WNGGA
History
It
all started back in 1929 when, in its September 5, 1929 issue,
Y Drych, The North
American Welsh Newspaper, headlined:
"Yn Cael Gymanfa Ganu Gymraeg yn Swn
y Niagara Falls
(Having a Welsh Gymanfa Ganu Within
the Sound of Niagara
Falls)
Thousands There
The Occasion
is a Great Success and All Praise It"
What was it? It was the first National Gymanfa Ganu
(Guh-mahn'-va
Gahn'-ee) in the United States. A Gymanfa Ganu is most appropriately
defined
as "A Singing Festival". It was not just a singing festival. It was
UNIQUE.
It was "A Singing Festival" devoted to the singing of WELSH HYMNS in
Welsh
and English. A few of the favorite hymns included Diadem (All Hail the
Power of Jesus' Name), Cwm Rhondda (Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah),
Bryn
Calfaria (Take Me As I Am, O Saviour), Aberystwyth (Jesus, Lover of My
Soul), and Sandon (Lead, Kindly Light).
How did It come about? To the Welsh-Americans of
Youngstown, OH goes
the greatest credit for starting the movement. However, there were many
others involved in the planning for the great event. Delegations from
Ohio,
Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan, traveling by train and auto to
Niagara
Falls, NY, were joined there by equally enthusiastic Welsh from
Ontario.
They met on a field on Goat Island, in the middle of
the Niagara
River, at 2:00PM and found that the crowd greatly exceeded the most
optimistic
planning estimates. Some believed 3,000 were in attendance. A slate
plaque
marks the spot and commemorates the event.
Plans were made for another gymanfa in Niagara Falls,
NY the following
year and an organizational structure was started with Will Lewis,
Youngstown,
OH President; Ellis Hughes of Niagara Falls, NY Vice President; Dave
Lewis
of Youngstown, OH Secretary; and W. B. Jones of Pittsburgh, PA
Treasurer.
This was the beginning of what is today the Welsh National Gymanfa Ganu
Association (WNGGA)
Since then, a total of 72 Annual Welsh National
Cymanfaoedd have
been held in various locations around the United States and Canada. In
1969 it was held in Cardiff, and in 1974 in Swansea, both in Wales
(there
were two Nationals held in each of those two years,
but both are
not included in the official count). Committees
in fifteen cities have sponsored repeated events accounting for a total
of 47 cymanfaoedd with Niagara Falls, NY leading with five and
Cleveland,OH;
Utica, NY; Toronto, ON; and Milwaukee, WI following with four each. The
73rd Welsh National Gymanfa
Ganu was held
in Buffalo, NY to commemorate the 75th
Anniversary
of the organization with a ceremony on Goat Island in the year 2004.
(The
discrepancy in the numeration is due to the National Gymanfa Ganu not
having
been held during the World War II years of 1943-45.)
The National Cymanfaoedd have evolved into the four
day North
American Festival of Wales over the Labor Day Weekend. The
schedule
of evening events includes a Thursday Noson Lawen which some call a
Welsh
Amateur Night, a Friday banquet, and a Saturday concert generally
featuring
a Welsh male voice choir and soloists both from Wales. A Welsh
Marketplace,
offering Welsh products, artifacts, souvenirs, recordings, and books,
is
available during the days.
Sunday, the defining day, begins with a bilingual
church and memorial
service followed by afternoon and evening sessions of the gymanfa ganu
itself. A unique feature of the gymanfa ganu is the seating separation
of alto, soprano, tenor, and bass singers into sections for the four
part
harmony singing. And while the gymanfa ganu is conducted with the
dignity
of a church service, it is not unknown for the musical conductor to
stop
the singing when one or more of the voice sections wanders from the
desired
harmony and needs special attention.
Interspersed between the formal proceedings, as if the
Sunday sessions
do not provide enough singing, are frequent sessions of spontaneous
singing
of favorite hymns. Direction is provided as in earlier days in Wales
"by
a leader, innocent perhaps of musical degrees, who sounded the pitch
without
even a tuning fork".
The Board of Trustees of the WNGGA is the unifying
force that provides
the institutional memory, selects sites for the annual cymanfaoedd,
provides
general guidance and supervision, and assures that desired cultural and
religious standards are maintained. It arranges for printing and
distribution
for sale of the hymnal containing Welsh and English Hymns and Anthems
used
not only during the Nationals but at regional and local cymanfaoedd
throughout
the United States and Canada. Following suspension of the national
cymanfaoedd
during the war years of 1943-45, it was the Board of the WNGGA that
made
sure the national gymanfa ganu was reactivated and has continued since
as the preeminent expression of Welsh culture, heritage, and the Welsh
language in the United States and Canada.
