International Eisteddfod
Encyclopedia
The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen
, North Wales
. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 high quality competitions followed each evening by concerts where the best and most colourful competitors share the stage with professional artists. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.
Famous performers at Llangollen have included Luciano Pavarotti
(who first competed in 1955 with his father and a choir from their home town Modena
), Red Army Ensemble, Julian Lloyd Webber
and Ladysmith Black Mambazo
. The final Sunday Evening Gala Concert has featured Katherine Jenkins
, Bryn Terfel
, Kiri Te Kanawa
, James Galway
and Montserrat Caballe
. The 2007 Eisteddfod included performances by José Carreras
, Joan Baez
, and Hayley Westenra
. In 2008, there were performances by Elaine Paige
, All Angels
, and Alfie Boe
; in 2009, performances by Barbara Dickson
, Sir Willard White
, Blake
, and Natasha Marsh
, with a James Bond
007 spectacular, featuring the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
, as the Sunday finale; and 2010 saw performances by Katherine Jenkins
and Nigel Kennedy
.
The origins of the International Eisteddfod go back to 1943 when Harold Tudor, an officer of the British Council
, arranged a visit for members of governments-in-exile to the Welsh National Eisteddfod in Bangor
. The excursion was well received especially by the noted writer and poet Juraj Slavik, the Minister for the Interior in the Czechoslovakia Government in Exile. Following the visit he wrote to Tudor praising the value of music as a way of healing the effects of War. The following year an international concert was held as part of the Llandybie National Eisteddfod.
Towards the end of 1945 Tudor proposed that an international choral festival be added to the 1947 Welsh National Eisteddfod, however the Council of the National Eisteddfod felt that as all their effort were involved in rebuilding their own organisation they could not take on such a scheme. Tudor modified his proposal into an independent music festival and found support for this idea from W. S. Gwynn Williams
, Welsh composer and music publisher and George Northing, a teacher from Dinas Brân County School and chairman of Llangollen town council. Gwynn Williams and Northing both pressed for the Eisteddfod to be in their home town of Llangollen.
The public gave support to this idea at two public meetings in May 1946 but concerns were also raised about who would come, where the event would be held and how the event would be financed.
The British Council offered to help find choirs from Europe and to give financial support however the town decided to raise the money through a public subscription and quickly gathered over £1100.
George Northing was made director of the executive board; Gwynn Williams became music director; Harold Tudor was Director of Publicity and W. Clayton Russon, a local businessman and High Sheriff of Merionethshire
became President.
Plans to hold the event on the school field of Dinas Bran County School progressed throughout 1946-47. Accommodation for the overseas competitors would be in houses in the town and surrounding area and domestic participants would be given beds in church and school halls. As rationing
was still in place ration coupons had to be found for all the visitors and the Minister of Food were eventually persuaded to supply these.
When in June 1947 it was time for competitors to travel to Llangollen a railway strike had started in France
and there were serious doubt as to whether any overseas competitors would be able to arrive. Considerable relief was felt by the organisers when the first coach of competitors arrived bringing the ladies’ choir Grupo Musical Feminino from Oporto, Portugal. They were the eventual winners of the Ladies Competition whilst the Men's competition was won by the Hungarian
workers’ choir, who had completed their journey to Wales by hitch-hiking when their train had been cancelled at Basle because of the French strike.
The Esperanto Society
played a significant part in the first year when it was felt that there could be a shortage of participants. Reto Rossetti
, a well-known figure and author in the Esperanto movement, was asked to help and through publicity in Esperanto magazines and to the surprised of the organisers, several groups contacted the Eisteddfod committee. One troup of Spanish dancers, on a tour of Britain sponsored by the Esperanto Society, arrived and despite there not being a dance competition in the first year performed to delighted audiences. This made such an impression that folk dance competitions have featured in every subsequent Llangollen Eisteddfod.
The eisteddfod was brought to close by what has now become the traditional Sunday concert featuring Sir John Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra. The 1947 International Eisteddfod was hailed as an unqualified success with praise for the organisers, the founders, and all the competitors. There was even a surplus of £1432 to be used for the next year's event.
One of the festival's first tests of its peace promoting mission occurred in 1949, just four years after the end of the war, when a choir from Lübeck
, Germany
, came to compete at the Eisteddfod. The festival's compère Mr Hywel Roberts, whose brother had been killed in the war, introduced the choir with the words: "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our friends from West Germany." The choir was warmly welcomed with a burst of applause from the audience.
is usually held on the Tuesday of the Eisteddfod week, in which both the locals and visitors, take part dancing, singing
, and playing musical instruments, whilst marching the streets of Llangollen.
