Britain's Got Talent Winner Paul Potts has joined forces with Britain's Got Talent finalist Charlotte Jaconelli and Grammy Award Winning Soprano, Rebecca Evans to perform a hymn originally written over 100 years ago to commemorate those who lost their lives in the 1913 Universal Colliery Disaster in Sengheyndd.

The lyrics to the hymn were discovered recently by a relative of Sarah Ann Thorne, the original composer. Sadly the music was never found despite a rigorous search through the National Archives. The hymn had been left unperformed until two Welsh composers, Daniel and Laura Curtis took the decision to write new music to the original lyrics so that once again it could be heard by the public.

The Universal Colliery Disaster in Senghenydd killed 440 people in the United Kingdom’s worst ever mining disaster.

The lost hymn, 'Prepare To Meet Thy God' was sung during the original memorial service in 1913. The lyrics were then printed and sold on penny sheets with the proceeds of the sales going towards erecting a Memorial Plate at St Peters Church. The Memorial Plate is still there today and stands in memory of those who lost their lives in the explosion.

Daniel and Laura Curtis are keen advocates for supporting projects which commemorate fallen miners. In 2013 they composed  A Miner’s Song to raise money for the National Mining Memorial. The song featured over 300 performers including; Michael Sheen, Ioan Gruffudd, Matthew Rhys, Paul Potts, Joe Calzaghe, Jonathan Pryce and John Owen Jones.

Dan Curtis said ‘It is a great honour for us to be able to write new music for Sarah’s beautiful and heartfelt words. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to collaborate with someone who witnessed the tragic events unfold, long after their words were written. In releasing this hymn to the public, we are trying to get across the message “Remember Not To Forget”. Here in Wales and across the World we owe so much to our mining heritage and the sacrifice that so many miner's made, not only with their lives but with the ill health often suffered as a result of their work, they should never be forgotten’

Prepare To Meet Thy God will be available to download on iTunes and Amazon Mp3 from Saturday 25th April 2015 and is also available as part of 'A Miner's Song Special Edition' album also available online. All proceeds will be donated to the National Mining Memorial. The recording of the hymn was generously supported by Taylor Wimpey, the family of Sarah Ann Thorne, Lilian Evans, Inspirational Lighting, Egan Waste Services, Fulcrum Direct Limited and the Nuaire Group.

AmeriCymru: Hi Chris and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. You are appearing at the forthcoming 27th International Annual Folk Alliance Conference in Kansas City. Care to share the details?

Chris: Hi Ceri,croeso mawr, my pleasure, and thank you for the invitation. Sure, I will be an invited guest and Showcase artist at the FAI this year singing some Welsh folk songs and songs from the other Celtic nations. I have several performances but the main one will be at 9:30 on the showcase stage on sat the 21st Feb. The invitation came from TRAC (Traditional Music Wales), with help from the Arts Council of Wales. I will be there from the 18th (late on) until the night of the 21st and looking forward immensly to the opportunity of performing in America for the first time!

AmeriCymru: When did you first become interested in traditional Welsh folk music?

Chris: Well I guess it was when I was a teenager, about 16 or so. I was never an Eisteddfodwr and for Folk music I think that was a good move as Traditional Folk is a different tradition to the Eisteddfod. But my interest grew steadily to invol ve performing trad songs unaccompanied (at that time), and blossomed when I was a student in England, especially after being involved in Irish sessions around Bristol and the West country of England which is very rich in English trad singing too. So many an invite from Irish friends who were always keen to hear the Welsh language tradition as perhaps they were unfamiliar with the repertoire of Welsh music drew me into folk performance and an appreciation of other traditions which I thnk has been a boon. The interest went both ways and I was introduced to some great Irish and Scottish songs that I added to my own body of sources and influences. Song collecting is really a great part of folk music and sessions (yes in pubs until the early hours) are one of the best and most enjoyable context to expand your personal repertoire.

AmeriCymru: What instruments do you play?

Chris: I play guitar, for the guitarists out there I have a Taylor 214 currently needing some work, and a Faith FKV Naked Venus Electro. Both have excellent character whilst being vastly different in sound and timbre. I learnt on a Spanish but moved to a steel string Takemine EN40 which although a great amplified stage  performance instrument lacks the finger-picking fluency and subtlety of the other two.

I now have added the bouzouki as an instrument also and can be heard on the album too. Originally from Greece it has been modified in shape and retuned to suit Celtic music as a rhythm instrument mainly since the 60's.

AmeriCymru: Care to introduce your first album  Dacw'r Tannau for our readers?

Chris: Dacw'r Tannau translates as “there are..” or “behold the strings” and is part of a line from the song Dacw 'Nhariad  “Behold my love”. I recorded it at SAIN studios in Llandwrog near Caernarfon last March/April with John Lawrence of Gorki's Zykotic Mynci fame, on Gwymon Label.

