- plied by Mr J. E. Thomas, of Oswestry. The sup- tjortiPfiT pole3 were clothed in red cloth relieved with evergreens. From pole to pole streamers of berries evergreens. From pole to pole streamers of berries were cuspencled, producing a pretty effect. In front of the spacious platform there were several mottoes plaacd in view of the audience, such as Success to the Eisteddfod," and" Tempus Fugit." At the rear of the tent, behind the Chairman's seat, were Welsh mottoes, and in English the well-known maxim Heaven helps those who help themselves. The arrangements for the convenience of the public were excellent. A few minutes before ten the Band of the 4th Battalion South Wales Borderers, who were present by permission of Colonel Harrison, met tbe President of the first meeting*, Mr C. "W. Williams Wytio, of Coedymaen, at the King's Head Inn, and, together with the Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, escorted him to the se-ne of the eisteddfod. Upon taking his Mat Mr Williams Wynn was received with applause. He was supported by the Ven. Archdeacon Thomas, the Ssaretaries, Messrs Evan Thomas, Evan Row- lands, and Morris, and Mr Thomas Roberts (Der- wenog), who, in the unavoidable absence of the Rev T. Tuduo Jones, which was much regretted, proved himself an efficient conductor. The musical adjudi- cator was Mr W. Davies, of Magdalen College, Oxford, whilst the accompanists were Mr 1. Maldwyn R.A.M., of Welshpooi, and Mr G. H. Bell, of Kcwfcovra. Tbe PRESIDENT, in opening the meeting, said, ne WAS much honoured by being placed in the chair at the Eisteddfod, which, as far as could be shown, was tke first ever held at Meifod. He felt he had little claim to that distinction, and could not help express- ing a wish that his worthy and lamented predecessor. .boile knowledge of Welsh and Welsh matters was much more vast and extensive than his, should not have been the chairman of the first Meifod Eis- teddfod. It was too late in the day to enter into the history or the merits of the Eisteddfod. His earliest rgaoll nation s were bound up with the Eisteddfod, and he remembered, while yet a youngster, being solemnly inducted as a member of the bardic circle at a London Eisteddfod. Whatever was its feiatory, its antiquity was undoubted, and without any great exaggeration of the truth it tnifcht c'aim to be a legitimate offspring, a direct descendant of the Olympian contests, the pride and glory of the palmy days of Greece Of their value in maintaining a definite standard or l?ari*v for their ancient tongue it was unnecessary fat him, speaking in Powysland, and almost under the shadow of Castell Coch, to dilate. If their meeting that day was not attended with all the pomp and circumstance that used to surround those older assemblages they might at least point to it, as evi- dence of the affection they bore towards their native land and of their regard for its ancient tongue and history, and as a proof of a devotion to their main- tenance greater possibly, certainly not less, than that Which inspired their earlier gatherings. The list of eompoisitiot s sent in for competition, and the num- ber of competitors who had found their way into that their somewhat remote little valley proved that they were amply justified in their experiment, and he ventured to express a hope that the results of the eisteddfod might be such as to encourage its repeti- tion in the future,' if not at Meifod, in some neigh- bouring district of their dear hen wlad. He would delftv them no longer but would call upon the reciter of the first composition (loud cheers). After several englynion had been addressed by Mr JonM. Pentrego, Meiriadog. Derwenog, and others to the Chairman and the Eisteddfod, the results and awards in the several competitions were proceeded witb. Best copy of the Sloan-duployan phono- graphic alphabet; 1. Mr Rowlands, of Meifod. The "v T, Hughes, of Llansantffraid, read his adjudi- cation on the essays on Friendship four English and one Welsh compositions had been sent in, best, Mr R. C. Jones, of Pentrefelin, Llanrhaiadr (Welsh). Three competed in the solo for boys under 16; 1, D. Charlftfi Jones, Pentrebeirdd 2. W. Corfield, Tre- gfa&n. Mr C. W. Jones presented a volume of the Rev Robert Jones of Rotherhithe's work to tbe winner. The prize for a chair was awarded to Ur T- G. Humphreys, Llanfyllin. Englynion on "Einiem y got," 1, Mr Pryce Davies Gwytherin, LUnrwflt. Toasting forks, 1, Mr Edward Owen, Meifod. Tran-cribing proverbs ix. into Welsh short- hand 1 Mr R. T. Jones, Brynaman, Carmarthen- shire! Essay on "Profitable poultry keeping," 1, Mrs Jones, Mathrafal. Recitation, The charge of the tight Brigade," 3 competed, equal 1st, Miss Myf*owy Jones, Bettws, and Miss Ethel Taylor. Inicstfcttds, one competed. Mr E. Humphreys, Glyn, Mftnafon. Stanzas on "Shame," six competed, 1, Mr Robert Roberts, Cwmderwen. represented by Mr Thofnda, Welshpool Academy. Wool table mats, two competed, 1, Miss Taylor, Llansantffraid. Madame Polite Jenkins, formerly of Swansea, had a very eordial reception when she appeared to sing Moir s "Children asleep." She was in good voice, and her sinking wac greatly adored. Three quartets com- peted in Waken iords an.1 ladies gay Mr Wm. Davies, the adjudicator, said the Rhaiadr party d a not balance well, the tenor was hard and at times inaccurate; the Tregynon party possessed better voices, and balanced better and rendered the piece Wiah better variation and expression another Tre- evnon t»arty sang well, but their voices were not so Jfeh He awarded the prize to the second party whieh was conducted by Mr B. H. Phillips. Essay 4311 "The connection between moral purity and national prosperity," 1, Mr Owen Roberts, Slate Ooarries, Llangynog. Bass solo, "Yr ben hafod ]Elwy after a test held in the Wesleyan Chapel three were chosen to compete in public, equal first, Mr D. Jones Cwmdu, Penygarnedd, and Mr Howell Davie*, Ruthin. Pianoforte solo, "Gipsy rondo," 1, Miss Ethel Taylor, Llansantffraid, whose touch was better and lighter, and who played more accu- rately than her competitors. Welsh parsing of the words in Hebrews xiii., 1, 2, 3; 1, Mr Evan Jones, lisnarmon D.C. The Ven, Archdeacon Thomas proposed a vote of thanks to the president. A competition which created great interest was then proceeded with. Four choirs competed in the male voice choral competition, "The Crusaders" being the tad piece. The competing choirs were the LlanfylHn, Bechan United, Tregynon, and Meifod choirs.—Mr Davies, in his adjudication, said the eoropetition had been an excellent one, but one choir figured better than the others. He proceeded to give a detailed criticism, and said the Llanfyllin choir opened well, strong, and with taste. The balance of the voices was good, and the intonation excellent. The recitative, too, was good. The semi-chorus was delivered in a devotional manner, and, if anything, Wd overdone. The agitato was well done, and the Crescendo at the finish was splendid. The second choir did not possess such rich voices. The unison passage was not so well done. The recitative was the beet in the competition. The third choir pos- sessed excellent first tenors, but the other voices did not balance well, and consequently the party shar- pened. The fourth choir did not open well, and on gwlne notes they were entirely out of tune. He un- hesitatingly awarded the prize to the first choir. Mr Thomas Pryce, the conductor of the Llanfylliu party, wa,g then invested, and presented with the prize of £ § by Miss Williams Wynn, of Coedymaen. This formiK-a-ied the morning's proceedings. The second meeting began a little before two o'clock. The Right Hon. the Earl of Powis occu- pied the chair, and said he could not tell them what pleasure it gave him to come amongst them, and, as it the first Eisteddfod he had ever attended, he was very pleased to think it was held in the Meifod Valley (loud cheers). The weather was a little finer, and he was glad to say that the Meifod weather had ttiven place to the Cann Office weather, which he Brought down in the dog-cart with him (laughter). It was a source of the greatest pleasure to him to look at the long programme they had before them, and to look forward to the competitions they were going to have. Rome of those which would give him the greatest interest and pleasure would be the com- petitions in music. There was a competition which eatighfc his eye, and which ought to catch the eye of the ordinary fieldgate-(Iaughter)-namely, the Catches for ordinary field gate." He thought it fnost fortunate that at an Eisteddfod like that they should- not forget agricultural pursuits as well as the More tuneful pursuits of music (hear, hear). He woaki point out the motto that lay behind him, II lläliVen helps those who helps themselves," for .tberl! was no truer maxim than this with' regard to agriculture (hear, hear). With reference to the field Bate he would say this, that the man who could invent A catch which would always open the gate at the fight time, and secure that it should not shut at the wmtig time—(laughter)—would make his fortune (lauffhter and cheers). Proceeding, his lordship read