Seattle's 12th Annual Gymanfa Ganu and Concert
Save these dates ! Don't miss out on live Welsh singing !
12th Annual Seattle Gymanfa Ganu--A Slice of the '99 National - October
10, 1999.
The Seattle Welsh Choir (Côr Cymraeg) presents its 12th annual Gymanfa
Ganu at 2:30pm on Sunday, October 10, at the Lake City Presbyterian Church,
3841 NE 123rd Street, Seattle. This Gymanfa Ganu will be special, coming
as it does close on the heels of the 1999
North American Gymanfa Ganu ("The National"), with many choristers
from the first North American Welsh Choir (Côr
Cymry Gogledd America) expected to participate, and led by the director
of that Choir, Ms. Mari Morgan.
Click here for more detail on the Gymanfa
Ganu 1999 -- see our mailing piece.
Gymanfa Ganu Questions and Answers
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Q: WHAT is a Gymanfa Ganu ?
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A: A full session of community congregational singing in four-part harmony.
The gymanfa will typically include fifteen to twenty hymns, sung by the
congregation in both English & Welsh.Special music is often also performed
by virtuoso soloists with regional or even international reputations.
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Q: SO is a Gymanfa Ganu a religious service, or a concert, a community
singalong, or what?
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A: It is a unique kind of almalgam of a religious service, a concert, and
a community singalong -- it has important elements of all of these.
It does generally include an invocation, and a benediction, by a pastor,
and it is typically (but not necessarily) held in a traditional church
sanctuary. Community singing and participation by all those present
is an important element, too -- so the Gymanfa is not a "spectator sport"
in the sense that a traditional concert is. Unlike some community
singalongs, attendees bring special hymnbooks, issued by the Welsh
National Gymanfa Ganu Association (WNGGA), and they expect to sing
in parts - SATB (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass). But like a traditional
concert, there is special music by honored soloists, a formal printed program,
and lots of applause.
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Q: CAN I come to a Gymanfa? I don't speak Welsh, or own a WNGGA
hymnbook! Will I be welcome?
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A: YES! Our Welsh tradition is to welcome all who wish to join us in song.
You don't need to speak Welsh -- about half of the singing is in English,
and singing "La" for the Welsh part works just fine. And as for the
music, loaner copies of the hymns being sung are available free of charge
at the Gymanfa.
This page last updated: September, 1999.
Write to us: Puget Sound Welsh Association