There are 9 songs five in Welsh and four in English. I've known these songs for years but the bouzouki numbers and “Fair Flower of Northumberland (a Scottish border ballad) were arranged specifically for the album. The album has been received quite well critically and I hope to record another soon.  

Chris: Well first, its a privilege to be associated with Meic in any context and he certainly is a huge influence on me ever since I as a teenager although I do traditional  folk (at least on this album) and he's more singer-songwriter, bluesy as well as folk sensibility. It's the quality of his songs that are breathtaking to me as much as his guitar style which is fluid and articulate but economical. A real legend.  He represent  the finest expression of contemporary Welsh musical artistry-he really does, and I had the pleasure of supporting him this time last year back in Wales in one of the best performances I've seen him do.

Maredydd Evans is a seminal figure in Welsh folk revival and his trad style is mesmerising. The late Nansi Richards and Llio Rhydderch are exceptional triple harpists, there is a concrete Welsh musical sensibility here in their playing which I find a source of great resourcefulness and is genuinely ancient and unique to the Welsh triple harp. Another triple harpist is Robin Huw Bowen who tours ceaselesly it seems and has recorded many excellent albums. I must draw attention to the singing of Plethyn who's unnacompanied harmonies are based on traditional Plygain singing and are beautiful.

I've always admired the playing of Janch and Renbourn. I've never consciously seen them as direct influences on my style though but more than one reviewer has pointed this out so perhaps the influence is audible-as it were- to listeners more discerning than myself!! Unconscious osmosis? Nevertheless it's a privilege to be compared to both.

I think it's important to seek influences from as wide a range of sources as possible even  from other traditions providing you can integrate what you take into your own tradition, and many folk musicians have and do so. Although from a distinctly different tradition Dick Gaughan from Scotland is the traditional musician/guitarist and folk song arranger that I feel has had most influence on me. And I could listen to him all day. But I've listened to a lot of Nick Jones and Martin Carthy from England as well. And although I wouldn't list him as a stylistic influence I do admire what I've heard of the playing of Martin Simpson.

From Ireland Andy Irvine and Donal Lunny especially in their Planxty days have been a source of enormous pleasure as has been the singing of Christy Moore.

Another Irishman of note would be Luke Kelly of the Dubliners who chooses and interprets songs so beautifully and was around at the very beginning of the Irish folk revival.

Woody Guthrie has been an important influence thematically and as an admirer of American folk styles he was a great introduction. As a guitarist I can't help mention the wonderful American Bluesmen and am a great admirer of many artists from that tradition. Robert Johnson, Skip James and particularly J B Lenoir. I kind of see early Blues as a form of Folk music. But Artists like the wonderful BB King are perhaps an influence on my musical sensibility rather than a direct influence on guitar style. If so then it's all good!

AmeriCymru: Where can people go online to hear and purchase your music?
 
Chris: You can listen to and view photos and vids of my music on my EPK (electronic press kit) at:

http://www.sonicbids.com/band/robchrisjones/feed/

You can purchase my album on SAIN's website at:

http://www.sainwales.com/store/sain/gwymon-cd20      

AmeriCymru: What's next for Chris Jones?

Chris: Well, I have an ambition to work in America and to travel as much as I can playing music. Also to record more albums now that I have one under my belt and having enjoyed the process for the first time.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Chris: First I’d like to emphasise how important I feel a forum like AmeriCymru is for promoting Welsh identity, music, business and contacts internationally and also it's crucial that we identify ourselves as ethnically Celtic like the Irish and Scots do so successfully as we are sometimes overlooked as people don't know. “Is Welsh Celtic?” A question I've often heard. Self-promotion is necessary as a musician to get noticed and is necessary for Welsh people to promote our national identity too as we have a great deal to offer as a people, especially now that further political devolution is on the cards in the UK.
 
But when I use the term ethnic I mean a cultural, historical and civic national identity not a vulgar genetic definition. A definition that includes everyone who identifies themselves as Welsh.

A Miner''s Song will be launched on the 16th March before the Wales v England game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Produced by Daniel and Laura Curtis from Caerphilly; all proceeds from the sale of the single will go toward the National Coal Mining Memorial which will be unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the Senghenydd disaster where 440 people died in the UK’s worst ever coal mining tragedy. Read our interview with Dan Curtis below:-

A Miner's Song   Press Release ..... Buy on Amazon

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AmeriCymru: Hi Dan and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by Americymru. Can you tell us a little about the cause you are supporting:- The Welsh National Coal Mining Memorial.

Dan: The Welsh National Coal Mining Memorial is going to be unveiled in October 2013 on the 100th anniversary of the Senghenydd disaster which killed 440 people in the UK’s worst disaster. The memorial will have a statue centrepiece, garden and walk of remembrance. It will remember the over 8,000 people who have died in Welsh coal mines and the countless more who have died as a result of coal mining related diseases. It will also pay tribute to the legacy of mining for example the hospitals and workmen''s hall which are now our theatres that were paid for by the miners themselves. It is very important for Wales to have a National monument and give people a place to come together and remember what’s gone before.

