LLangollen Eisteddfod

July 11, 2009 3:50 PM

The 2009 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod competitions have concluded, with the Pavarotti Trophy for Choir of the World being awarded to The Westminster Chorus. The Eisteddfod includes choral, solo, instrumental, and dance competitions. Video of the competitions can be seen here.
posted by Balonious Assault (6 comments total)

I've been busy, and missed this even this year. Thanks! It was hard for me to watch Westminster sing -- it was easier to listen than watch and listen. They were too slow for the music -- it wanted to be faster, and should have been (I blame sloppy enunciation). I grew up listening to/watching the Wayne State Glee Club and Chamber Choir when they were winning the Llangollen Eisteddfod (three times in the 1980s iirc), and Doc would have been distressed if the singers had a) stood that far apart and/or b) moved around that much, even when they were doing barbershop. Odd that the Pavarotti Choir of the Year didn't even win their group at Llangollen, though.
posted by jlkr at 4:28 PM on July 11, 2009

gah. and of course, I meant "event", not "even". And I previewed twice, caught two typos and missed a third.
posted by jlkr at 4:30 PM on July 11, 2009

Odd that the Pavarotti Choir of the Year didn't even win their group at Llangollen, though.

They didn't win the Male Choir group, but they did win the Folk Song Choir and the Barbershop / Close Harmony Chorus groups. I think that's how they qualified for the Choir of the World competition. They're definitely a barbershop group through and through, even when they sing other styles of music, and as such they are never going to be everyone's cup of tea.

A couple of my favorites were the very interesting musical selections of the Pretoria High School for Girls Senior Choir and Rhiannon Symonds. What's not to love about a trombone solo?
posted by Balonious Assault at 6:39 PM on July 11, 2009

Holy shiznit! The memories. I sang at this eisteddfod back in the mid-90s. We didn't win anything particularly prestegious (in fact, I think we got some condescending comments from the judges), but it was fun times. Go Amabile Boys Choir!

As part of our choir's trip to Llangollen, I tried to teach myself Welsh, which is about as hard and as futile as it sounds. Nonetheless, I still remember the Welsh national anthem:

"Gwlad, gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad,
Tra mor yn fur i'r bur hoff bau,
O bydded i'r hen iaith barhau."

All together now!
posted by LMGM at 8:13 PM on July 11, 2009

Thanks for posting this.

I highly recommend watching this video of the Estonian girls' choir; they're lovely and otherworldly.
posted by Asparagirl at 11:47 PM on July 11, 2009 [1 favorite]

I went to school in Llangollen, so the Eisteddfod was a big part of my childhood. We would have overseas competitors to stay in the house most years, and our school would break up a week or two earlier - the school also being used for accommodation.

Here's California Girls' Choir from 1963, and the slightly less glamorous Chirk Chapel Choir from 1976, from my grannie's photo collection.
posted by ceiriog at 1:50 AM on July 12, 2009 [1 favorite]