The Winnipeg Welsh Male Choir

A Welsh Male Choir existed in the city in the early 1900’s, and in 1905, it was conducted by Iestyn Williams, ‘the Welsh baritone’. By 1906 it had merged into the Winnipeg Choral Union, which performed at a number of concerts during the years 1907 - 1908, possibly under the direction of E.C.Davies. This appears to have been a male choir, no details of its programs are known.  The Welsh Male Choir was re-formed in 1910 and its conductor was E.C.Davies. In that year, the choir entertained members of the St David’s Society during their ‘annual boat trip’ on the Red River. There are some reports of its activities between 1910 and 1916. including a performance at the St David’s Day celebrations in 1915, but these are generally sparse, and provide little information. Its conductors included Watkin James Williams,  Joseph Farr and Hughie Roberts.  On October 1st, 1913, 250 persons attended a concert given by the Welsh Male Choir directed by Hughie Roberts.

E.C. Davies could have been any (or none) of the following individuals listed in the City Directory at that time :  ‘E.C.Davies’ - Building Inspector (1897), E. Christopher Davies - Store Clerk (1906), Enoch C. Davies - Journalist (1908 - 1911), ‘E.C.Davies’ - Sanitary Inspector (1912), Evan Cyril Davies - Salesman (1913-1914).

Hughie Roberts, b. Llanfairfechan in 1890. Enlisted in 1914.  Lance-Corporal Hughie Roberts died in France on December 12th, 1915. However, more likely to have been Hugh S. Roberts who worked in Owen Hughes’ grocery store, and married Mrs Hughes’ sister. His father, Thomas Jarrett Roberts, was choirmaster at the Welsh Church. After his retirement, Hugh Roberts moved to Vancouver.

Sometime after 1916 the choir’s activities ceased. It was re-formed under the auspices of the St David’s Society in 1921 after a visit to Winnipeg by ‘the famous Mountain Ash Choir of Wales’. T.R. ‘Tom’ Griffith was the conductor at that time, and he was succeeded for a while by F.H.Hughes. The choir’s first appearance was on March 22nd 1921 at St Stephen’s Church. The choir comprised some 30 voices. Repertoire included ‘The Crusaders’ by Daniel Prothero. Marjorie Barrack Beliveau appeared as guest soloist.

Choir’s conductor most likely to have been Thomas Rhys Griffith b.London 1889 (see below). There was also a Thomas Rhys Griffith, born in England in 1883, came to Canada in 1912. Occupation given in 1921 census as ‘clerk’.

On Jan 14th  1922 The Manitoba Free Press (now the Winnipeg Free Press) advertised a performance at a Pops Concert at the Board of Trade Hall.  The conductor was Joseph Farr and the accompanist was W.J.Hughes. Visiting artists were John Waterhouse, violin and William Mitchell, bass.

The paper reported that ‘The Winnipeg Male Choir since organisation 1 year ago, has made 7 public appearances, each time with increasing success.  After the Choir’s performance before the Duke of Devonshire at the official reception in the Parliament Buildings last year, His Excellency declared it to be the finest male singing he had heard in many years.’

The Choir’s program included ‘Old Welsh Folk Songs’ arranged by Henry Evans* : Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn  & Rhyfelgyrch Gwŷr Harlech.

In a review published 2 days later, E.G.C. wrote, “There is in the unanimity and ease with which its members sing evidence of much faithful and intelligent practice. Noticeable in the numbers sung were smoothness of phrasing, freedom and confidence in attack and a skilful blending of voices which at times resulted in a solid body of tone of organ-like fullness and beauty”.

*Presumably Harry Evans, 1873-1914, a noted musician in his day and a contemporary of Joseph Farr’s in Dowlais. The above reviewer wrote of his piece There is no Death : ‘notable for its spirit of unquenchable hope and its beautiful harmony’.

On October 24th, 1923, the Choir under the direction of J.E.Hughes sang at Zion Church, on the occasion of Mr Lloyd George’s visit to Winnipeg. Their anthem selection was ‘Y Delyn Aur’.

On May 26th 1924 the paper reported the Choir’s Annual  Meeting :

‘Fitz-Herbert Hughes was elected chairman with J.E. Hughes as conductor.  J.E.Hughes is well known in Western Canada musical circles, having for a number of years conducted choirs in Brandon. The executive council includes the chairman and conductor, Frank Thould as secretary-treasurer, W.J. Hughes as business manager and accompanist, and A. Edwards, S. Davies, E.C.Watkins and S. Burman.

The financial standing of the choir was satisfactory, and all present were optimistic for the future. The choir suffered greatly during the last season owing to the large number of members who left the city, but appeared with much success at the Lloyd George meeting at the Olympic rink; at Zion church and also at St David’s Day celebration on the 1st of March 1924’.

J.E.Hughes

In a performance advertised on Jan 31st 1925, the Choir was said to be comprised of 35 voices.

On December 3rd 1925, the Manitoba Free Press reported a concert at Grace Church (on Notre Dame Ave, demolished in 1955 ) :

‘J.E. Hughes conducted in pieces by Ward, Stephens, Cyril Jenkins, Elgar, Storace and other composers, and secured a very pleasurable body of tone without many subtleties of nuance although these will come with further rehearsal. D.E. Lewis was the soloist in Cyril Jenkins’ ‘Fallen Heroes’ and Victor Scott in ‘Peaceful Slumbering on the Ocean’ by Storace’. The choir now comprised some 40 voices.

