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FROM A VALLEY CALLED ‘THE RHONDDA’

CELEBRATING 125 YEARSOF MUSIC-MAKING HISTORY

LIVE IN AUSTRALIALIVE IN AUSTRALIA

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1 With a Voice of Singing 2’19Music by Martin Shaw. Words from the Bible.

2 Welcome 1’10Dean Powell

3 Llef 2’32Music by Griffith Hugh Jones arr. Mansel Thomas. Words by David Charles.

4 Y Darlun 4’16Music by Davey Davies arr. Jeffrey Howard. Words by T. Rowland Hughes.

5 Speed Your Journey (Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves) 3’04Music by Giuseppe Verdi. English words by Norman Tucker and Tom Hammond.

6 Dylan Thomas and rugby 2’08Dean Powell

7 Hymn from Finlandia 5’04Music by Jean Sibelius. Words by Lewis Edward Valentine.Iona Jones soprano

8 Cwm Rhondda (Guide me, O thou great Jehovah) 2’56Music by John Hughes arr. Arwel Hughes. Words by William Williams.

9 Nessun dorma 2’35Music by Giacomo Puccini. Words by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.

THE TREORCHY MALE CHOIRLIVE IN AUSTRALIA

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) Senzenina 2’36Traditional Zulu melody arr. A. Humphreys.Ray Daniels baritone

¡ Men of Harlech 1’56Traditional Welsh melody arr. Mansel Thomas. Words by William Duthie.

™ My Way 4’24Music by Claude François and Jacques Revaux arr. Mike Sammes. Words by Paul Anka.

# Homage to the Treorchy Male Choir 1’09Dean Powell

¢ We’ll Keep a Welcome in the Hillside 2’22Music by Mai Jones. Words by Lyn Joshua.Iona Jones soprano

∞ Advance Australia Fair 0’53Music and words by Peter Dodds McCormick.

§ Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land of Our Fathers) 2’21Music by James James. Words by Evan James.Iona Jones soprano

Total Playing Time 77’40

Treorchy Male Choir

Janice Ball musical director

Iona Jones soprano

Dean Powell tenor & compere

Ray Daniels baritone

Helen Roberts piano

David Thomas organ

0 Ysbryd Y Nos 3’44Music by Hefin Elis arr. Jeffrey Howard. Words by Clive Harpwood.

! Introducing Ivor Novello 0’33Iona Jones

@ Waltz of My Heart 2’31Music by Ivor Novello. Words by Christopher Hassall.Iona Jones soprano

£ A brief history of the Treorchy Male Choir 2’12Dean Powell

$ ABBA Medley 6’41Music and words by Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus arr. Jeffrey HowardIona Jones soprano, Dean Powell tenor, Ray Daniels baritone

% Welshmen make great lovers 1’47Dean Powell

^ Hywel a Blodwen 3’06Music by Joseph Parry. Words by Richard Davies.Iona Jones soprano, Ray Daniels baritone

& My Little Welsh Home 2’38Music and words by W.S. Gwynn Williams.Dean Powell tenor

* Les Misérables Medley 11’59Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg. English words by Herbert Kretzmer after the original French libretto by Alain Boublil.Iona Jones soprano, Dean Powell tenor

( Time to say farewell 0’40Dean Powell

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Choirs have flourished in the Rhondda Valley formore than 150 years and nowhere has this beenbetter represented than in Treorchy. One of itsfirst male choirs was formed in the inauspicioussurroundings of the Red Cow Hotel in thesummer of 1883 and developed into a nationaleisteddfod winner, culminating in a RoyalCommand Performance for Queen Victoria atWindsor Castle. Sadly, the choir later disbandedafter suffering massive economic depressionand two World Wars, but from those ashes rosea male voice choir that would become ahousehold name.

The present Treorchy Male Choir was reformedon 16 October 1946 under the baton of JohnHaydn Davies. They scaled the peaks of musicaldistinction in the eisteddfod field by gaining arecord eight national wins, making a total of 22first prizes out of 27 entries. The unique TreorchySound was heard worldwide as they maderegular radio broadcasts, television appearances,commercial recordings, two feature films and anoverseas tour to Switzerland.

