edmund (eddie) evans - Treorchy Male Choir

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36 EXCELSIOR
Lloyd Webber's Cats, Cavatina from the Deer Hunter and that Frank Sinatra
show-stopper My Way.
Great operatic choir pieces included the Easter Hymn from Mascagni's
Cavalleria Rusticana, a splendid Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves from Verdi's
Nabucco and a suitably stirring choral arrangement of Verdi's Nessun Dorma.
Those Welsh songs that have been performed by generations of choristers
included a stirring Llanfair, a delicately sung Ar Hyd y Nos and a Gwahoddiad
that beautifully balanced passion and gentleness.
MC for
the evening,
c h o r i s t e r
Dean Powell,
gave us the
history of
the choir
and introd
u c e d
long-serving
c h o r i s t e r s
N o r m a n
Martin and
Max Live With Treorchy.
I s l w y n
Morgan who have both been with the Treorchy for 59 years. For the finale,
the choir returned to the stage to join Max Boyce for Myfanwy and the
national anthem.
But first it was the turn of that other iconic cultural institution that is Max
Boyce to entertain in his own inimitable style. Max is no stranger to sell-out
shows at the Wales Millennium Centre having played two nights earlier this
year and having been one of the first performers there in 2004. While the jokes
and sketches are hilarious whether you have heard them before or not, what
makes the live performance special is the man's comic genius with the crowd.
While there is a bit of banter and a few cheeky lines at the expense of the
audience, there is nothing of the public humiliation many stand-up comics
thrive on. Rather there is a shared sensibility and almost tribal identity that
make the audience instantly fall under his power. From those first chords of
Sospan Fach, flag-waving Max in his red dragon waistcoat has the crowd
worked up with the passion of a revivalist meeting.
The routines largely centre around rugby with an innocents-abroad tale of