Cyril Jenkins (1889-1978) was a fairly ‘modern’ Welsh composer at that time, and this selection would have been a quite adventurous choice. Jenkins was born in Swansea, studied with Stanford and Ravel, and spent much of his life in Australia and in the United States. He is best known today for his compositions for brass band. He died in Sussex, England. Stephen Storace (1762-1796) was an English opera composer of Italian extraction who studied in Italy, and worked with Mozart and Salieri in Vienna.

W.J Hughes

At the St David’s Day concert in 1926, the choir performed under the direction of Joseph Farr, who was also President of the St David’s Society at that time.  In September 1926 it was announced that T.R.Griffith had been appointed to succeed J.E.Hughes as conductor; however, at the St David’s Day concert in 1927, the choir was again under the direction of Joseph Farr.

                                                              Thomas Rhys Griffith

In September 1928, it was announced that P.T. (Percy) Moseley had been appointed as conductor. Originally from Cardiff (b.1891), he had spent several years as a music teacher in Vancouver (came to Canada in 1921). In November 1928 he was appointed organist and choirmaster at Grace Church in Portage la Prairie. On January 15th 1929, the choir appeared in a concert at Grace Church, Winnipeg, featuring Glanville Davies, a visiting soloist from Wales. The conductor of the choir on that occasion is unknown.

                                                                        P.T. Moseley

There are no further reports of the choir’s activities until 1933, when The Free Press reported on 4th November that the Welsh Male Voice Choir had been revived under the direction of F.H.Hughes.

At the Annual Meeting in September 1934, A.J.Thomas was elected president, and F.H.Hughes was re-elected conductor. Other officers selected for the ensuing year were R.C.Reece, vice-president, Arthur E Parker, business manager and W.H.Townson, secretary-treasurer. The Free Press on March 1st 1934 announced that the Choir would be performing that evening at the St David’s Day dinner being held by the St David’s Society of Winnipeg at the Royal Alexandra Hotel. The conductor on this occasion was F.H.Hughes and the accompanist W.J. (Will) Hughes. It was reported that the proceedings would be broadcast over the Dominion Network. The last reference to the Choir that I have been able to find is in the Winnipeg Free Press on March 2nd 1939, which reported their performance at the annual St David’s Day dinner the previous evening. Again they were directed by F.H.Hughes. Exactly when the Choir ceased to exist is not known.  

Fitz-Herbert Hughes

The retirement of Fitz-Herbert Hughes was noted in the Free Press on February 1st 1949, and his obituary appeared on January 12th 1952.  He was born in Rhosymedre in North Wales in 1883, trained as an architect in South Africa and came to Canada in 1905. In 1907 he joined the Bell Telephone Co. which became the Manitoba Telephone System the following year. He was with MTS for 41 years, retiring as Commercial Manager. For more than 30 years, Mr Hughes sang to Winnipeg audiences at recitals and over the air. He was choirmaster and soloist at 4 Winnipeg churches - St Paul’s Anglican, Broadway Methodist and Young & Westminster United. He appeared in almost all Gilbert and Sullivan productions and several grand operas. He was one of the founders of the Musical Festival, the Winnipeg Male Voice Choir and the Men’s Musical Club and for many years was leader of the Welsh Male Voice Choir. He was active in the formation and training of school choirs, and a member of the Kiwanis Club. From 1939 to 1945, he organised reception committees for troops returning from overseas.

 

J.E. (John Edward) Hughes was born in North Wales in 1863, and came to Canada in 1891. In 1892 he was a founder-member of the St David’s Society of Winnipeg. From 1905 t0 1915 he was manager of the Northern Life Company in Brandon, where he was also leader of St Paul’s church choir and conductor of the Brandon Choral Society. In 1915 he moved back to Winnipeg as Provincial Inspector, and in 1917 he was promoted to manage the company’s office in Regina. Apparently by 1924 he was again back in Winnipeg. He was reported to have conducted community singing in the city during the Second World War. He died in Winnipeg in 1952.

W.J. (William) Hughes was a pharmacist by profession. He was born in Caernarfon, and came to Canada in 1911. In 1919 he was appointed Inspector by the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association, and in 1933 he became Secretary of the Manitoba Retail Druggists’ Association. In 1945 he was appointed Registrar of the Manitoba Pharmaceutical Association. He also served on the Board of the Grain Commission. He died in Winnipeg in 1971 at the age of 75.

Watkin J Williams was a barber by profession. He was born in Wales in 1869 and came to Canada in 1908. In 1918 he was listed as on active service.  By 1920, he was back in the City. His last Directory entry was in 1923. He died in Port Angeles, Washington, USA in 1924.

Joseph Farr, who conducted the Choir in 1922 was a stonemason; he was involved in construction of the Welsh Church during the 1930’s. He died in 1956 at the age of 81.

Thomas Rhys Griffith ( ? b. London 1889 ) was a baritone soloist and vocal coach. The earliest reference to him as a soloist in Winnipeg is in 1914, and there are numerous references to him in this role up to September 1917. He was also choir director at Young Methodist Church during that time. In December 1918 he returned to Winnipeg after a period of study with Yeatman Griffith in New York. He conducted the Welsh Male Choir in 1921, and was choirmaster at St George’s Anglican Church 1925-27. In 1930 he had a teaching studio at the Winnipeg Piano Building, and in that year gave a recital including selections by Mozart, Massenet and Reynaldo Hahn. The last reference to him that I have been able to find is in connection with the Winnipeg Music Festival in 1935. His last Directory listing is also in that year, and he appears to have left the City at that time.

Yeatman Griffith was a noted teacher of singing in New York. In 1922 he was a founding member of the American Academy of Teachers of Singing.  He died in 1939 at the age of 65.