Treorchy was to become the first male choir toventure into the uncharted territory of popularmusic and subsequently has made more than 50commercial recordings, making it probably themost recorded in the world. In more recentyears their radical attitude to music makingincluded a ground-breaking album of music byFreddie Mercury and Queen, two recordings of

music by Bob Marley and, in complete contrast,they became the first British choir to performSibelius’ Kullervo symphony in Finnish.

The Choir has also shared the stage with someof the world’s greatest entertainers during itslong and illustrious history. Television programswith Sir Tom Jones, Ella Fitzgerald, JulieAndrews, Sir Harry Secombe and BurtBacharach were only the beginning of theChoir’s long association with major celebritiesand now their list of performances reads morelike a ‘who’s who’ of international stars. Thisgroup of amateur Welsh singers has sinceappeared either on stage, screen or in therecording studio with the likes of Dame ShirleyBassey, Dame Gwyneth Jones, Michael Ball,Katherine Jenkins, Iris Williams, Max Boyce,Bryn Terfel, Aled Jones, Charlotte Church, OzzieOsbourne, Jon Bon Jovi, Sir Cliff Richard, AndreaBocelli, McFly, Russell Watson and Il Divo.

Overseas tours have also played an importantrole in the ongoing success story of Treorchy.Since the early 1980s, the Choir has undertakenan enviable number of overseas tours, beginningwith two visits to Canada and a performance inStrasbourg Cathedral for its congregation ofalmost 6,000 people. A series of four successfultours of the USA followed, with visits to theWhite House and performances in SanFrancisco, Denver, Seattle and the Midwest.Treorchy has also enjoyed an enduring love affair

with Australia, becoming the first Welsh choir toappear at the Sydney Opera House, in 1986.Three further visits ‘down under’ have seen theChoir appearing in Canberra, Geelong,Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Mandurah,Adelaide, Brisbane, Toowoomba and the GoldCoast, as well as returning triumphantly to theOpera House in Sydney.

Closer to home, the Choir has appeared on theRoyal Variety Performance and has become aregular entertainer on the hallowed turf of theMillennium Stadium for various rugbyinternational games.

The Treorchy Male Choir, a registered charitydevoted to raising tens of thousands of poundsper year for worthwhile causes, remains boundtogether and united in the common purpose ofthe enjoyment of music making and of givingpleasure to others. Long may this continue.

Diolch o galon!

Dean Powell

Publicity Officer & Hon. Archivist

Executive Producers Martin Buzacott, Robert Patterson

Recording Producers Virginia Read (Sydney), Haig Burnell (Melbourne)

Recording Engineers Tony David Cray (Sydney), Jim Atkins (Melbourne)

Assistant Engineer Tim Symons (Melbourne)

Editing and Mastering Virginia Read

Editorial and Production Manager Hilary Shrubb

Publications Editor Natalie Shea

Booklet Design Imagecorp Pty Ltd

Photo p8 Wendy Gaudie

Recorded 31 May 2009 in the Arts Centre, Hamer Hall, Melbourne and 10 June 2009 in

the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House.

ABC Classics thanks Alexandra Alewood and Katherine Kemp.

� 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. � 2009 Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Universal Music Group, under exclusive licence. Made in Australia. All rights of the owner of copyright reserved. Any copying, renting, lending, diffusion, public performance or broadcast of this record without the authority of the copyright owner is prohibited.

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Treorchy Male Choir

David Bebb

Thomas Belmont

David Birch

Alan Bowen

John Bowen

Ernald Brooks

Andrew Costin

Graham Cox

Norman Cox

Raymond Daniels

Anthony Davies

Wayne Dury

David Evans

Gareth Evans

John Fletcher

Len Gale

Terence George

Joe Harris

Stuart Hill

Robert Hopkins

John Jones

Selwyn Jones

Derek Langley

Gareth Lawrence

Dennis Lethbridge

Alan Lewis

Alwyn Lewis

Ivor Lock

Ernest Miles

Mark Milsom

Keith Newman

Frederick O’Brien

Adrian Owen

Keith Owens

Rennie Phillips

Dean Powell

Jeffrey Powell

Jeffrey Priday

John Radford

Ian Reynolds

Michael Russ

Daryl Stacey

Gareth Thomas

William Thomas

Philip Tucker

Tony Vaughan

Roger Watkins

William Watkins

David Williams

Ivor Williams

Dennis Young

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