Gender and Identity in Welsh Choral Music, 1872–1918
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The ‘Land of Song’: Gender and Identity in Welsh Choral Music, 1872–1918 A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction for the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnomusicology by Rachelle Louise Barlow © Rachelle Louise Barlow 2015 in memory of my sister, Laura i Contents List of Figures iv List of Plates v Notes on Welsh Pronunciation vi Conventions vii Abstract ix Preface x 1 Men of Harlech 1 2 The Chapel: Sacred Music, Nonconformity, Tonic Sol-fa 47 3 The Land of Song: Griffith Rhys Jones and the South Wales Choral 82 Union, 1872–1873 4 Performed Masculinities: Men and Music 114 5 ‘The Queen was Pleased’: Clara Novello Davies and the Royal Welsh 149 Ladies’ Choir, 1883–1900 6 Performed Femininities: Women of Harlech 188 7 Society and Singing: Examining Gender, Ideology and Song 224 8 Oral Histories, Written Narratives: The Myth of Wales 255 Conclusions 286 Appendix 290 Bibliography 297 Web Sources 310 ii List of Figures 2.1 Key protagonists of vocal pedagogy, 1859–c.1890 64 4.1 Rhondda Glee Society Recordings in the Gramophone Record Catalogue, 1899 145 5.1 Welsh Ladies’ Choir Press Reports, February–May 1894 173 iii List of Plates 1.1 Map of Wales 3 1.2 Frontispiece to Edward Jones’ Relicks (1794) 5 1.3 First print appearance of ‘Gorhoffedd Gwŷr Harlech’ (1794) 7 1.4 A military band at the 2015 NATO Summit, Newport 9 1.5 Members of the CDWSS marching in Cathays Park, 1913 17 2.1 A metrical psalm from Prys’ Llyfr y Psalmau (1621) 53 2.2 ‘Llyfr Pricio’ (c.1800) of David Edwards 67 2.3 John Roberts (‘Ieuan Gwyllt’, 1822–1877) 69 2.4 Llawlyfr y Tonic Sol-ffa (1862) by Eleazar Roberts 77 3.1 Map of the South Wales Coalfield 85 3.2 The Stag Hotel, Trecynon, Aberdare 87 3.3 Invitation to South Wales Choral Union reunion at Margam Park, 1914 108 3.4 Members of the South Wales Choral Union at Margam Park, 1914 109 3.5 Unveiling of Caradog’s Statue, 10 July 1920 111 4.1 ‘Dowlais Ironworks from the South’, by George Childs (1840) 128 4.2 The Rhondda Glee Society, 1898 142 5.1 The Autobiography of Clara Novello Davies 151 5.2 Welsh costume worn by members of the Welsh Ladies’ Choir 170 5.3 The Welsh Ladies’ Choir in national dress, 1897 171 5.4 The Royal Welsh United Choir in Paris 175 5.5 Programme of the Royal Welsh United Choir at the Paris Exhibition, 1900 177 5.6 Gold laurel leaf crown presented to Clara Novello Davies in 1900 180 6.1 Hannah Hughes 195 6.2 Madame Hughes-Thomas’ Choir in National Dress 205 6.3 Marianne Squire 207 6.4 ‘High-Class Concert’ postcard, 1909 210 6.5 Elizabeth Clement 214 6.6 Madame Hughes-Thomas’ Choir in black formalwear 219 6.7 Madame Hughes-Thomas’ Choir in white formalwear 219 7.1 Y Gymraes, 1st edition, 1850 236 7.2 Advertisement for YMCA concert, Dinas Powys (1915) 250 7.3 Clara Novello Davies Hut in 1915 251 8.1 Statue of Evan and James James in Ynysangharad Park, Pontypridd 265 8.2 Programme Cover for Novello & Son 282 8.3 Ivor Novello Statue in Cardiff Bay 284 iv Notes on Welsh Pronunciation1 For readers unfamiliar with the pronunciation of Welsh, I provide here a number of rules for guidance. Generally speaking, the pronunciation of Welsh is straightforward since all letters in Welsh words are sounded (with the exception of dipthongs) and the main stress falls on the penultimate syllable. It is worth noting some distinctions about Welsh vowels and consonants: Vowels Welsh vowels include a, e, i, o, u (as in English) but also w and y. Moreover, each vowel has a long and a short version. Where a circumflex accent is present above a vowel, it signals that a long sound is needed (such as tŷ meaning ‘house’). The following serves as a guide: Vowel Short Long Sound Sound a tan tant (‘string’) hard tad (‘father’) e get telyn (‘harp’) care cerdd (‘craft’) i miss disgybl (‘apprentice’) leave prif (‘main’) o doss dosbarth (‘class’) door côr (‘choir’) u tin uchelwr (‘nobleman’) been du (‘black’) w good cwpan (‘cup’) croon crwth y gun cytgan (‘chorus’) further y / yr (‘the’) y (as final similar to tin telyn (‘harp’) similar to been tŷ (‘house’) syllable) (as above) (as above) Consonants The consonants b, d, l, m, n and t (all of which are sounded as in English), while s is sounded like ‘silk’ and r is rolled. Moreover, the Welsh language also features a number of more distinctive consonants: ch Bach chwech (‘six’) dd th, as in those cerdd (‘craft’) f v, as in van llyfr (‘book’) ff f, as in father ffenestr (‘window’) ng as in singing englyn (a poetic form) ll as l but expelling air llyfr (‘book’) past the tongue2 ph philosophy usually occurs only after a mutation, e.g. a phobl (‘and