Côr Godre'r Aran (English: Choir from the foothills of the Aran mountain) is a Welsh male-voice choir that from Llanuwchllyn, near Bala,

North Wales North Wales ( cy, Gogledd Cymru) is a region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders Mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdonia N ...

. The choir has in excess of 40 members who represent a spectrum of rural occupations and is unique in that all members are natural Welsh speakers.

History

The choir was formed in 1949 to compete at the National Eisteddfod of Wales in Dolgellau by the late Tom Jones. It was at that time a penillion singing or cerdd dant group of about 20 young men from the village of Llanuwchllyn. The choir soon gained a strong reputation as one of the chief exponents of this traditional Welsh genre. However when Eirian Owen succeeded to the role of musical director, she transformed the choir into a highly professional and disciplined outfit, without losing any of its original spirit. The choir has travelled extensively since 1969 and has performed in the United States, New Zealand,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

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, Tazmania,

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Canada on three occasions, and Australia eight times. Their recent overseas trip saw them return to the regions of

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

for a three-week tour in November and to Switzerland. Other short tours have taken the choir to Spain, Switzerland, Ireland, Scotland and the Royal Albert Hall,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

;

Symphony Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall is a 2,262 seat concert venue in Birmingham, England. It was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 12 June 1991, although it had been in use since 15 April 1991. It is home to the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and hos ...

;

The Sage The Sage is a forthcoming indoor arena and conference centre in Gateshead, United Kingdom due to open in Autumn 2024. The site is located between the existing Sage Gateshead venue and the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art on Gateshead Quaysid ...

, Gateshead;

Brangwyn Hall , former_names = , alternate_names = , image = Brangwyn hall.jpg , alt = , caption = Brangwyn Hall entrance , map_type = , altitude = , building_type ...

, Swansea; and St David's Hall,

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Their musical director is Eirian Owen, a gifted musician and accompanist who has directed the choir since 1975. She was appointed accompanist of Côr Godre’r Aran in 1970 and subsequently succeeded Tom Jones as musical director. Over the years she has voluntarily devoted hours to the Choir and has been instrumental in developing and directing the choir to its success.

Discography

The choir has recorded 12 times with Welsh record company SAIN including four CD's - Evviva, Cwlwm Aur, Byd o Heddwch and Cofio which was released on the choir's 60th anniversary in 2009.

Awards

Over the years the choir has successfully competed at National and International levels winning the principle awards at the National Eisteddfod of Wales & the

Llangollen International Eisteddfod The Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is a music festival which takes place every year during the second week of July in Llangollen, North Wales. It is one of several large annual Eisteddfodau in Wales. Singers and dancers from arou ...

. In 2005, the choir won the

BBC Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

competition for Male Voice choirs. The choir is regarded as one of the finest male voice choir in the world, with several National Eisteddfod of Wales Blue Ribbon ( Gwobr Goffa David Ellis) winners members of the choir including twice winner, the baritone Tom Evans (also known as Tom Gwanas). and most recent winner Erfyl Tomos Jones.

References

External links

Côr Godre'r Aran
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cor Godrer Aran Boys' and men's choirs Musical groups established in 1949 Welsh choirs 1949 establishments in Wales