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"Here is a description of a Gymanfa Ganu given by an observant first-time gymanfa attendee:The Welsh are a nation of singers, and whenever two or three are gathered together they perform in harmony, rarely unison. Singing is a part of the culture....Welsh emigrants to America brought their vocal traditions with them, and even now, the Gymanfa Ganu (pronounced 'gih-MAHN-vuh GAH-nee' and translated as 'gathering for song') is a regular event in any community with a significant Welsh population. The hymns are not simply sung through at a Gymanfa. The director may pick and choose among the verses; he may designate them for men's or woman's voices; he may order the organist to drop out so that something may be performed a cappella; he may repeat verses, either because they weren't sung enthusiastically enough the first time, or because he likes them and he feels like it. He decides what will be sung in English and what in Welsh. The director works the dynamic levels and the tempi, swelling the sound here, slowing the pace there. The numbers sung were not all originally Welsh...but they were proudly out of touch with certain trends in modern hymnody....unlike most contemporary hymnals...the music does not patronize the congregation with low-lying melody lines and missing harmonies: If you sing soprano, you'd better have an F; if you don't have an F, you'd better be ready to sing another part. This has the agreeable effect of making the alto line an actual, singable alto line instead of a growly (for a woman) extra tenor part. It challenges the congregation instead of condescending, and it eliminates the boredom of singing all melody, all the time." By Sarah Bryan Miller, classical music critic, St. Louis Post-Dispatch From the Rehoboth Welsh Chapel web site
The Gymanfa Ganu By Judge David G. Jenkins (1879 – 1970) It is not generally known, but a fact nonetheless, that part singing had its origin in early development among the Cymry, or as the English called them, the Welsh. A famous historian, Giraldus, writing in 1188, speaks of their skill in vocal music, which they sang in parts, and not, as elsewhere, in unison. This skill and custom, developed through the ages, finds its expression today in the Gymanfa Ganu, the Assembly or Festival for Sacred Song. This institution, in its present form less than a century old, is expressive of the soul of the Cymry, or Welsh, since it gives an outlet for their deep and fervent religious feeling through the medium they love best, the music of human voices blended in harmony. It is, as it must be to be Welsh, a democratic institution, for persons in all positions in life take part in it. It is devoted to four-part singing of hymns and anthems, and has given the congregational singing of the Welsh people concededly first place among the nations. The beginnings of the Gymanfa Ganu were humble, in the little chapels and churches which in such numbers dot the hills and vales of Cambria. After the regular religious service was over the congregation would remain for an hour of song. Unaccompanied by any instrument – for the Puritan spirit was never stronger in New England than in old Wales – led by a leader, innocent perhaps of musical degree, who sounded the pitch without even a tuning fork, the congregation would be drilled for the forthcoming Gymanfa. For months a few selected hymns and an anthem or two would be rehearsed; then in a common meeting place congregations of one neighborhood or denomination would unitedly render the selections so prepared, under a conductor specially qualified and chosen. To hear such an outpouring of balanced trained voices leaves an indelible memory. Since the demands of part singing could not be met by hymns of simple character, meant to be and usually sung in unison, hymns were composed or adapted for this more harmonious phase of vocal music. Some of these composers, such as Ieuan Gwyllt, have produced tunes which, according to the greatest musicians, take rank among the masterpieces of the world. A number of them, rich in melody and harmony, are included in this book [Welsh and English Hymns and Anthems (Reformatted)] The Gymanfa Ganu has been an incentive and an inspiration to the best talents among the Welsh composers, for to them there can be no greater glory or higher recognition than to have an accepted place in such an institution. Music, like religion, speaks a universal language; and like it, too, it uplifts and benefits all it touches. To extend its beneficial influence through the medium which has made such a deep impression on Welsh life, the National Gymanfa Ganu has been formed as a permanent American institution, giving promise that in this, our beloved land, the devotional spirit of our Cymric forebears shall, through it, find even wider expression. To the spirit of America gallant little Wales has contributed much. It is confidently believed that the Gymanfa Ganu is not least among these gifts. Reprinted from the frontispiece of Welsh and English Hymns and Anthems published by the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu Association, Inc.
You can also read about the Cymanfa Ganu at the Brittania web site and in Wikipedia. To find out if there may be a gymanfa taking place near you, go to our Welsh America page and scroll down past the middle to the Welsh-Americans "Learn what they're doing" and "Find them" sections for links to resources. |
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