61st Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod at Royal International Pavilion on 7/13/07

By: David de Young

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As part of my ongoing quest to attend as many of the world’s music festivals as possible, this year I made a detour west after the mud and rock of the Roskilde Festival in Denmark to attend the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales.  It was fitting that on my fifth trip to the region I finally attend the festival.  I’d missed it time and again through lack of understanding as much as lack of information, actually catching it on the telly once or twice before understanding it was all happening (literally) just down the road from where I’d been staying in Trevor.

Then last summer, the festival was elevated still further in my consciousness after I learned a friend of mine had competed there in recent years; the ensemble with which she'd once performed, The Minnetonka Chamber Choir, took fifth place in 1999.  The more I asked about it, the more I realized that Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is among the most famous choral festivals, anywhere, period, sometimes even referred to as the "World Choral Olympics."

The word eisteddfod is derived from the Welsh word eistedd, which means to sit.  Meetings of artists and musicians in festival-like settings date as far back as the 12^th Century.  The Llangollen Eisteddfod has been held annually since 1947, pre-dating even the 30-year-old rock festivals I normally attend, pre-dating even rock and roll itself. And in contrast to standing ankle deep in mud as we did in tents in Denmark the week before, at the Eisteddfod, we were greeted at the tent entrances by attentive child ushers who showed us to our padded, reserved seats.

I should note that on both nights that we attended the keynote performances, we sat within sight of Terry Waite, president of the Eisteddfod festival since 2006 and former Archbishop of Canterbury, made even more famous when as an envoy for the Church of England he was taken captive in Lebanon while attempting to secure a hostage release and held from 1987 to 1991.  (Rock fans might note that Waite is even the subject of a song by The Fall, 1986’s “Terry Waite sez” from 1986’s Bend Sinister.)  Waite narrates a video with 60 years of festival highlights can be viewed on the festival website at this link: http://www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk/admin/uploads/tasteofllangollen.ram.

Headliners at this year’s Eisteddfod included folk legend Joan Baez, Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, and 19-year-old New Zealander, soprano Haley Westenra.  We attended two Pavilion shows, a Thursday night performance featuring Tia McGraff and Mabon, and the Friday show featuring Westenra.  Nashville’s (via Canada) McGraff provided an honest collection of folk originals and covers, highlighted by a rendition of Jerry Jeff Walker's “Mr. Bojangles” which brought the emphasis back to the original story in a way I have not heard in sometime.  (I felt a little choked up when Mr. Bojangle’s dog “up and died” which is not my normal reaction to the song.) Though McGraff’s husband Tommy’s smiles kept me attentive throughout her set, it was the evening’s headline act, Mabon, that left me wanting more.  Celtic accordionist Jamie Smith and his 8 piece band stole the show for me and many others that night, and are definitely an act to watch for if they come through your town. Songs like their “A Hungarian in Brittany” from their 2007 release OK Pewter made me want to get up and dance.

Friday night we were treated to Haley Westenra, who inspired the crowd with her song-craft (one song that stood out for me was an alternate version of "Ave Maria", written by Giulio Caccini). Also memorable was Westenra’s schoolgirl-like in between song banter. I must go on record as saying that although her banter was awkward at times, I would much rather have an artist be herself and be a little silly than be polished and insincere.  Kudos to Westenra’s management for not over-coaching her in this area.  For a couple of songs, Westenra was joined by the Tower New Zealand Youth Choir, a group in which she apparently still has a few friends.

Each evening in the pavilion we were also treated to a sampling of the competitors from throughout the week and even the winners of some of the choir competitions.  The stage presenters on the evenings of our attendance, Brian Kay (A BBC Radio presenter who was once a member of Pink Floyd’s backing band) and Alwyn Humphreys, MBE (a freelance TV and radio presenter, also once affiliated with the BBC) were quite entertaining themselves, both adept at balancing those crucial skills of all great masters of ceremonies, the ability to present information with poise, with just the right amount of humor to keep things moving along.

Find out more about Eisteddfod on the web at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk.

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Location Info: Royal International Pavilion
Artist Info: Haley Westenra, Mabon, Tia McGraff

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