AmeriCymru: It must have been quite a logistical feat to gather all these contributions from around the world. How did you achieve it?

Dan: This has been the biggest challenge of the project. We made a decision early on that we needed to find a way to get people who were not in the UK to be able to take part on the song. We had people record on iPad’s and iPhones and send their recordings from USA and Canada. Our recording engineer Al Steele is an amazing man and made the recordings sound fantastic and you cannot tell the difference. We also did a number of location recordings in London and also around South Wales to record the choirs and brass band. There are over 300 people on the completed recording. The snow in January really delayed us but we did manage to get to everybody before the deadline. We are so grateful to everybody who took the time to do this and pay their own personal respects.

AmeriCymru: The project has received support and encouragement from some prominent showbiz and political figures. Care to tell us more?

Dan: The support for the single has been amazing. The Prime Minister David Cameron has sent us a personal letter wishing the single the best of luck and stating how important coal mining had been to the country. We have also received support from Carwyn Jones the First Minister of Wales who attended our memorial concert in September. The actors and singers involved with the song have also been amazing including Michael Sheen who has really got behind the single and offered his support and urged people to buy the single.

AmeriCymru: You have a personal connection with the mining industry. Care to elaborate?

Dan: My two great grandfathers were coal miners and sadly both died as a direct result of mining. The one died in Senghenydd and the other from the coal dust on the lungs and died when my grandfather was only one. We really wanted to create this single to pay our respects to all those who have lost their lives.

AmeriCymru: This is not your first musical venture in aid of Miners charities. Can you tell us a little more about your memorable 2012 concert?

Dan: At the start of 2012 I came up with an idea of holding a mining memorial concert underground but with the twist of taking a piano underground. I contacted Big Pit in Blaenafon and expected them to tell me I was crazy but they came back quickly and said it wasn’t the most crazy idea ever that had ever been pitched to them and that they were open to the idea. The piano was donated by Pianos Cymru who were the same company who took a piano up Snowdon for Bryn Terfel. It was an incredibly emotional experience to perform down the mine and to take a piano down for the first time. You can hear the sounds come back at you a good while later and the atmosphere was so poignant and emotional. It was the most moving and by far the most memorable of any concert we have ever performed. Something that we will never forget. We were fortunate enough to have a number of television programmes record. Here is a link to the footage: Dan and Laura Curtis at Big Pit

AmeriCymru: So...when will we first get to hear the song and where can we buy it online?

Dan: The song will be launched on the 16th March before the Wales v England game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The first play of the song will be on the Roy Noble show on the 10th March on BBC Radio Wales. The single will available in Tesco in Wales, iTunes, Amazon and can be pre-ordered Worldwide from the official website: www.nationalminingmemorial.co.uk

Hollywood and music legends unite for charity single in aid of the Welsh National Coal Mining Memorial. Rugby fans will be given an exclusive first look as the music video is launched ahead of the Wales v England game at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

The single, which so far has been kept strictly under wraps, will feature the singing talents of: Aled Jones, Caroline Sheen, Daniel and Laura Curtis, Dennis O''Neill, Darren Parry , Ioan Gruffudd, Iris Williams, Jamie Pugh , John Owen Jones, Jonathan Pryce, JP Jones , Mark Llewelyn Evans , Matthew Rhys, Paul Child , Paul Potts, Rebecca Evans, Rhys Meirion , Samantha Link , Sian Phillips, Tom Lukas, Wynne Evans . With special spoken contributions by Michael Sheen, Boyd Clack, Joe Calzaghe and the late Richard Burton with the kind permission of the Dick Cavett Show. The song also features over three hundred local musicians, choirs and bands from around South Wales including BTM Brass Band, The Gentlemen Songsters Choir, The Richard Williams Singers, The Aber Valley Male Choir and one hundred and twenty school children. The bass guitar on the song is played by World renowned musician Pino Palladino.

The recording of the song has taken place at locations all over the World. Co-producer and composer Laura Curtis said “We wanted to reach out to Welsh artists across the world and invite them to take part. Many of these artists have hectic schedules due to them being in the middle of filming TV series or films. Going into a recording studio wasn’t an option for them, so we came up with the idea of using iPads and iPhones for them to record their lines. The quality once mixed into the song is really high and the results have been brilliant”.

The song has been written and produced by Daniel and Laura Curtis from Caerphilly. This is not their first mining related project, in September 2012 they organised an underground concert in a mine to honour those who lost their lives in mining disasters. The concert involved lowering a piano 300 ft underground for the first time.

After being made redundant in 2011, Daniel Curtis made the decision to follow his life-time passion and become a self-employed professional musician and project manager, specialising in music events. Due to close family ties with coal mining he decided to put his efforts into a project that would raise money for a cause that was very important to him.

