The Cambria Daily Leader

Y GYMANFA GANU. Two Welsh Spseches Sy Premier. 1 THRILLING SCENES AT NEATH. (By AWSTIN). The National (jr\marna tlanu, in the ,ion at !-ezltti was the great centre oi attraction on Friday, and i'roui the morn- ing until two o'clock in the afternoon there were crowds arriving by trains irom various directions, ami wlun tickets, at tiel. each. were, being issued, it was fought the arrangements would work t>mootlily. But tho crowds wore £ rowing and growing, l*»yond anticipations, and by abuut haL'.pnstcnc, not only had every availablo seat been occupied, but, every inch of standing room was utilised. ÛB- Iprtunately, so overw he!aiiug was the "crush" at the entrances to the field that thousands rtishod into the Pavilion f-dlletilllû before the opening, and t'htre "was An "oyerftow" from there to thu elJotted -fats of the bass. tenor, and alio fingers, and th" seats prepared lor the orchestra were taken by others, raofctly fcighteeers. Seats provided for wounded eoldiers "wero rushed," and the Incn were then accommodated with places on the plat- form. To keep the huge audience in gooJ humour, Mr. Titos. Powell, the Gymarjga secretary and organiser, declared that = r would be best to begin sinking. Chou-s were scattered, and it was impossible to get tenors in ouo sectioirt and 6opranos in «!»otherj so when someone allied (as thej do in Eisteddfodaa): Pwy gor yu .bivnna?" (what choir is thatr>, Mr. J owell promptly replied "Cor Cyitii-ii (the choir of Wales). The mixed congre- [ Ration MtHcd down, fairly well, to eing [ i.ymn?. • THE UNIVERSAL LASGUAGE. < ilr. L. J. Roberts's ever popular time, "Sychu Dagi-au," and the equally popular -hymn of Pedr Hir, JJydd Canti yn y i Isefoedd/' Then name Mr. John Hughe<s'd ( ( wtu Bhondda," and the preliminary pr?ctic? went on )o.' a while, until Mr. { T Ifopkin Evans arrived, the Right lion. J. Herbert Lewis, M.P., bem? asked to 6av a few wordl?. One of his b?t pûints van that WekhtTnpj; 'W[e beooming Dor? and mcr? appreciated. He add<x? i he Lspe-ranto, under tlie Ürc¡¡m- stance.?, of the Spiritual world is Ttiusic." At two o'clock the conductor ap- geared in his place, and. taking the situation in. and the programme in hand, he led the nnw thoroughly orderly con- gregation in singing Edinburgh — Dyma Babe.Il y cyfarfopl Pynia g-ymod yn y gwiCed, i jftiid Ann Griffith's hymn admirably ruited the keynote to the third National Gy ma n fa. The Per. Banker Williams a Scripture lesson, and the Rev. W. E Prytherch offered up a fervent prayer, at t'lit- conclusion of which all present' s<ang, "with remarkable effect, Mr T. Hopkin Evaris' setting of the Lord's Prayer. WHILE WAITING FOR THE PREMIER. Before the Prime Minister arrived one I • f his favourite Welsh Airs—"Llanfair" j — was eting, the uld hymn of Edward < Parry 'resounding not only through the pavilion but carrying echoes over the j town of Neath: Caned uef a dafar lawr, F gaed Hynon, 1 ok hi pechuduriaid mawr, | Yn glaer wyniori. j'. Ambrose Lloyd's "Mary/' with the words "O, deweb i'r J oyfro^dd," followed. As the tune "Catherine" had been ^electcd by the Prime Minister, the conductor intimated j tiiiit tlti-y would leave the ringing of it until Mr. Lloyd George arrived. They would now take the anthem, 0'1" dyfnder y llefais," a composition left as 1111 .unfinished production by my friend, the late Mr W. T. aruud, and completed bv his niece, Miss May Samuel. It had been intended that, at Thure- day morning's Gorsedd I should, on the Logan.Stone, say a few words in remem- brance of Mr. £ am del, but the messages liad to be omitted, owing to the length of the programme. Mr. Samuel was not only a composer, nut a successful and riillg condudur of J Cymanfaoerld Canu, and when hi? anthem was sung to-day ;t thrilled the singers j and listeners so much as to inspire the! conductor to thank tiie singers and to d?darp that the rendering wuuH ban d?- ?'