Buninyong

For our first concert since the UK tour, the choir travelled to Buninyong to perform at a fundraiser for the local Catholic church. The organiser was John White, a member of the congregation and also a founder member of the choir’s recently formed Ballarat chapter which is naturally looking for new recruits.

The two-year old new church is blessed with wonderful acoustics enjoyed by choristers and audience alike during a very varied concert, a mixture of superb singing, humorous interludes and audience participation on Battle Hymn of the Republic and Men of Harlech.

As well as the stunning four-part harmonies of the whole choir, there were outstanding performances by a number of talented soloists. Bendigo chapter member Nigel McGuckian enhanced a number of songs with expert flute and piccolo accompaniment; Bob Ash caught the harsh realities of life with Working Man; Welshman Stephen Pepper gave patrons a humorous Welsh lesson and Roger Bartlett was bittersweet with his Broken Vow.

After the interval, Alex van Mens reprised Dafydd Y Garreg Wen, which he had recently sung in Worcester Cathedral, and versatile compère Drew Hopkins combined with Rushan Hewawasam on The Gentle Dove.

John Hales and Geoff Serpell entertained the audience with an accomplished humorous performance of Ah Still Suits Me from Showboat.

In the Les Misérables finale, the mellifluous voices of Rushan and Roger once again plucked at the heartstrings on I Dreamed A Dream and Bring Him Home.

The hills came alive with the music of Wales

From the Buninyong Times, July 2016.

Not too many Welsh miners joined in the rush to the Buninyong goldfields in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. But perhaps that was not surprising as, then, the coal miners of Wales were busy driving the industrial revolution in England.

But on a chilly but sunny Sunday last month, the foothills of Buninyong echoed with the rousing choral music of the Victoria Welsh Male Choir. A choir of some 40 male singers, under the musical direction of acclaimed Welsh-born Faleiry Koczkar stirred an appreciative audience of some 220 people in the intimate and acoustically- excellent setting of St Peter & Pauls Church in Fisken Street.

Popular

The choir was brought to Buninyong by local resident John White, himself a member of the choir. The Victoria Male Welsh Choir has performed in prestigious venues such as the Sydney Opera House and before some 50,000 fans at the Docklands Stadium during the Rugby World Cup. It has also taken part in several overseas tours.

For its Buninyong concert the choir’s program included some beautiful and gentle sacred and traditional Welsh songs (such as the Bells of Aberdovey), but was highlighted by well-known music including You’ll Never Walk Alone, The Rose, and songs from Les Miserables including the rousing Do You Hear the People Sing?

Stirring

The well-known Welsh battle song – Men of Harlech – generated great audience participation with the Welsh flag being waved in the background by the choir. Another similarly-stirring song performed by the choir, with audience assistance, was the well-known American Civil War song, The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Perhaps the most poignant song of all, was the classic folk- song Working Man which the choir dedicated to miners, some as young as sixteen years, who worked the Welsh coal mines in atrocious, unhealthy conditions. The lyrics of the song include “.. where you age before your time.. and the coal dust lies heavy on your lungs.” This was a song especially dedicated to the miners of the Black Vein Colliery where 142 miners were killed in that pit in 1860.

Rare

With singing that was powerful yet moving and beautiful, this was a brilliant concert, the likes of which has rarely been seen in Buninyong. The choir voted the venue as “perfect” for an intimate concert.