Daniel Curtis said ‘My two great grandfathers died in mines and after the emotional experience of performing the concert underground last year I wanted to create a song that paid tribute to the legacy of coal mining. The response that we have received has been amazing and we have tried to involve everybody who has wanted to take part. Each artist has added their own personal style to the recording and made the song something very special. We are delighted with the way that it has turned out.’

Dan and Laura Curtis with Michael Sheen

Michael Sheen OBE said ‘I want to lend my support to this incredibly worthy cause that is part of our history and our heritage. I hope that everyone will get behind this and give it the boost it deserves."

The Prime Minister, David Cameron has also expressed his support saying; ‘We owe a great debt to those who were, and continue to be, involved in the industry. We cannot forget those who lost their lives in mining related disasters over the years, including Senghenydd. I wish the single every success.’

The National Coal Mining Memorial will be unveiled on the 100th anniversary of the Senghenydd disaster where 440 people died in the UK’s worst ever coal mining disaster. The National Memorial will be a national monument to remember the over 8,000 people who have died in Welsh coal mines. The memorial is costing over £220,000 and will contain a walk of remembrance, monument and garden.

The song will be available to buy from the 16 ^th March in Tesco on iTunes, Amazon and many other outlets nationally. The song can be pre-ordered from www.nationalminingmemorial.co.uk

The production of the single has been sponsored by a number of local businesses. The two primary sponsors are Giovanni’s Restaurant in Cardiff and Foy Wealth.

PRESS RELEASE

On the 13 ^th September 2012, Big Pit in Blaenafon will host a memorial concert in remembrance of those who have lost their lives in coal mining accidents. The concert comes two days before the first anniversary of the Gleision Colliery tragedy.

This concert will be held at ‘Pit Bottom’, 300 ft underground. An upright piano will be placed into the ’cage’ to make the descent into the mine. Several dignitaries and special guests including the First Minister of Wales Carwyn Jones will be attending the concert.

Performing will be Daniel and Laura Curtis who are considered as one of the foremost ambassadors for the preservation of the music of Ivor Novello and The Great American Songbook. Welsh writer and actor Boyd Clack will also be writing a new poem to mark the event as well as joining Daniel and Laura in song. The BBC One Show will be covering the concert for inclusion as a VT in a future programme.

Daniel Curtis said ‘I have wanted to do a concert at Big Pit for a long time. I contacted the museum with my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t think I was crazy! Luckily it wasn’t the craziest request they had ever received. It’s great that we are making this happen. My great grandfather died in Senghenydd Colliery and I really wanted to hold a concert to pay tribute to pay my respects and raise awareness for those who have died in mines. Singing was an important part of mining history with many miners being members of their local Male Voice Choir. The number of people who lost their lives through the years is one the biggest tragedies running through the history of Wales and Britain.’

Peter Walker, Keeper and Mine Manager added: ‘We are only too happy to work with Daniel and Laura Curtis on this concert, as we feel passionately that any effort to keep the memories of this most important industry alive is vitally important. We have had many weird and wonderful events underground, and we look forward to sharing the excitement of this unusual concert.’

Stage and screen legend Jonathan Pryce has supported the concert by saying: ‘Coal mining is ingrained in our history and has to been one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs that anybody could do. My father worked in two mines in the Holywell area including the Bettisfield Colliery, but my mother rescued him from the mines when they married and both became shopkeepers. It is very important that we remember those who have lost their lives working in mines, but also those who have died from diseases like pneumoconiosis caused by the inhalation of dust. Due to my theatre commitments with King Lear, I am unable to attend the memorial concert at Big Pit, Blaenafon but I would like to add my support to the concert and wish Dan and Laura Curtis all the very best. Taking a piano underground is certainly unique idea and will, without doubt, create a very special and poignant atmosphere.’ Jonathan Pryce CBE.

The piano has kindly been donated by Pianos Cymru who are an award winning piano dealership in the NorthWest Wales area and have recently opened another branch in Chester called ‘Jones Pianos’. They have been established since 1970 and offer an extensive range of pianos. They have twice won the prestigious ‘Kawai Dealer of The Year Award’ which is a National Recognition Award to the Piano Dealer that has ‘served the piano world best’ thorough the UK that year. They have supplied and maintained pianos for major Music Festivals across the UK, and worked for International stars that have included Jose Carreras, Jamie Cullum, Bryn Terfel, Michael Ball and Dame Shirley Bassey. www.pianoscymru.com

AmeriCymru: Hi Craig and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. Can you tell us a little about your forthcoming visit to the US and in particular your headline performance at NAFOW 2014 in Minneapolis?

Craig: We are really looking forward to coming over to the US. We have been a few times before, but only to New York and Washington DC, so we cant wait to see other parts of America. We are performing 5 times on our tour, firstly we have a reception at the British Consulate in Chicago, then we have a concert in Algona, Iowa, we then perform twice at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago and last but certainly not least we finish at the NAFOW in Minneapolis.

AmeriCymru: What can attendees expect from Only Men Aloud at the Festival? Can you give us any sneak previews of your program for this performance?