?htcd thp compf?r hnd he li\'e<l to hca,r it. I ARRIVAL OF PRIME MINISTER. ) The Premier now arrived, and was ac- fcorded a. magnificent reception. fie w.,v. ?Ip?n U?yd'.?'r?.Mi.andMr?.T.J. accompanied by Mrs. Lloyd George, M.ifrs Williams. M.P., ?'r Fram'is 1-?d?.trds. j ?'.i' .Mr. Tewyn .Jones, ML' the Mayor fi'Swan&M. Sir J. Morris Jonf?.?irE. ?'iKcput EnUl, Mr. John Rind, M.P., j and others. Th Bishup of Llandaff, who formed one of the party, then took the chair, and, order b^ini? restored after tbe ir.ten.se ex- citement, the Gymanfa sang, at. the wish of thil Pri me Minister, Mae'r gwaed a redodd ar y Groes," io tho tune of Sabbath." As had been previously' intimated, the tune Catherine" by D. Roberts ( Alawydd) was next taken, and soon Williams Panty- celyn's gfat hymn, Disgwvl 'rwyf ar hyd yr hirnos," with its variations of mood was sung with remarkable effect, pathetic cadence and confident creecudo emphatic, fovte passages alternating in a manner and with a power such as could not be expected anywhere except at the iWelsh Xational Cvmanfa Ganu. TH-E BISHOP'S ADDRESS. The Lord Bishop of Llandaff then delivered h' presidential address in excellent TVeish. Forty years he faid, he ci-,ent six years at Neath, and he was glad to find that solne of the people tIe had known in tll-P- days were here fctill, and that the features which were beet and pleasanteet in the life of the community were still here. The plat- form was wider, however; the Eisteddfod- had brought theni together, and they had with them the Welsh Prmie Minister, on whom euch responsibilities rented in these days of war. The course of the war. in a great measure, depended upon the character of fcho warriors and those who shaped tbo ainis of the nations. NOT THIS AFTERNOON. When the president had resumed his (!at the new composition of Mr. T. J. Harris. Rhymney, Glanhowy, was eung. I expected much, owing to the high tribute of praise paid to it, a few woekg ago, by Mr. L. J. Roberts, M.A., and I was not disappointed. The conductor predicted that the tune would become popular, and, a.t Mr. Lloyd George's re- quest, the second verse of the hymn was oung:- Fwv vdvAT y rhai hyn Sy'n gwisgo'r goroll p CALLS FOR SPEECH. An^.when the conductor -was about to prooee»d with t-lie ntxt ,!ten: èn the pro. gramme the inevitable vc*ic* fi-om the crowd cam. breaking the silence—" A gawn ni gari Lloyd George yn wr? i. SI i all wo have J^loyd George's eong The conductor turned to the Premier, but the Premier's reply was Not this afternoon." He quietly ex- plained that he had spoken twice already 'that 'morning, and he was not going to speak attain until the evening. Thus he followed the practice lie had adopted at Birkenhead and Aberystwyth. The singing was resumed. Without fol- lowing the items in detail, it may be said that Aid. Hop kin Morgan's new tunc was sung very effectively. ])ytl;liau Uyf- ryJ," of the Sunday School hymns of the late Dr. Parry—simple, light, and beautiful—went well, and then followed ÚJlO of the old standards, U Bryn Calfaria," and the We'sh hv.vl was fairly roused by the repeats- Pen Calfaria" and j BuddDfjoliaoth." 1 Than ehanging from triumph to the deep pathos of HhvJ." with the immor- tal hymn of Thomas Lewis, etiaii, there was a thrill in the rendering of With gofin'i r.iddiannau'n yr artid." AN UNEXPECTED SPEECH FROM MR, LLOYI GEORGE. In response to iurtlKi- cans tor Mr.! Lloyd Ueorgc, the Premier came to the dais to lace lile audience without any in- tent ion of e peaking Just ohow your-j s-eli-let them st £ )ou," cried one of the | Lloyd George stood on a beard behind the conductor's piat- form. Ol course, there was tremendous- cheering. lien this 114LI eomewhat sub- sided lie •safd: i'legci itwr oedt'a'r hwyf ydw i(. I am th.; preacher for the even- ing service)—(laughter and applause, and a loud eiiout from one niaii, just a word.") Mr. "Lloyd George: I came from Ixindou this morning to