people’) rh rolled r followed by ‘huh’ rhos (‘moorland’) th think, or bath dosbarth (‘class’) 1 This pronunciation guide is based upon Sally Harper (2008), pp. xviii–xix. 2 Ll is also produced by placing the tongue on the back of the front teeth and blowing. v Conventions My representation of the Welsh language requires clarification. While some words such as ‘eisteddfod’ have become anglicised in general speech, since the word is not of English origin, it appears in italics. Moreover, I also use the Welsh plural forms such as eisteddfodau, rather than adding an ‘s’ which is customary in English. My translation of Welsh terms also requires some description. First, all nouns and genres will be italicised and a translation will appear in parentheses, such as (English, ‘translation’). Second, all proper nouns, names, musical groups and place names will not be italicised, although a translation will also be provided in parentheses on the first appearance of each term, such as (translation). The representation of names is problematic. At times, the same person may have more than one name since it is customary in Wales for musicians especially to possess an additional bardic name. In these cases, the bardic name is presented in parentheses and inverted commas following the person’s birth name, such as Griffith Rhys Jones (‘Caradog’). For recurring instances, the bardic name will be used with inverted commas. For the sake of clarity, where the same first name or surname is shared by two or more people, the name is used in full or an accompanying note is given in the text to simplify the matter. While every effort has been made to provide dates for the main protagonists mentioned, where the information has not been able to be located I provide (n.d.) after the name. In terms of referencing, I adopt here the conventions of the Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA). Following the standard precedent, additions to quotations or points of clarity are marked in square brackets [ ]. Due to the number of newspaper sources used from freely-available online digital repositories (such as Welsh Newspapers Online, 19th Century British Library Newspapers and The Times Digital Archive), I do not provide a URL for each citation but rather the title of the newspaper and the time of publication (including the day, month and year). For instances when more unusual newspapers are cited (usually from American vi sources which are not available via the resources mentioned above), I provide the details of publication (as above) as well as a URL and the date the article was accessed. It is worth noting also that many of the URLs cited have been shortened. A full list of the newspapers cited is provided in the bibliography. vii Abstract This thesis concerns Wales as the ‘land of song’. In particular, it looks at choral singing in Wales which has long been considered a male tradition. From definitions of Welsh musical traditions featured in encyclopaedias to the continued use of male voice choirs at cultural events (such as rugby matches), men are continually promoted as the only bearers of the Welsh choral tradition. By contrast, this thesis questions such an assertion by arguing that women were also key players in its development in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In this matter, I interrogate two gendered stereotypes: Wales as ‘the land of my mothers’ (with reference to the suffrage movement) and Wales as ‘the land of my fathers’ (with reference to music, sport and nationhood). Conceived as a historical ethnography, this thesis draws upon extensive primary and secondary sources to provide the first in-depth study of gender and identity in Welsh choirs. The core of the thesis is comprised of historical narratives of four case study choirs from the period under study, namely the South Wales Choral Union (led by ‘Caradog’), the Rhondda Glee Society (led by Tom Stephens) and the two Royal Welsh Ladies’ Choirs (led by Clara Novello Davies and Hannah Hughes-Thomas respectively). In each case, I provide a discussion of the choir’s origin and the social context in which it developed, details about performance practice, membership, social class, repertoire and each choir’s relationship to notions of gender and identity in Wales. Moreover, I present a new understanding of the choirs’ conductors through biographical accounts; information regarding Clara Novello Davies and Hannah Hughes-Thomas especially has not been featured in previous scholarly studies. Informed by my perspective as a Welsh woman, I present a nuanced reading of Wales as ‘the land of song’ by considering both historical narratives and personal ethnographic experiences today.