London Concert 2nd November 2018
Despite living in London all my life, I am constantly discovering new treasures. One such is the aptly named “Welsh Church of Central London”. Google maps gave the impression that it would be an easy walk from Oxford Circus, and so it proved to be – its distinctive semi-classical façade making it unmistakable on reaching the right general area. Built in the late Victorian era as the Welsh Baptist Chapel, it continues to serve its original function as a centre of worship for Welsh speaking Christians in London.
Arriving about 45 minutes before the advertised start time, I found the door ajar and nobody in the vestibule, so I slipped inside to find a choir rehearsing at the front – singing in Welsh with all the direction from their conductor also in Welsh. I took a pew near the back to keep out of the way and listen. The inside of the church was rather plain at ground floor level, and smaller than I had expected, maybe seating about 180 to 200. Lifting ones gaze however, there was a gallery around three sides with ornate railings, and the front of the church was dominated by a magnificent pipe organ, reaching up into the vaulted ceiling.
After a while, the choir were joined by three ladies in the high pulpit behind them, who I recognised as Gwawr, Sioned and Ellen from Athena, together with one rather tall young man, all singing a lovely song (in Welsh).
Once the rehearsal was over and it was clear which pews the choir would be occupying, I made my way forward and secured a seat by the side aisle with a reasonable view of the front. I then returned to the entrance to show my ticket, where I also found some copies of Athena’s CD ‘Encore’ on display, ready for that essential purchase.
The church filled slowly, up to maybe about 50% capacity. I think perhaps many of the audience were part of the regular congregation at the church, as they displayed that familiar habit of preferring the seats near the back.
On to the concert – the three ladies of Athena appeared in lovely red dresses and opened with ’Climb Every Mountain’ from ’The Sound of Music’. Their second number was the traditional Welsh song ‘Calon Lan’ but not sung to the traditional tune – instead they sang it to a lovely arrangement of ‘The Rose’ (which you can hear on their album). Introductions were done in a mixture of Welsh and English; Sioned favouring the Welsh, whereas I got the impression that Ellen and perhaps Gwawr were more comfortable speaking in English. Their first set finished with ‘Nella Fantasia’. All of their songs were accompanied on the piano by Gwawr’s sister.
As they vacated the area at the front of the church, I was expecting it to be filled by the choir, but it remained empty. Eventually I looked up and saw the tall young man standing in the pulpit.
This was the 23 year old Welsh tenor Steffan Rhys Hughes, who I found out afterwards is also a member of ‘Only Men Aloud’. Steffan’s first song was recognisable as ‘Go the Distance’ from Disney’s ‘Hercules’, but was sung in Welsh. Next came ‘I’m not my father’s son’ from ‘Kinky Boots’ (in English). Steffan’s introductions were also in a mixture of Welsh and English, and I am afraid I did not catch the title of his last song in this set, but I gathered that it was from a Welsh musical theatre production. Finally, Steffan introduced the choir and it really was their turn to take the stage.
Côr Llundain (London Choir) sang two beautiful Welsh songs, accompanied by a harp. These were Rhosyn yr Ior (Rose of our King) by Gareth Glyn, and Tra Bo Dau (a Welsh love song).
The detailed introductions were given by the choir’s director mainly in Welsh, with a few essential phrases translated to English.
Athena returned – now wearing dark blue – to sing a lovely medley of three Welsh songs. I recognised the middle one as ‘Ar Lan Y Mor’ but couldn’t tell you the titles of the outer layers of the sandwich.
Then came a spirited and amusing performance of ‘Glitter and be Gay’ from Bernstein’s ‘Candide’.
Steffan joined the ladies to close the first half with ‘The Prayer’.
After a short interval, Athena came back to sing ‘Ave Maria’ (Caccini version) – Gwawr singing from the pulpit whilst Sioned and Ellen remained below.
Gwawr descended from the heights to join the others for another Welsh medley – don’t ask me for the titles, but it was lovely to listen to.
It was Steffan’s turn next, with ‘Thankful’ by David Foster flanked by two more Welsh songs.
Côr Llundain’s harpist crossed to the other side of the church to accompany their second set on the piano. First was a rousing Welsh sea shanty – ‘Rownd yr Horn’, followed by the gorgeous anthemic ‘Pan Fo’r Nos Yn Hir’ by Ryan Davies.
You may be wondering how I manage to quote the choir’s song titles perfectly whilst failing so miserably to catch the soloists’. For this I must give special thanks to the lovely choir member in the pew in front of me, who was only too happy to assist an ignorant Englishman in his attempts at spelling her language.
The final set for Athena was a brilliant medley of Shirley Bassey songs (also featured on their album) – ‘Diamonds are Forever’, ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Kiss Me Honey, Honey’ and ‘I am what I am’.
To close the concert, all the performers came together for the wonderful Welsh finale – ‘Hafan Gobaith’.
All in all, a very Welsh evening with just enough English to keep me informed about what was going on. Although I felt almost like a foreigner in the heart of my home city, I certainly wasn’t complaining. The Land of Song has produced more than its fair share of the world’s most beautiful music, and it was wonderful to hear it sung so well – some familiar to me and much more which was new to my ears.
John Harvey