Llangollen
Llangollen is a small town and community in Denbighshire, north-east Wales, situated on the River Dee and on the edge of the Berwyn mountains. It has a population of 3,412.-History:...
, North Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Singers and dancers from around the world are invited to take part in over 20 high quality competitions followed each evening by concerts where the best and most colourful competitors share the stage with professional artists. Over five thousand singers, dancers and instrumentalists from around 50 countries perform to audiences of more than 50,000 over the 6 days of the event.
Famous performers at Llangollen have included Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti
right|thumb|Luciano Pavarotti performing at the opening of the Constantine Palace in [[Strelna]], 31 May 2003. The concert was part of the celebrations for the 300th anniversary of [[St...
(who first competed in 1955 with his father and a choir from their home town Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
), Red Army Ensemble, Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber
Julian Lloyd Webber is a British solo cellist who has been described as the "doyen of British cellists".-Early life:Julian Lloyd Webber is the second son of the composer William Lloyd Webber and his wife Jean Johnstone . He is the younger brother of the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber...
and Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo
Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal styles of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland and have won multiple awards, including three Grammy Awards...
. The final Sunday Evening Gala Concert has featured Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
, Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
, Kiri Te Kanawa
Kiri Te Kanawa
Dame Kiri Jeanette Te Kanawa, ONZ, DBE, AC is a New Zealand / Māori soprano who has had a highly successful international opera career since 1968. Acclaimed as one of the most beloved sopranos in both the United States and Britain she possesses a warm full lyric soprano voice, singing a wide array...
, James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
and Montserrat Caballe
Montserrat Caballé
Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....
. The 2007 Eisteddfod included performances by José Carreras
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras i Coll , better known as José Carreras , is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini...
, Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, and Hayley Westenra
Hayley Westenra
Hayley Dee Westenra is a New Zealand soprano, classical crossover artist, songwriter and UNICEF Ambassador. Her first internationally released album, Pure, reached No. 1 on the UK classical charts in 2003 and has sold more than two million copies worldwide...
. In 2008, there were performances by Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
, All Angels
All Angels
All Angels are a British classical crossover group formed in 2006, consisting of Daisy Chute, Rachel Fabri, Melanie Nakhla andCharlotte Ritchie....
, and Alfie Boe
Alfie Boe
Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe, known professionally initially as Alf or Alfred Boe and now as Alfie Boe, , is an English tenor.-Background:...
; in 2009, performances by Barbara Dickson
Barbara Dickson
Barbara Ruth Dickson, OBE is a Scottish singer whose hits include "I Know Him So Well" and "January February"...
, Sir Willard White
Willard White
Sir Willard Wentworth White, OM, CBE is a Jamaican-born British bass-baritone.-Early life:He was born into a poor but supportive Jamaican family in Kingston. His father was a dockworker, his mother a housewife. White first began to learn music by listening to the radio and singing Nat King Cole...
, Blake
Blake
Blake is a surname or a given name which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory is that it is a corruption of "Ap Lake",...
, and Natasha Marsh
Natasha Marsh
Natasha Jane Marsh is a Welsh operatic soprano. A highly-regarded performer in both opera and oratorio, her debut album, Amour, topped the classical album charts in 2007. She has toured with artists such as G4, Russell Watson, Il Divo and Paul Potts...
, with a James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
007 spectacular, featuring the Orchestra of Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
, as the Sunday finale; and 2010 saw performances by Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins
Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...
and Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy
Nigel Kennedy is a British born violinist and violist. He made his early career in the classical field, and he has performed and recorded most of the major violin concerti...
.
History
The following history is based on the account on International Eisteddfod official web-site written by Professor Chris Adams, April 2006.The origins of the International Eisteddfod go back to 1943 when Harold Tudor, an officer of the British Council
British Council
The British Council is a United Kingdom-based organisation specialising in international educational and cultural opportunities. It is registered as a charity both in England and Wales, and in Scotland...
, arranged a visit for members of governments-in-exile to the Welsh National Eisteddfod in Bangor
Bangor, Gwynedd
Bangor is a city in Gwynedd, north west Wales, and one of the smallest cities in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the 2001 census, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University. Including nearby Menai Bridge on Anglesey, which does not however form part of...
. The excursion was well received especially by the noted writer and poet Juraj Slavik, the Minister for the Interior in the Czechoslovakia Government in Exile. Following the visit he wrote to Tudor praising the value of music as a way of healing the effects of War. The following year an international concert was held as part of the Llandybie National Eisteddfod.