Craig: As with every concert Only Men Aloud do, there will be a wide variety in styles of music. We will be singing traditional Welsh hymns and folksongs all the way through to some pop favourites and music theatre numbers, all done with our unique Only Men Aloud twist.

AmeriCymru: How did the choir come to be formed and where are you based?

Craig: Only Men Aloud was formed in the year 2000, when Tim wanted to start a new group to inject some new blood in to the male voice choir tradition. He wanted to make it more appealing to a wider audience and make it younger and fresher - ensuring that this great tradition continues for many years to come. We are based in and around Cardiff in South Wales, but have performed all over the world.

AmeriCymru: The choir has been through some changes over the years. Can you describe its current composition and repertoire?

Craig: It has indeed. When we one BBC Last Choir Standing in 2008, there we 19 members of the choir. In September 2013 we saw a complete reinvention of the group, as the choir became a "honed and toned 8-piece vocal ensemble.  This has enabled us to put sound like at the absolute core of the group. We needed to keep things fresh and be the very best we could. It has enabled us to take on more opportunities that we would have otherwise had to turn down with a larger number of singers - but we hope the quality of our performance has not changed and hopefully it is even better.

AmeriCymru: Care to tell us a little about your performance at the 2012 Olympic Games? That must have been a momentous occasion.

Craig: Singing at the Olympic Games opening ceremony was an incredible experience. We were singing at the very moment that the olympic flame - or the cauldron as it was called in London - was lit. We were stood on the hill side or Tor, surrounded by the flags of every nation, looking down into the stadium with was crammed full with every competitor of the games. We had the best seats in the house, and once we were finished, we remained on the fake hillside to watch the most amazing firework display we had ever seen.

AmeriCymru: What would you say has been the choirs proudest moment or most outstanding achievement to date?

Craig: I don't think we would be doing what we are doing now without us winning BBC's Last Choir Standing. It was an intense summer back in 2008 as it completely took over our lives, but what has followed in the subsequent years has been all down to that success. Tours, an album deal and winning a Classical Brit award have all happened due to our hard work that summer.

AmeriCymru: You also run The Aloud Charity. Can you tell us something of your organisation's work? What unique opportunities does it offer for Welsh youngsters?

Craig: When Tim registered the name Only Men Aloud, he also registered the name Only Boys Aloud, in the hope that one day we could set up a choir for teenage boys. Just over four years ago, this became a reality and since then it has gone from strength to strength. We now have ten choirs across south Wales and have 180, 14-19 year olds on our books. Along side this, three years ago, we started Only Kids Aloud. This is to work with boys and girls from the ages of 4 up to 14. Through this we have given numerous school workshops for teachers and pupils, set up a pan-Wales Choir that has visited Russia and South Africa and worked with hundreds of local school kids to perform in the National Eisteddfod. Just over a year ago, we set up and registered The Aloud Charity and now this looks after all of the work we do with the Boys and the Kids.  

AmeriCymru: Can you tell us a little about your most recent album 'Only Men Aloud Unplugged'?

Craig: Only Men Aloud Unplugged is our fourth album and is something slightly different. The album is just us eight singers, in a room with a piano and no amplification. It has given a more intimate style and we hope you enjoy the stripped back approach we have gone for. We have put some beautiful music on there, that ranges from Welsh songs like Pantyfedwen and Hiraeth to classics such as Lennon and McCartney's Blackbird. The album will be exclusively on sale after our live performances in America and on our tour in the UK.

AmeriCymru: What's next for Only Men Aloud? New recordings, performances?

Craig: We have a busy few months ahead of us after we get back from the US. We have a 12 date UK wide Christmas Tour in December, we are hoping to make a TV programme in the autumn and then launch and make our fifth album in the new year. There will also be a Spring Tour in Wales in March.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of AmeriCymru?

Craig: We would like to thank you all for your support of Only Men Aloud over the years and we hope some of you are getting to see us on our trip to the States. We wouldn't be doing what we do without the support of our fans, right across the world.

AmeriCymru spoke to Welsh legend Max Boyce - " I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it! "

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AmeriCymru:  Hi Max and many thanks for agreeing to be interviewed by AmeriCymru. I read in a previous interview that you have "always loved folk music and poetry". Are there any particular musicians or poets who influenced or inspired you?

Max: I would probably say Bob Dylan, Woody Guthrie & Ewan MacColl.

AmeriCymru:   You worked as a coal miner in the 1960's. How and to what extent did this influence your music?

Max: I did indeed and this influenced my music massively.  To write accurately about your subject matter you have to experience it personally. For me, it was that special camaraderie and sharing the same dangers that really enabled me to write my songs with first-hand experience and which ultimately has given my songs their poignancy. All great works, whether they be paintings or songs are at their best when created from personal experience.

AmeriCymru:  What can you tell us about the night your Live in Treorchy album ( 1974 ) was recorded?