hear you tinging. Another voice kiii Welih): ,re have} been in Neath since four o'clock this morning to see and hear you. (LaugJHer and great ehceiing). Mr. J.loyd George: Anwyl gyd-wladwyr (dear lellow-countiymen), I in-, not gG, 116, to speak now. I came to hear you 6ing- I ing, and if I have a word to say I will say it A voice: We cannot be here to-night; ) we are not, Neath people; we are th, people of Wales. (Applause). | Mr. Uoyd George, lielll up his hand for silence, and that was a signal for another great ovation from the huge audience. Looking down at the writer, who fat in the corner eeat of the PrtW table. tlw Premier laughingly riid: Y mae hyn fel siarad wrth doonau'r llior" (Lliis js like speaking to the waves of the sea) FIGHTING THE BATTLE OF i FREEDOM. As goon ag the people understood that j t1)tj Premier was going to speak, however, absolute fcilenct prevailed, and Mr. Lloyd George again speaking in Welsh, eaid: Dear fellow-countrymen,—I had no in- tention of eayiug a word this afternoon. T thought mine was a cvhoeddiad am oedfa'r hwvr (a publication for the even- ing service). t havo spoken twice alreafly to-day, and I thought I would reft. I am glad to mt my fellow-countrymen in an assembly which is quite typical of semljly wiuch is quite typical < f Cymru,' Gwlad y "an.' It h to mo a respite from the labours A n(I trf'?H< Md anxipties that I have l??eon going through, and when I eapte here 1 had no intention of spea king, but for a change rwtul a rest from the anxieties and cares of the great war. (Groat cheering.) I am proud of the. fact that the people of W ales have done their part nobly in this great war. They are fighting the DaHl. which their forefathers fought before for rignt and freedom. (Applause.) Like I th eir- th,,i ;P, a battle for justice and! freedom, and it is going on splendidly (can>puf>. The position i.s improving. (A solemn exclamation of Diolch Iddo from several people in the audience led to eheering. Taking the j same strain, Mr. Lloyd Georgo continued: Y mae ym rnrig y morwydd." and that aound is a sonnd of triumph. (Ap- pl?us?./ Do not Rxpp?t a final victory yet. however iand the Prejr.ier repeated, as he explained, what he had enid earlier in tho day at other gatherings). Then | after payitig another 'rributo to the gal- lantry and lighting qualities nf the Welsh soldiers, the Premier concluded: I came! here because, above all, 1 am a "Cymro o waed coch eyfan." tGrat cheering). The la.st hymn on jil", afternoon pro- j gramme was Mr L. J. Roberts' tune Bydd canu yn y Nefoedd." And when I asked him if he was mat:- tied, Mr. T. Ilopkin Evans promptly re- plied: Yep, under the circumstance; but we will do better te-night." THE "EVENING SERVICE." Although it had been arranged that. the evening meeting of the Gymanra should begin at 6.30 o'clock, the pavilion j was full long before that time, and the defects of the afternoon had been reme- j died, with the result that the singing was more effective, voices and orchestra being in proper positions. After an interlude, in the course of which Mr. T. Powell, lr. Philip Thomas. I Mr. John Phillips and others were called upon to lead the singing of particular hymns and tUlls. the appointed conduc- tor (Mr. T. Hopkin E,an. Mu«. Bac.) in- trodnccd to the audience Mr. T. J. Harries j (Rhymney), who conducted the singing oi his own composition, Glanhov-y." > THE PRESIDENT'S SPEECH. Principal I'klwRrtli f(,i.rdiff) gaid that in the National Ihsteadfod during the week they 4ad represanted on the platform j various phases of Welsh life, its art, music, poetry, history, aud its splendid traditions. After all, it was the religious spi ri t which was Walos's chief charac- teristic,—" the crown of her glory." In fact, he looted at the Gymanfa Ganu, on the last day of the .Festival, as its Sabbath Day. After the differences and little disputes that naturally arose in competition they met. together