EXCELSIOR - Treorchy Male Choir

WHAT WOULD I DO WITHOUT MY MUSIC?
by GILLIAN CLARKE
National Poet of Wales
The night of November 29th 2010 was icy, roads and pavements slippery as
glass. These words by the poet Christina Rossetti came into my mind. Set to
music, it is my favourite Christmas carol.
In the deep midwinter
Frosty wind made moan
Earth stood hard as iron,
Water like a stone.
EXCELSIOR 3
The long cold winter had begun, but inside the lofty spaces of Llandâf
Cathedral all was glowing, pews filling with concert-goers, singers preparing
themselves.
A choir of Tenovus staff, the famous Cardiff cancer charity, were ready in jolly
Christmas hats. Little girls from nearby Howells Junior School had gathered,
twittering, in the choir stalls. The big stars of the night were the third choir,
whose name and history were revered in my South Wales family, where a
male voice choir had the status of an angelic chorus - the Treorchy Male
Choir.
I had been invited, in my role as National Poet of Wales, to introduce the
three choirs at the Tenovus Lovelight Concert, one of the most enjoyable of
all my duties. Tenovus had commissioned me to write a special poem for the
bereaved to read that evening at the concert, and, in future, to be printed in
a leaflet as a prayer that could be read at funerals. It was an awesome responsibility.