Cymanfa Ganu

The day after our annual St David’s Day Concert, Victoria Welsh joined with other local Welsh choirs to participate in the annual St David’s Day Cymanfa Ganu (hymn festival) organised by the Melbourne Welsh Church, held at St Michael’s Church in Collins St and led by Ilid Jones, the visiting conductor from Wales, using the new baton we had given her the previous day.  

The programme consisted of:

Eleven well-known (and not-so-well-known) hymns sung lustily in 4-part harmony, in both English and Welsh, by the whole congregation.

Two items (Benedictus and Tydi A Roddaist) sung by the male choirs

Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn (Watching the White Wheat), sung by the Geelong Welsh Ladies’ Choir

Yr Utgorn (The Trumpet) sung by all 4 choirs, with trumpet solo by Sion Boomsma

Harp solos by the inimitable Huw Jones, former harpist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

The congregation, which came close to filling the large church, left feeling they had well and truly done justice to this traditional Welsh celebration.