the following, which provoked hearty applause, his lordship's endeavour to master the Cymrarg" being «irfwroeative of much laughter Mae yn hyfrydwch gnitwr genyf fod yma gyda chwi. Gobeithiaf y cewch am da yma drwy'r dydd. a bydd yr Eisteddfod yn jBwyddianus iawn, ac er addyag.. Goren arf, arf I," He would say no more to them after this (rtyngfiforK He thanked them for the kind way in liM&h they had listened to him, and he would now ou-iw the first competition (loud cheers). < Some bardic addresses were delivered by the poets present. The following were the awards:— Tudno's adjudication on the chair poem was read, and" Cynon" was adjudged best. The chairing was conducted by Derwenog, and a goodly number of bards took part in the ceremony. Meiriadog, Mr J. Edwards, Llanfair, was the successful competitor, and he was chaired with all the pomp and ceremony of the bards of Britain, whilst the band played See the conquering hero comes." The responses to the question, "A oes heddweh P" were answered with loud affirmatives. After the ceremony numerous englynion were read by various bards, aid Meiriadog was publicly declared a chaired bard. Vocal compe- tition, solo of her own choice, by a girl under sixteen years of age. The adjudicator awarded the prize to Miss Myfanwy Jones of Bettws. Choral competi- tion, "Sleighing Glee," by choirs of children under sixteen years of age, not less than twenty in number, tenors and basses allowed, prize X2. Two choirs competed, Tregynon, cynducted by Mr B. H. Phil- lips, and Meifod, conducted by Mr Rowlands. In giving his adjudication Mr Davies said the first choir rendered the piece almost perfectly and very beauti- fully. The second choir was very much out of tune I. on the top notes. He had great pleasure in award- ing the first prize to the first choir, and in announ- cing that Lord Powis kindly offered a prize for the Meifod choir (loud cheers). Vocal competition, con- tralto solo, "0 let me sing to thee"; two entries, winner, Miss M. J. Griffiths, Tregynon. Tenor solo, Myvanwy," six entries; three selected. Prize divided between Messrs H. Corfield, Tregynon, and John Evans, Bwlchyffridd. The chief event of the afternoon was the choral competition, "Sleep, my darling-, sleep," W. M. Roberts's glee, by choirs of not less than forty in number. Piize X15 and a baton for the conductor. £1 each would aiso be given to the conductors of other choirs competing for this prize. Four choirs entered, viz., Meifod, conducted by Mr E. Rowlands, Acrefair, conducted by Mr Gabriel, Tregynon, Mr H. C. Corfield, and Llanfyllin, Mr Thomas Price. In giving his adjudication, Mr Davies said he was pleased to think the Eisteddfod committee had se- lected such a beautiful piece for competition. The singing of the first choir was very fair, the voices balancing fairly well. The altos in parts seemed to separate from each other. The intoaation was not quite so pure as he should have liked to have seen. The first movement was fair. The agitato was taken up in very good spirit. The choir made a mistake on the slur "sleep." On the whole the rendering was very creditable. In the second choir the voices were not so rich and matured. The first movement was sung too fast, and the sopranos were rough. There was a tendency to sing very much as if the piece were a chorus instead of a lullaby. The agitato movement was too slow by far, though the expres- sion was fairly good. The last movement was sung with great taste and feeling. The third choir con- sisted of yourg voices, but were rather inclined to be out of tune in the first movement. The agitato was good, but in some of the forte passages the climaxes were not satisfactorily attained. Alto- gether he felt that although they aimed well they did not accomplish their object. The double piano passages were rather coarse. The tenors were in- clined to sing sharply, and the intonation was some- what impure throughout the whole pieco. The fourth choir possessed good voices, which were well balm, ced. The first movement was sung very taste- fully, although the agitato was not in better time than that of the other choirs. As far as the balance, quality of tone, and expression and good phrasing were concerned, he had no hesitation in awarding the prize to the last choir, the Llanfyllin choir (loud applause).—The afternoon meeting was then brought to a close at a quarter to seven. At eight o'clock a concert was held in the marquee, in which Madame Pollie Jenkins, Miss Emily Davies, Mr W. Davies, and others took part.

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