EXCELSIOR - Treorchy Male Choir

EXCELSIOR 33
the methods of singing and conducting. Caradog, the Trecynon blacksmith
who later became landlord of the Treorchy Hotel, influenced his musical
technique more than anyone else. In fact it was Caradog who appointed him
as one of the alto singers in Aberdare Choral Union when Tom was a boy
working in the local colliery. After Caradog retired and Rhys Evans took up
mantle, Tom was his deputy and continued to develop his craft.
It was his musical prowess that led him to accept a position as precentor (or
chorusmaster) to Bethesda Chapel in Ton Pentre in 1877. At the same time
Rhondda Glee Society was being formed by schoolmaster Rees Jones and
James Thomas, originally of Llandysul. Together they approached Tom to
become Conductor, recognising his musical accomplishment as the
Conductor of the Aberdare Glee Society, Aberdare Temperance Bank and the
Mid Rhondda Choral Union. He was also the deputy of the Sylvia Opera
Company and trained the Santiago Choirs during the Cardiff Exhibition some
years later.
For the next few years his training and mastery over the Rhondda Glee Society
continued to bear fruit. In 1881 the Glee Society entered the male voice competition
at Aberdare, beating the immortal Danny Davies and other capable
musical leaders of his generation. Two years later in 1883 – the year Treorky
Male Choir was formed - the performance of the victorious Rhondda Glee
Society at the National Eisteddfod in Cardiff, led to a revolution in their particular
style of singing, attracting thousands of spectators. At long last the
male voice choir contest became the rage, with the largest prizes attracting
larger crowds and competitors.
Over the coming years the list of first-prizes for the Glee Society increased,
with major wins at Aberdare, Merthyr, Porth, Pentre and Treharris. By 1887
the membership had increased to forty and that year they shared the first
prize at the National Eisteddfod, held in London, with the Huddersfield
Choir. Incredibly in 1889 the party toured the Welsh settlements of the
United States of America for months on end, but according to reports
returned “somewhat disorganised and a long period of readjustment took
place until Stephens could pull them together again”. If truth be told, they
returned virtually bankrupt and entered numerous competitions in an effort
to recover their financial losses. It was a new golden era for them with 15 successive
wins and only three defeats in the next two years.
The 1888 National Eisteddfod at Brecon marked the start of the bitter rivalry
between the Rhondda Glee Society and Treorky Male Choir that occupied the
Welsh music scene for a decade. During their next encounter the constabulary
was called to the riot-like scene of bloody-faced choristers fighting in the