Max: Well it was put together very hastily so not foreseen at all! Initially I was selling my tickets for 50p just to get an audience for my show as I needed them for my chorus songs!  I was in fact giving them away and think people only came to see me out of sympathy!  It was the audience’s spontaneous reactions that made this album the success that it was. I made a conscious decision to choose a place where I had never been before so I got a fresh reaction and it went fantastically well!

Max Boyce Live At Treorchy

AmeriCymru:  How did it feel to go straight to number 1. in the charts with your second album 'We All Had Doctors Papers'?

Max: Unbelievable! I still find it strange when I think back. Wherever I was in the country I would always buy a copy of The Melody Maker and The New Music Express just to see if I was still up there!  I remember seeing my name on the list ABOVE Rod Stewart and The Beatles! Totally amazing.

AmeriCymru:  Did you ever think that your song 'Hymns And Arias' would become anthemic? How did that song come to be written?

Max: No I didn’t. No-one could foresee that. It became a song of the people which just cannot be manufactured.  Funnily enough the Irish and Scottish anthemic folk songs ‘Fields of Anthenry’ and ‘Flower of Scotland’ were actually written at a very similar time to when I wrote ‘Hymns and Arias’. I had just been to Twickenham and was writing topical songs. So I basically wrote about my memories  of the whole trip and probably did it in about 2 hours!  I wish I could change a line or two today but obviously cannot!

AmeriCymru:  You have performed all over the world. What was your most memorable performance and why?

Max: Probably Wembley before the Wales vs England game. It was a home game and should have been in Cardiff but they were building the stadium for the World Cup. Such an iconic venue with 80,000 people singing along..wonderful.

AmeriCymru:  You toured Australia in 2003 during the rugby World Cup. Any memories you would like to share?

Max: Performing at Sydney Opera House was tremendous and I had Katherine Jenkins as my guest. She performed one song and then was very quickly signed up after that!

Hymns and Arias

AmeriCymru:  You have visited and performed in the States in the past. How did you enjoy your time in the US?

Max: I absolutely loved it and I loved the different culture.  Also what a privilege afforded to very few, if any, to play for 2.5 months with The Dallas Cowboys. To be picked by Coach Landry to play offence in the first game in the Texas Stadium against the Green Bay Packers is something I will never ever forget.  Following on from the success of that, I was then also asked to ride bulls in the rodeo and again, was very touched by the similar camaraderie that they had, as we did in coal mining, in sharing the same dangers.  Bull riding is America’s truest sport I think and an experience that I will treasure always.

AmeriCymru:  What's next for Max Boyce? Tours? Recordings?

Max: I have another big concert tour starting in October until December following a very successful TV programme celebrating my 70th Birthday which was actually had the highest viewing ratings that year! I am also in the process of writing my autobiography for publication when I finally finish it!

AmeriCymru:  Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru? 

Max: Please carry on with the missionary work and come back and see us soon – we miss you!

AmeriCymru: Hi Lleuwen and many thanks for agreeing to talk to AmeriCymru. Your new album 'Tan' was released on April 4th. Care to tell us a little more about it?

Lleuwen: Of course! Tan is basically what I've been working on this past year with Breton genius musician and producer, Vincent Guerin. I first came to Brittany to perform at the Lorient Interceltic Festival 2008 and once I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere and language because I think, in a way, I felt great empathy with the Breton people. Then in 2009 I was fortunate to win the Creative Wales Award by Arts Council Wales. I had agreed with the arts council that I'd write songs, record an album and then come back to Wales to perform this new material. I feel blessed to have received that award, and "Tan" would not have happened without it. We'll be performing at festivals in Brittany and Wales in the summer and it's great to have my new music out there at last.

AmeriCymru: You are currently living between Wales and Brittany. How strong is the Breton influence on the album and upon your life and music generally at the moment?

Lleuwen: It's pretty nuts spending so much time on a boat or plane but, to be honest, I don't really like to be settled in one place so I suppose this life suits me well. I live far from the city here in Brittany and this is a huge influence on my work. I would say that this new disc has an anti-urban sound to it almost. The production is rough and gritty and it was important for me to have it that way. It sounds quite wild too - lots of made-up weird open guitar tunings which I have grown to adore. I also play drums and zither on it and various pots and pans from the kitchen. I wanted sounds that the listener doesn't recognise as "instruments" . . . that way nothing comes between the listener and the music itself. I wanted to get to the core of it.

AmeriCymru: I read somewhere that you were learning Breton. How is that going? How does it differ from Welsh?

Lleuwen: Breton is a delicious language, close to nature and so interestingly similar to my own mother tounge . It s been one of the greatest adventures of my life to explore and learn this language and I continue to do so. I began leaning the language in the pubs of course and just by generally hanging out. When I first go t here I spent some time camping out in the garden of "Tavern Ty Elise" in Plouie. This pub has since burned down but will be reopening shortly and I can't wait. I need it's inspiration. It s a legendary bar, run by Merthyr Tudfil boy, Byn Walters. Anyway, I learned a lot of Breton there, just by listening, just by being. I then decided to study more seriously by doing a six month course with an association called Roudour. It was here I began to write a few Breton songs too . . .as well as my Welsh ones. Please check out Roudour's site if you can : www.roudour.com . Their courses are the best. A real mind-opener.

