Preface
In the first place I myself am half Welsh, as my mother comes from Milford
Haven. So I have always been very interested in the Welsh way of life and
culture. During all the time I have spent in Wales when on holiday there I have
had the experience that music is of enormous importance to the Welsh people. The
Welsh are famous for their great love of singing and many of their hymns and
folk songs are well known far beyond the country's borders. This musical
tradition has always been present in my mother's family:
My great-grandfather (the father of my Welsh grandmother),
whose job was in coal-mining, was a very talented singer who sang in many
operettas, particularly in works by Gilbert and Sullivan, which were very
popular at that time and still are in Britain.
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My other great grandfather, Thomas James Morgan, also a
coal-miner, was a choir conductor who won medals [1]
at some eisteddfods with the Mardy Choir and performed oratorios such as
Handel's "Messiah". |
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The
third, Aneurin, sang for years in the famous Mynydd Mawr male voice choir in
which his son Reinallt still sings. The fourth son, Alun Caradog, my grandfather,
wrote English texts for Welsh hymn tunes.[2]
My mother also inherited the Welsh love for song and is at
present member in two choirs. My youngest relative who keeps the tradition of
music alive is my cousin Paul who has passed many trumpet exams with the Royal
School of Music and plays in various ensembles including the town band of
Milford Haven.
From an early age most Welsh people, more particularly Welsh-speaking people, are brought up to take part in concerts and competitions in churches, schools etc. as soloists and members of choirs or instrumental groups and so they carry out a wide range of musical activities
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