in the true spirit of worship. Thinkicg of the possibilitiesvot the W Ish religious spirit, j he only wished it were possible that they could light there that day a torch of re- iigious revival which would wpread like a living flame through the populous i'aler, o. Wales, and devour shuulness, and burn away nnolMnlin?s. and make Wales on<? more a Pure Wales, and the Land of the White Thpy would then realise the birth pangs of a new age and a new heaven and a new arth. (Applause.) The Rev. T. Mardy Rees read a portion of Holy Writ, aftar which a prayer was offered by the Rev; Edward Parry, Abcr dulais, and the singing was resumed. The singing during the .evening was excellent and inspiring, and several of the items, taken out of the ordinary order, Wf'M gflcct? d at the social rc- qUe8t of the Premier. | THE PREMIER'S SECOND ADDRESS, The Prime Minister's eeoond Welsh speech was taken down and transcribed for nia by Ill." friend and colleague of the Leader staff, the crowned bard of the eisteddjiod. Mr. Lloyd George was given a rousing reception when he rose.. Speaking in Welsh, he sinilingly remarked that he thought he had been relieved of any obli- gation to ail address after the after- noon meeting- Ile. had but a few words to sa.y, because he wanted to hear more of the splendid music, and he addied: "You sing much better to-night than you did in the afternoon." He was partly respon- sible for the establishment of this festi- val as a closing feature of the National Eisteddfod, and he had no apology to make for it. Singing was an essential make f or it. I feature of the National Eisteddfsd, and there was no conceivable reason for leav ing out that singing which had left the de-epest impression upon our national life. The hymns of any eountryl wcrs an indes of its liiie. When Christianity was being persecuted in times of old, the first thing the persecutors tried tj d) was to stop their hymn-singing. were rignt The spirit of AVales anti the spirit ot Welsh religion was embooied in her hymns. Guly thos who had jived away from Wales realised the valine of the j hymns, oh! he did not; think a Sunday had pasted over his head siiuee ho had left Wales but that he had been tinging Welsh hymns on the hearth iJApplause). The words of some.. ;;l 1 jm Hymns were very significant in the present tempest, especially to him at. the helm, i "Er cael fy nhafiu o don i dem, nes oiui brou cael byw." Think, lie •- aid, of tin- storm we have been passing d trough dur- ing the past three month but L.nn glad to he able to add: "Dihangol yd.fin hyd yn hyn." Speaking with feeling the Prime Minister aid lie had been, singing i that on several Sunday-* lately and the words had a very definite ntieanini; tor Ilim. "Ac os oevs eftormydd Ail, yr.ghadw gall fy Nuw, wyne'wif arnynt oil ii hyf, fy Nliad sydd v. rt h y llyw." And there were storms yet to ctome. And think of those other woi'ds as i I' you were facing a new world, in which you seem to hear the sound of music from afar. It came from afar, from the batfte fields of Prance. Tlieise words were iulft of mean- j ing to the men in the fight rod in the } tempest, ile was very glad t,. i-)e, aud ho would go back to face tlie weather with new spirit. The hymns and tunes of Wales were not the fame as thoiie of other countries. He had been trying Id find out j whore they came from; what v.-ei-e ti'let means by which they 11 a (I come to us. Just think that you are in a cottage on the mountain an d hear the wind piaying and roaring abemt, now whistling, now whispering, now roaring, and again glorifying Him who held thf wind in the hollow of his ham I. 