AmeriCymru: Can you tell our members a bit about your career, how you developed as a vocalist?

Lleuwen: My father is singer/songwriter Steve Eaves and so I don't remember a time where music, musicians and instruments were not around me. I suppose it's fair to say that I had a blesssed childhood in that way. I never really gave much thought to singing or making music. . . it just happend. It's just something I do. One of the uncomplicated things in life! I went on to study music and theatre and, through my studies, I got to go to Central College Iowa for six months. I loved it and met so many interesting people who were crazy about jazz (like myself!) I returned to Wales inspired to do do Welsh language jazz . . .something new to the scene. I joined jazz trio Acoustique and we released "Cyfnos" (which, translated means "Dusk") on Sain Records. I have since released three solo albums, all being different but at the same time, I still have the same goal, and that is to make NEW music. That is what I have, what I am and what I will always search for in life.

AmeriCymru: Can you explain something of the background and inspiration for the 'Duw a Wyr' album for our readers?

Lleuwen: It was 2004, a century after Evan Roberts's Welsh religious revival and I became interested in the hymns that were sung at the time. I met pianist Huw Warren that same year and we realized that we shared the same interest in these revivalist hymns and began to dig deeper into the project. I spent months and months researching into the hymns that were sung in the Bethesda area and was amazed by some the jewels I found - long lost tunes and mind-blowing poetry! My mother passed away the previous year and, looking back, I see that, through my research, I was also searching for answers. My mother introduced me to the Welsh hymns and I heard them from her radio set as I fell asleep every sunday night throughout my childhood. I find it difficult to listen back to "Duw a Wyr" because I hear my grief in the music. And although I cant' isten to it, I am proud of the record because I still receive letters today, from people who have been touched by the music.

AmeriCymru: Your album, 'Penmon,' was inspired by your home on Ynys Mon/Anglesey. can you tell us a little about the album?

Lleuwen: "Penmon" was my first adventure with the acoustic guitar! My first record as a songwriter and guitarist as well as singing. There was a sense of freedom in this and I continue along that road.

AmeriCymru: Where can people hear/buy your music online? Any live appearances in the near future?

Lleuwen: to buy the music, put my name into the search on www.sainwales.com and for live appearances, check out www.myspace.com/lleuwen

AmeriCymru: Any plans to visit the States?

Lleuwen: I hope. I wish.

AmeriCymru: Any final message for the members and readers of Americymru?

Lleuwen: thanks for listening. spread the love.

Interview by Ceri Shaw Email

Dr. Karl Jenkins is one of Britain's greatest and most versatile living composers, the author of an ocean of amazing and exalting music unlimited by genre, style or instrument. He holds a doctorate of musicology from the University of Wales and the Royal Academy of Music London. His many awards include several fellowships at various universities and an OBE (Order of the British Empire) for "services to music." He has composed for jazz bands, orchestra and voice, for advertising, film, and live performance. Dr. Jenkins is a native of the village of Penclawdd in the Gower peninsula, where his father was a school teacher and the choirmaster and organist of the Methodist church the family attended. 

Two of his most recent works are Stabat Mater (2008), an adaptation of a 13th century Roman Catholic prayer and Stella Notalis (2009), adaptations and compositions of Christmas carols from around the world.

Americymru: You'll be appearing as guest conductor at Carnegie Hall on March 6th . What are the circumstances and what will you be conducting?  

Karl: As part of Welsh Week I've been asked to conduct some of my music as the first half of the concert. I have a strong relationship with Jonathan Griffith of DCINY who has arranged the event and who has been fantastic in that he has conducted and supported much of my work in the USA. On Martin Luther King Day 2010 he performed my The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and my Requiem. On this occasion I shall be conducting Palladio [famous for its use on a TV ad for diamonds], two choral extracts, Benedictus & Ave verum [from the Armed Man & Stabat Mater respectively] and the USA premier of my Concerto for Euphonium & Orchestra played by David Childs for whom it was written. 

Karl Jenkins Conducts "Palladio"

Americymru: You're a musician, your wife is a musician, your son is a musician, your daughter-in-law is a musician, your father was a musician, has music always been part of your family's life?  

Karl: Well obviously that is the case. My father started the ball rolling really since he was hugely influential with regard to my musical education. He taught me piano from an early age and music was always in the house, both live & recorded. My wife Carol Barrat is a celebrated music educationalist while our son, a percussionist and film composer has just scored a Bollywood movie! His wife Rosie, whom he met in the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain is currently playing oboe with the London Symphony Orchetra. 

Americymru: You've said in other interviews and your biography that your father was the organist and choirmaster at your village's Methodist chapel, was he the greatest musical influence in your life? Do you think you've been the same influence in your son's life?  

