Ah Wales. Wool covered quadrupeds, coalmines and if you listen to Edmund Blackadder ‘Huge gangs of tough sinewy men roam the valleys terrifying people with their close harmony singing.’
Sadly these sinewy men appear to have aged since Rowan Atkinson regaled Baldrick with his impression of the principality. You still need half a pint of phlegm to pronounce most of the place names but many fear the days of young men raising their voices in three-part harmony are long gone.
The Male Voice Choir in Wales is not so much dying as ageing rapidly. New recruits may swell the ranks but the average age has doubled in the last ten years and those trade mark blazers are getting a little tight around the ever-expanding waistlines.
But the appetite for Welsh male voice choirs is not waning. The demand for this particular form of choral singing is still very much evident whether it is in their immediate communities or further afield. Call up any Welsh male choir website and you will see diaries full of charity events, annual concerts, festival appearances and weddings. A full male choir serenading your first day of marriage is still a must have for the ‘crachach’ or upper strata of Welsh society.
The Dunvant Male Choir is an example of a popular choir with a dwindling membership. The choir, which hails from the edge of the Gower, has a 110-year-old history, numerous albums and a full diary but it has seen its numbers virtually halve in recent years. Dewi Morgan is the choir’s public relations officer. “Five years ago we put 130 men on the stage at the Brangwyn Hall, now we are 70 to 80. Recruitment is the main concern of most choirs. We have plenty of questions about why we cannot attract younger members but not a lot of answers. “
Indeed Dunvant has appointed its own recruitment officer to attract younger members and the modern choir’s repertoire embraces a diverse range from traditional to modern. Bohemian Rhapsody is now a stanch favourite among many choirs as well as the favourites from recent hit musicals.
The choirs know that they have to keep up with the times. Many are now on the web and Dunvant Male Choir also has the facility to buy tickets on line. The choir has also forged links with its local schools to foster the next generation of singers and has set up its own competition to find the next star of the West End. Its Welsh Musical Theatre Young Singer of the Year is gaining a reputation for spotting the next best thing; previous winner David Thaxton has gone on to play the West End while Hayley Gallivan is forging a solid apprenticeship in the theatre. Last year, Connie Fisher, picked up the award long before she was ‘discovered’ by Andrew Lloyd Webber and took the lead in his latest production at the London Palladium.
But despite this, Dewi Morgan admits they are no closer to solving the recruitment crisis. “ We used to have three generations of choristers but not now. Young people move away earlier on in their careers to University whereas traditionally you grew up and went to work in your own community. My two sons would not dream of joining the choir. These days there is more out there for young people and so the commitment is not there.”
This makes for depressing news for fans of the genre. But luckily there is a glimmer of hope. While some of the old choirs in the valleys are forced to amalgamate to support their numbers there is a new breed of choirs willing to challenge the old guard whilst continuing the tradition.
Mike Evans is the man behind the Black Mountain Male Chorus. With an average age of 25 this is very much a young man’s game. You could say that Mike has a foot in both camps. “I have recorded male choirs for the past 30 years and I have the best archive in the world.” He said but he has a zeal for developing a new generation of choristers.
Mike’s background is also in management and when he was approached to take a choir to America 10 years ago he jumped at the chance – even though the choir didn’t exist at the time. “I believe in entertaining people. I quickly realised that the US audiences wanted a bit of pizzazz. We may start with Llanfair but also include the Flying Pickets’ Only You’ before moving on to ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’. By the end of a concert we are physically forming a kick line, which would seem completely OTT back in Wales but fits in with the variety style performance that America demands.”
Mike recruits from all over Wales and his ever changing choir takes to the road again for another tour of America in February next year. But before that he is embarking on a new project to bring male choral singing into the 21st century. Mike has teamed up with a local theatre in his hometown of Swansea to form a new choir. Mike says he is looking for singers under 35 who enjoy entertaining rather than simply singing. “This ‘new age’ male choir will try to reflect the youthful spirit of the young singers being recruited. We need entertainers, people who love a challenge. They will come from the stadium terraces, the karaoke of the pubs and as well as the more musically experienced from colleges, music societies and chapels. “
So it seems that with enthusiasts like Mike, the tradition of the male voice choir will forge a path into the 21st century but may be at the expense of the old guard.
