Scan 315
The American history and encyclopedia of music .., 1908
12 lines. Read by computer on 11 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1place, either in North or South Wales; Bangor, Caernarvon, Cardiff and Swansea have frequently been chosen.
3A paragraph by Marie Trevelyan will describe the motley character of a modern eisteddfod crowd:
5"Early in the morning of the first festival day, the trains bring in thousands of excursionists to the town, and before noon, vehicles of every description from the nobleman's drag to the creaky old country wagon, crowd the streets which are thronged with a curious medley of gaily dressed ladies and children, country folk and town people, eminent archdruids and druids, bards and would-be bards, well-known clergymen and dissenting ministers, Roman Catholic priests, popular Welsh vocalists, and celebrated harpists, and last, but not least, because of the part they will have to take in the day's proceedings, excitable competitors of all ages." Then there are the large choirs which come in on the "great choral day," all ready for action and inspired with a very laudable sense of rivalry.
7The singing festival lasts from four days to a week and is preceded on the first day by the gorsedd, held when the dew is undried, at which a solemn roll-call of the bards, dead and living, is held.
9The procession of bards, druids and ovates, the inaugural address, the chorus, "Land of My Father," in which thousands of voices are mingled, the calling of the names by the conductor, the real business of competition in harp, violin, pianoforte; vocal music, prose and poetical composition, and the final impressive day when "chairing" or rewarding the prize winners takes place, are features of the eisteddfod. It seems almost incredible that an institution so archaic could have come down intact through the ages to this day of practicality, and yet such is the case.
11In short, no institution is so dearly loved or so closely connected with Welsh national life as is this bardic congress. It is distinctly democratic. No composition is too crude to have a hearing. No Cambrian is too old or too young, too rich or too poor to take part.
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