Karl: What we've done as parents is introduce Jody to music and by default, the musicians life so he's quite worldly for a young man [he's 28]. We did not force him in any way and having played piano & flute as a child, he asked to play percussion when he was ten. This was his instrument and became principal in the aforementioned NYOGB, won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Music [where I had studied 30 years before] and graduated with first class honours. So, he's been his own man really but I suppose it helps in that we work in different areas. What we do all share as a family is a love of all good music, regardless of categorisation, and in any genre. 

Americymru: How would you describe Welsh congregational singing to someone who's never seen it? Would you say that growing up with that musical experience effected or enriched you as a composer?  

Karl: It's obviously hard to describe music in words but what makes it unique is the rawness of the vocal sound. On the printed page it looks like any other four part hymn but the sound, to me anyway, is hugely atmospheric especially when sung in Welsh. The sound influenced my Adiemus project which had a degree of global success. This was a mix of the 'classical' but with voices that were not from the European classical tradition but more "tribal". The text was my own invented language. 

Americymru: You've performed and composed a very wide variety of instruments and styles of music and incorporate a great variety in your work, from the 13th century Roman Catholic Stabat Mater to Japanese haiku and African folk - what inspires or directs fitting these styles together in a piece? Where do you start writing music or creating music?  

Karl: My musical journey, following academic classical training at Cardiff University & the RAM, has taken in a wide variety of genres and I've arrived at what I do now by way of being a musical tourist. Essentially I am a composer who always looks outside the European tradition for influences, texts & instrumentation, particularly percussion. With regard starting a piece, if I'm setting words then I immediately have a peg on which to hang the piece. If it's instrumental or Adiemus then I'm on my own! The principle is searching around for ideas [usually using a piano] and developing what takes my fancy. A huge amount of intuition is involved, but intuition based on an armoury of acquired musical craft; harmony, counterpoint, orchestration, form et. 

Americymru: "Stabat" Mater (2008) is your adaptation of a 13th century Catholic liturgical hymn, in which you included an amazing variety of instruments and material from sources as wide as 13th century Persian poetry and the Epic of Gilgamesh, how did you come to create this, what was your process in expressing this?  

Karl: Well the established text is there already. Then much of what I have expressed above came in to play, looking outside Europe to the Middle East/Holy Land for relevant [i.e. concerning grief] ancient text, employing languages that were lingua franca at the time and including indigenous instruments in the orchestration. The eminent Welsh poet [and academic] Grahame Davies [who wrote the words for my recently composed anthem for the National Assembly of Wales] did quite a bit of research for me with regard to the literature. 

Americymru: You've said in interviews before that you "don't see any point in being a composer if you don't communicate with people," what does that mean to you? Do you feel that response in the audience is important, that response is the "product" or goal of a piece of art or music? What response do you want to create in your audiences?  

Karl: I believe music should emotionally connect with an audience; make them cry, laugh, administer 'goose bumps! I've heard far too much music with 'one man and his dog' in the audience, the piece never heard again and the event receiving "critical acclaim". 

Americymru: Wales seems to produce a lot of musical artists who would be (or are) described as "crossover", yourself included - do you think Wales has a musical character or tradition that inspires or tends toward experimentation or something like hybridization, a lack of adherence to artificial limitations of genre?  

Karl: I don't like to use the term cross-over. I'm not sure what it means and I've explained what I do above. I don't think the Welsh like music particularly. What they do like are singers which is not necessarily the same thing. I like to think that what I do is at least individual and at least it's new. Most albums and repertoire [not just by Welsh artists] are a series of singers singing the same songs, songs that everyone knows. Many such artists are described as opera singers when they have never sang in an opera in their lives. At least good modern 'pop' has more integrity since it is newly composed. 

Americymru: Did you have particular creative goals as an artist and if you did, have you achieved them? What would you like to look back on at the end of your life and see that you did or created?  

Karl: Following my journey, I have come relatively late in life to what I do now, but the corollary is that I would not have arrived at this point without this musical tourism and the influence and skills that have come with it. There is still much to do. I'm setting the Gloria text for a Royal Albert Hall premier in July and there is much more to do. 

Americymru: Is there any particular instrument you especially like to compose for? If so, what instrument and why?  

Karl: Sounds pompous [which I'm not] but my instrument is the orchestra [& choir] and the rich palette of colours it provides. 

Americymru: Is there any one work or piece that you created that you're particularly proud of or happy to have done? If so, what is it and why?  

Karl: The worrying thing is that some of my most popular pieces were kind of written quickly and which I didn't set great store by. However, I suppose the Armed Man because of it's impact but I think there is better music in the Requiem. 

Americymru: What music do you listen to for pleasure?  

Karl: I listen far less than I did, most certainly because I'm always writing and I need a break! Favourites would be Mahler, Strauss, Wagner, Bach, Stravinsky, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Weather Report, Steely Dan........