Towards the end of 1945 Tudor proposed that an international choral festival be added to the 1947 Welsh National Eisteddfod, however the Council of the National Eisteddfod felt that as all their effort were involved in rebuilding their own organisation they could not take on such a scheme. Tudor modified his proposal into an independent music festival and found support for this idea from W. S. Gwynn Williams
W. S. Gwynn Williams
William Stanley Gwynn Williams was a musician and composer, also lecturer, author, editor and broadcaster on the history of British and in particular Welsh music. He was prominent in the foundation of the International Eisteddfod at Llangollen in 1947 and become its first musical director.W. S...
, Welsh composer and music publisher and George Northing, a teacher from Dinas Brân County School and chairman of Llangollen town council. Gwynn Williams and Northing both pressed for the Eisteddfod to be in their home town of Llangollen.
The public gave support to this idea at two public meetings in May 1946 but concerns were also raised about who would come, where the event would be held and how the event would be financed.
The British Council offered to help find choirs from Europe and to give financial support however the town decided to raise the money through a public subscription and quickly gathered over £1100.
George Northing was made director of the executive board; Gwynn Williams became music director; Harold Tudor was Director of Publicity and W. Clayton Russon, a local businessman and High Sheriff of Merionethshire
High Sheriff of Merionethshire
This is a list of High Sheriffs of Merionethshire. The historic county of Merioneth was originally created in 1284. The administrative county of Merioneth was created from the historic county under the Local Government Act 1888. This was abolished in turn under the Local Government Act 1972 on...
became President.
Plans to hold the event on the school field of Dinas Bran County School progressed throughout 1946-47. Accommodation for the overseas competitors would be in houses in the town and surrounding area and domestic participants would be given beds in church and school halls. As rationing
Rationing
Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, or services. Rationing controls the size of the ration, one's allotted portion of the resources being distributed on a particular day or at a particular time.- In economics :...
was still in place ration coupons had to be found for all the visitors and the Minister of Food were eventually persuaded to supply these.
When in June 1947 it was time for competitors to travel to Llangollen a railway strike had started in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and there were serious doubt as to whether any overseas competitors would be able to arrive. Considerable relief was felt by the organisers when the first coach of competitors arrived bringing the ladies’ choir Grupo Musical Feminino from Oporto, Portugal. They were the eventual winners of the Ladies Competition whilst the Men's competition was won by the Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
workers’ choir, who had completed their journey to Wales by hitch-hiking when their train had been cancelled at Basle because of the French strike.
The Esperanto Society
Esperanto
is the most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Its name derives from Doktoro Esperanto , the pseudonym under which L. L. Zamenhof published the first book detailing Esperanto, the Unua Libro, in 1887...
played a significant part in the first year when it was felt that there could be a shortage of participants. Reto Rossetti
Reto Rossetti
Reto Rossetti was a poet and an Esperantist professor. He was Italian-Swiss and retained his nationality, although he lived all his life in Britain. His professional career as a teacher in art colleges culminated as Head of the art education department at Bristol university...
, a well-known figure and author in the Esperanto movement, was asked to help and through publicity in Esperanto magazines and to the surprised of the organisers, several groups contacted the Eisteddfod committee. One troup of Spanish dancers, on a tour of Britain sponsored by the Esperanto Society, arrived and despite there not being a dance competition in the first year performed to delighted audiences. This made such an impression that folk dance competitions have featured in every subsequent Llangollen Eisteddfod.
The eisteddfod was brought to close by what has now become the traditional Sunday concert featuring Sir John Barbirolli and the Hallé Orchestra. The 1947 International Eisteddfod was hailed as an unqualified success with praise for the organisers, the founders, and all the competitors. There was even a surplus of £1432 to be used for the next year's event.
One of the festival's first tests of its peace promoting mission occurred in 1949, just four years after the end of the war, when a choir from Lübeck
Lübeck
The Hanseatic City of Lübeck is the second-largest city in Schleswig-Holstein, in northern Germany, and one of the major ports of Germany. It was for several centuries the "capital" of the Hanseatic League and, because of its Brick Gothic architectural heritage, is listed by UNESCO as a World...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, came to compete at the Eisteddfod. The festival's compère Mr Hywel Roberts, whose brother had been killed in the war, introduced the choir with the words: "Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our friends from West Germany." The choir was warmly welcomed with a burst of applause from the audience.
Parade
A paradeParade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
is usually held on the Tuesday of the Eisteddfod week, in which both the locals and visitors, take part dancing, singing
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
, and playing musical instruments, whilst marching the streets of Llangollen.