'J hat's I)ol,for-tlie man who wrote it W fig a man i who had fuce;l the wind on the mountain, HYMNS OF WALES LIKE MAGIC CARPET. But in "Moriah" agnin you had the tempest breaking forth in its turv— ) tempest in notes. Proceeding, tJtf Prime Minister likened the hymns of jlTales to the magic carpet of the eAst, You eat upon it, and it rose and took ymi over seas and mountains; bo the Wel^a. hymn?, And und 1. t?ieir influence tha *'{Jt VD- ishes, you are transported oyer .Tciiis and ) <n er (ont'nenh, over years and genera- tioustos?ms.oldcott&ge?'he'rp.M?riO I years ago, you used to sing the Hymns as a. child on the hearth. He loved to come down to "Wales now and again to hear them sririg by those who knew how u< sing them. He then alluded to the matery which, under the able direction of Mr. Hopkin Evans, the com.$regation had shown, particularly with tho- anthem Vuw a. ddaeth o Tcnian." If was at Glandwr (Landore) that he he<tn'd that for the'first time. He had tin ned into the Welsh Congregational Chapel there about 20 years ago, and heard it sun^ there, and remembered it very wetll. Con- eluding, he eaid ho did not knovr of any other country in the world where they j could get thousands of people to come j gcther from all parts of the country— people who had never met lief ore—an cl- sing an anthem like this without a mis- j take go far as he could notice, anal if Mr. ■ Honkin Evans noticed any he ^|•as sure j he would not say so. (Laughter.) Another J example they had was the splendid j way ii? which tLev li.,td 1 condu'tt'r'? suggestion with rcgaid to the cligge-?;tioii m--th i-ega?O to t'ii,- Maidi?-?n This w?s the third' re,ti,L and if ho was Hot n:tc?n the Singing Festival had come to biY as an essential feature of the Eisteddfcld. He hoped it woutd not be treated ns some- thing without the portals: it was a vain- able a. .t for Wales. It gave iieo.- spirit. to the most important music in Wait*. > He was glad to listen to the stirir.ng ad- dress and noble appeal of the p^fs if lent (Dr. Win. Edwards) in the most impor- tant juncture in the history of Wales, of I -Britain; and of the worin. It-wft's Yucst i fitiling that they should meet YHarly to I sing the old hymns which had done so much to lift Wales above the tirials of j this world to a clearer atmosphere. (Loud II applause.) THE CLOSING SCENES. i After the Prime Minister's address the tune "Civra Klioitdua," which Iwid de- j lighted him so math at Birkenhead, was sung and repeated with fervour several times Then Mr. Lloyd George and bis party rose to leave. Before gOt ng fH went to the conductor (Mr 1'. ilcpkin Evans) and expressed his great apprecia- tion of the-singing. "It was grout," he oaid,And Mr. Evans warmly" thanked him for his presence. Owing to the people rushing out to 6? tbe d'rimo Mm'stpr?s <)ep:u'ture, the meetu? came to an abrupt close. The crowd cheered the party to the echo. Major Trie* c;tll- ing upon the b(-??8 to ?ive them a lx)u4ing send off. Interesting as the proceedings were.! space forbids further eietails, but it was striking to note how well the words of the hymns suited t he iime and the occasion, j For in-fanee, immediately after the ar- rival of the Premier and liir, part: tile mussed choirs sang:— Ar for tynihestlog toitbio 'rwyf, T. fyd sydd well i f^ ft"; Gn.n wenu ar ci stormydd all Fy Nhad syeld wrth y J. ArnbiXise Lloyd' s R ddaeth Ternan" fitted in admirably affei-^ards, aiid when the cheers had subsided aft-- the delivery of Mr. Lloyd George's speech I Mr. T. Hopkin Evans af-.I,-ed the audiemp to sing;— Marchog lesu, yn llwyddianns (March Triumphant, Blessed Jesus) to the rousing tune Moriah." At the request of Mr. Lloyd George, Cwm Ubondela (John Hughes's com- position, concerning which Mr. Lloyd i George had aske-d me at the Birkenhead Gymanfa last year) was sung at tbo Pre- mier's express desire, and while I and others wero making our way from tlia Pavilion to the train the words and music j followed us thrillingly: | Wek'n sefyll rhwng y myrtwydd, i Wrthrych teilwng o fy mryd, and subsequently the railwav station pre- cnits and the moving trails resoundeel witli the glorious- old hymn :— Pen Calfaria, Pen Calfaria, j Nac aed hwnw byth o'm cof. I i ii ii ■ i 1