Kaya Festival review courtesy of Glyn Phillips, WorldMusic.co.uk
Lluniau / Photos Full Article
Dyma adolygiad o berfformiad Ysgol Glanaethwy yng Ng?yl Kaya, y Faenol ar y 3ydd i Fehefin, 2012
Here’s a review of Ysgol Glanaethwy’s perfomances at the Kaya Festival, Faenol on 3rd June 2012
Diolch I / Thanks to: Glyn Phillips, WorldMusic.co.uk
Time to hit the big tent. First up: local heroes Ysgol Glanaethwy, a 40-50 strong Welsh Choir made up of teenagers. They had no time to even do a soundcheck (a problem that persisted throughout the day – an over-ambitious programme with only a 15 minute changeover time that came back to bite them by the end of the night – utterly impossible logistics).
Anyway, we were about to be treated to some real professionalism by these young people, who didn’t moan or worry but just lined up and waited their MD’s signal. Ysgol Glanaethwy were probably the most local of all acts in a very literal and geographic sense – their school was only two fields away! But their performance was truly international and of a global level.
They leapt to fame about 3 years ago when they came close runners-up on BBC’s Last Choir Standing. I remembered seeing them on that and being blown away by them. But standing just a few feet away from them was a completely overwhelming experience. Not just sonically, but emotionally.
Their MD Cefin Roberts, speaking in a mixture of Welsh and English, said he hoped we liked choral music and introduced the first song which was sung in Welsh and was all about the great national hero and last true Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndwr (the title, which I didn’t catch, was taken from Owain’s nickname which translates into English as ‘Nightingale’). From that point on they captured the ears, imagination and hearts of the audience. Not a normal ‘world music’ act as such, but they do sing in a range of languages, with songs from all over the world, and are quintessentially Welsh – conscious not only of their Celtic roots, but also of being creative representatives of a cultural minority.
It’s not just the Welsh language songs (and their subject matter) or the fact that Welsh is the first language up here, not English. It’s that Wales has a reputation to uphold in the field of music and in particular in the choral tradition. Now, maybe the South Walians have staked out their ground for much of the 20th Century in Male Voice Choirs, but Ysgol Glanaethwy are a thoroughbred powerhouse of an ensemble. Don’t be fooled by their youth, once they open their mouths anything is possible, magic comes out, crackles through the air and seeps into your skin.
What? You think I’m being over-colourful in my language? Not a bit of it. Their control of sound is stunning. A racehorse given its head, a wheeling flock of birds in flight, a deep lake, a whisp of mist… I genuinely didn’t expect to be moved in the way that I was by their music. It was a visceral experience. And you didn’t have to understand Welsh to feel the raw emotion. The second song “Send An Angel” (dedicated to a friend of the choir’s who had recently suffered a bereavement), was both serenely beautiful and deeply touching. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. Now that’s the power of music.
The repertoire was largely made up of popular tunes from a variety of genres. So the iconic gospel “Oh Happy Day!”followed on and then “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and“Circle of Life” (although there were problems with the wrong backing tracks being played at the beginning, requiring a restart). We might have heard these songs a thousand times before, but Ysgol Glanaethwy still managed to bring something new to the table. When they launched into“Bohemian Rhapsody” and then the trademark “O Fortuna!”they were absolutely cooking on gas. Great use of restrained theatrical gestures and facial expressions throughout too – economic, minimal even, but used to powerful effect. Very believable.
But for me the emotional highlight of the set was their version of “Try a Little Tenderness”. Even the same problem with the false start of the wrong backing track, couldn’t detract from the ability of the performance to resonate through every muscle of my body. I could have died there and then and not had a better holy host to send me on my way! In fact, my notes at the time state: “These kids are brilliant – amazingly professional and they live every word of their songs. A powerhouse of welsh musical talent – the land of my fathers will carry on singing for generations to come!”
My only criticism is that each song ended too quickly! They were just moving up through the gears on “Try a Little Tenderness” when it was suddenly brought to an end. Cefin, I beg you, make it twice as long! Three times. Let them off the leash! Probably just as well, I think, I would have expired had I imbibed any more ‘hwyl’ and disappeared in a puff of smoke over Snowdonia. Hwyl fawr, indeed!
After this they brought us “Adiemus”, “Rhythm of Life” and finished with “Eryr Pengwern” – a reference to the eagle of the mountains – a song about being proud to be Welsh. Well, I might have been born in the industrial West Midlands of England, but for a few brief minutes the Celt in me stood 7 foot tall and as proud as the druids of Ynos Mon.
Ysgol Glanaethwy left the stage on a high with the warmth and applause billowing over them, but then predictably enough got soaked to the skin in mere seconds braving the heavy rain as they ran out the back of the tent to the artists’ changing area! Ysgol Glanaethwy were one of my two unexpected highlights of Kaya 2012!
Mwy o luniau / More photos courtesy of Glyn Phillips, WorldMusic.co.uk
Tags: faenol, kaya festival, parc, parc menai, tant, vaenol estate, ysgol glanaethwy