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TOYSTM D$D}E?Y mWWW * No. 89. Vol, VIIL MAY, 1900, Pjkice One Penny. LLANIDLOES. If we remember aright we said last year of the Church Choral Society Concert that it was the best concert held in Llanidloes for ten years or more, but probably few will deny that this year ' we went one better.' The chorus singing was on the whole far above anything previously achieved by the Society, and reflects the greatest credit on Mr Tom Phillips : its weakness was a lack of precision and uniformity which is inevitable when there are a number of young or inexperienced singers who are afraid of ' attacking ' by themselves, and so wait for a lead from their older companions : however, the young singers were an exceptionally good lot, and promise a bright future for the Society if they will only persevere in the drudgery of constant practice The first striking item in Gaul's very beautiful and musical cantata " Joan of Arc " was the baritone solo "Who would not fight for freedom" spiritedly rendered by Mr. Emlyn Davies, and the next chorus " A Shepherd Maid has passed " drew applause even from an audience which seemed to think that choruses ought to be received in silence. The duet which followed " Full flows the River" gave Mr. Davies and Mr. Thomas an opportunity of showing what they could do, and they made splendid use of it. Immediately on this came the pretty song " A ring—a simple ring " which revealed Miss Drinkwater as quite the best .soprano heard in Llanidloes for at least a decade. The chorus " On to the battle ! on," though it won li'tle applause, was pronounced by a competent critic to be the ' best thing so far,' but it was surpassed in beauty as well as in its rendering by the " Ave Maria" later on. In the second part Miss Drink- water was rapturously encored for her sympathetic and artistic treatment of " O Divine Redeemer," and she gave us " At the Window." Mr.'Richard Thomas supplemented " The Star of Bethlehem " with " The Queen of the Earth," and Mr. Emlyn Davies after bringing down the house with " Till Death " kept the enthusiasm at fever heat by "Marching through ■Pretoria" a product of the war, needless to say. " Blodwen F'anwylyd," a beautiful song worthily snng % Mr. Thomas failed of its due meed of applause from ^ audience which was largely composed of English- speaking folk, but Miss Drinkwater's singing of h Buttercups and Daises " was so good that an encore was insisted on. and she gave a very quaint and taking Irish song. The bass ar.d tenor duet "The moon hath raised her lamp," followed by " God save the Queen," brought to a close a brilliantly successful concert, for which we have to thank especially Mr. Tom Phillips the conductor, and Mr. Maurice Owen secretary. Miss Marshall discharged the arduous duties of accompanist in both parts with her accus¬ tomed skill and taste, and deserved the thanks of performers and audience also. The pockets of the public were successfully attacked by Miss Ikin and Miss Webb, Miss Marshall and Miss A. Kerr, and the Society owe them a heavy debt of gratitude for the number of tickets sold. The Vicar once more thanks those who contributed »o liberally towards his Easter Offering. Words are poor things with which to show gratitude : at least he can find nothing more eloquent to say than that he is truly and heartily grateful. Holy Week and Easter have come again and gone with very little we fear to show that they have any very real meaning for the large majority of Llanidloes people. The congregations at daily service during Lent were very fair until the Vicar mentioned the fact one Sunday, after which they dropped to about one half: on Thursdays when there was a sermon a good many attended, the parish clergy being suppli- mented on these occasions by the Revs. W. L. Richards, T. Enoch, T. E. Jones, and L. H. Evans. In Holy Week, the Vicar's addresses on Holy Com¬ munion attracted an average congregation of four, but the evening services were better attended. On Good Friday there were very few at the earlier services, but the Three Hours attracted about the same number as in former years, and the evening service wras very much better attended than usual. The Vicar of Rhayader's addresses en the Seven Words were extremely good and much appreciated- Easter Day was completely successful in every particular but one, and that the most important. The communicants tell short of last year by 20—the fall¬ ing off being at the mid-day service, and it may certainly be pleaded that the weather was wet and.