Welsh Journals

There has been a rapid increase in the number of Adult Classes in music. The higher ones are organised by the University Colleges, the others by the W.E.A. and by the Council of Music. The work done by these classes is so unostentatious that its leavening influence cannot as yet be estim- ated, but it must be very considerable. Choral Festivals, such as those of Harlech, Newtown, Aberystwyth, The Three Valleys, and others have done much good, not only in creating an interest in good music, but also in counteract- ing the evil effects of the endless repetition of hack- neyed pieces, some of them inferior in quality, that obtain in the "commercial" type of eisteddfol. Brave attempts have been made at some of these festivals to break through the trammels of tradi- tion, and Bach, Brahms, and Elgar works have been performed; but the temptation to revert to the familiar Handel and Mendelssohn repertoire is still strong. A gratifying change has taken place in the de- partment of Instrumental Music. At one time musicians despaired of seeing any real development in this branch, and the opinion was widely held that Wales could excel only in vocal music. Now there has been an astonishingly rapid increase in the number and quality of juvenile violin classes, school orchestras ,and adult orchestras. In South Wales this movement is effectively organised by the Council of Music. In North Wales there is no definite organisation, and yet, in addition to a number of promising small orchestras, there are at least five amateur orchestras, some of them very competent. It has been repeatedly urged that the National Eis- teddfod might take advantage of this instrumental activity. A local orchestra, with a few professionals as leaders could, during the two years' preparation for the National Eisteddfod, easily master the works selected for the concerts. This would ben- efit the culture of music in the district ten times more than the mere listening to a London orches- tra. At the same time there would be a material lightening of the financial burdens of the Com- mittee. Strange to say, these considerations do not appeal to the local committees. The suggested reasons for this unfortunate policy are (1) The traditional Welsh "inferiority complex." (2) Constitutional laziness. (3) Musical snobbishness, coupled with a keener desire to secure a financial "draw" than to benefit local music. There has been a progressive increase in the number of piano students. Unfortunately the quality of the playing is often unsatisfactory. This is due to the absence of authoritative control of teachers' qualifications, and also to the ignor- ant patronage of examining bodies that are more concerned with profit making than with musical culture. There is no need to enlarge upon the burning questions raised by the wonderful stream of music poured into the country by the radio and the gram- ophone, as the problems raised are not peculiar to Wales. II. THE EISTEDDFOD.-The National Eisteddfod has grown more and more unwieldy, but the only notable, and consistent, improvement has been in the quality of the concerts, some of which have reached a high standard of excellence. Choral singing has not shown continuous im- provement. There have been some memorable competitions, and, on the whole, there has been some improvement in vocalisation, and intonation but much dissatisfaction has been expressed with the lack of taste in interpretation, especially in the men's choral competitions. In many cases, there have been strongly worded condemnations of the choice of pieces, and committees have been accused of selecting unworthy pieces merely because they were Welsh. This is a burning ques- tion. It is clearly the duty of the Welsh Eistedd- fod to encourage Welsh music. It is equally clearly the duty of Welsh musicians to produce music of sufficient merit to commend itself to the musical world generally. The ideal "Standing Committee" so often ad- vocated to secure continuity of policy, and to coun- teract the dangers inevitable in a complete change of management and personnel every year, has not yet made its appearance. During the period under consideration, however, two important bodies have been instituted that might, if allowed to function properly, do much to mitigate the evils inherent in the present discontinuous regime. (1) The lists of subjects have to be submitted to the Bwrdd Cerdd which has the power of veto over the selection, and authority to suggest al- ternatives. (2) The Council of Music, on which each Na- tional Eisteddfod is represented, has no authority, but it is prepared to give information and advice. As the Council numbers among its members the Heads of the University Music Departments, who at the same time have had a long and valuable ex- perience as eisteddfod adjudicators; and in addi- tion, the Director and Secretary with other pro- fessional musicians-an unequalled array of know- ledge and experienoe-one would expect that local bodies would gladly welcome the opportunity of obtaining reliable information and the wise guid- ance that comes from long experience. It is very rarely however, that a committee ever 'stoops' to ask for either enlightenment or advice. The word "anomalous" is far too weak to describe this un- expected development of democratic control,