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Mansel Treharne Thomas, (12 June 1909 – 8 January 1986) was a Welsh composer and conductor, who worked mainly in
South Wales. He was one of the most influential musicians of his generation, known as a composer, conductor and adjudicator. He was for many years employed by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and promoted the careers of many composers and performers. He himself wrote vocal, choral (mixed, female, children's and male voices), instrumental (solo and chamber), band and orchestral music, specialising in setting songs and poetry.
Many of his
orchestral
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families.
There are typically four main sections of instruments:
* bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, ...
and
chamber music pieces are based on
Welsh folk songs and dances.
Biography
He was born on 12 June 1909 in
Pontygwaith
Pontygwaith ( Welsh,"Bridge to work" or "Bridge of the Ironworks") is a village in the Taff Valley, south of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
A Sussex Ironmaster named Anthony Morley set up a small ironworks here in 1583.
On 21 February 1804 Richa ...
near
Tylorstown
Tylorstown (Pendyrus) is a village and community located in the Rhondda valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is neighboured by the villages of Blaenllechau, Ferndale, Penrhys, Pontygwaith and Stanleytown.
History
B ...
,
Rhondda
Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( cy, Cwm Rhondda ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fa ...
,
in a house in Llywellyn Street, where a plaque was later placed by the Rhondda Civic Society. At the age of sixteen, he won a scholarship to the
Royal Academy of Music, where he studied under
Benjamin Dale
Benjamin James Dale (17 July 188530 July 1943) was an English composer and academic who had a long association with the Royal Academy of Music. Dale showed compositional talent from an early age and went on to write a small but notable corpus of ...
.
He joined the BBC in 1936, but interrupted his career to serve in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
.
From 1946 until 1965 he was principal conductor of the BBC Welsh Orchestra, now the
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales (BBC NOW) ( cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Gymreig y BBC) is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional radio orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisatio ...
, and the BBC Welsh Chorus, but his career ended after he suffered a stroke in 1979. He retired to
Monmouthshire and was co-founder of the
Llantilio Crossenny
Llantilio Crossenny ( cy, Llandeilo Gresynni) is a small village and much larger former community, now in the community of Whitecastle, in Monmouthshire, south east Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is situated between the two towns of Aberga ...
Festival of Music and Drama.
He died at
Gilwern, Monmouthshire in 1986, at the age of 76 and is buried at the church of
St Mary's Church, Magor
The Church of St Mary stands in the centre of the village of Magor, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was designated a Grade I listed building in 1963. The church is the lead church of the Magor Rectorial Benefice, led by Rev. Jeremy Harris, and administe ...
.
The Mansel Thomas Trust, based in
Ponthir
Ponthir ( cy, Pont-hir) is a village and community at the south-west of the county borough of Torfaen on the boundary of the counties of Monmouthshire and Newport. It is approximately six miles from Newport city centre and 3½ miles from Cwmbran ...
, was established in 1987 to commemorate the composer. It is concerned mainly with collecting his works and making them available to musicians.
Compositions
Mansel Thomas's composing career spanned almost 60 years and fell approximately into three periods: up to and including
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, 1946 to his early retirement in 1965 and 1965–1979.
His first notable composition – "Daffodils"/"Cennin Aur" – was written in the mid-1920s for the newly formed
Pendyrus Choir, which rehearsed next to his home in
Tylorstown
Tylorstown (Pendyrus) is a village and community located in the Rhondda valley, in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It is neighboured by the villages of Blaenllechau, Ferndale, Penrhys, Pontygwaith and Stanleytown.
History
B ...
.
The partsong became so well known that
(Gwynn Publishers) requested a mixed choir version of it for publication in 1939, and this version surpassed in popularity its "
TTBB In musical choral notation, TTBB denotes a four-part lower-voice choir. Its configuration is Tenor 1, Tenor 2, Bass 1 (Baritone), Bass 2.
The Tanunda Liedertafel employs this method of notation in their music.
Typically (but not always) the 1s ...
" original.
Songs and choral music are the elements by which he is chiefly known today. There are over 150 songs and traditional-melody arrangements for solo voice and these include "Y Bardd", "Coeden afalau", "Caneuon y Misoedd" and "Eifionydd". The choral works involve various groups – male, mixed, female and youth/children – and are notable not only for "Daffodils" (TTBB & SATB), but also TTBB settings of Welsh hymn tunes and airs (such as "Llanfair", "
Llef" and "Fantasia on Welsh Airs") and the fine original work "
Psalm 35
Psalm 35 is the 35th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Plead my cause, O LORD, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me." It is titled there: ''The Lord the Avenger of His ...
"; also a range of exciting works for SATB, such as "Requiem", "In Praise of Wisdom" and the anthem "For Thy Servant David". The compositions for female and youth/children's choirs engage the singers in varied groupings – Unison/SS/SA/SSA/SSAA/ etc. – and include the "Three Songs of Enchantment", "Six Elizabethan Partsongs" and traditional "Songs of Britain". However, he wrote for amateurs as well as professional performers, and notably for children and young people.
His chamber-works, especially the arrangements of Welsh traditional melodies, enjoyed popularity during their 1950s' BBC broadcasts by the Tâf Players, as did the "Six Orchestral Dances" and "Breton Suite" performed by the BBC Welsh Orchestra and the "Mini Variations on a Welsh Theme" written for Harry Mortimer and his
Fairey Brass Band. These works are still popular with younger ensembles, including the
National Youth Orchestra of Wales
The National Youth Orchestra of Wales (NYOW, cy, Cerddorfa Genedlaethol Ieuenctid Cymru) is the national youth orchestra of Wales, based in Cardiff. Founded in 1945, it is the longest-standing national youth orchestra in the world.
Organisat ...
.
The recent availability of his works in publication has done much to regenerate interest and inspire performances not only in Wales but more widely in the UK and internationally in Europe, United States, Canada and Australia.
Mansel Thomas had two daughters, Sian and Grace, and his descendants are still active in promoting his work.
References
Other sources
*Mansel Thomas (1909–1986): Tributes/Teyrngedau: Welsh Music/Cerddoriaeth Cymru: Spring/Gwanwyn 1986, Vol/Cyf 8/#2 pp/tt 6–24
*''The Welsh Academy Encyclopaedia of Wales'',
University of Wales Press
The University of Wales Press ( cy, Gwasg Prifysgol Cymru) was founded in 1922 as a central service of the University of Wales. The press publishes academic journals and around seventy books a year in the English and Welsh languages on six genera ...
(2008) p. 864
External links
Biographywritten by Grace Gilmore-James (his daughter)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Mansel Treharne
1909 births
1986 deaths
Welsh classical composers
British opera composers
Male opera composers
British male conductors (music)
Welsh conductors (music)
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music
People from Tylorstown
Officers of the Order of the British Empire
20th-century British conductors (music)
20th-century classical composers
20th-century British composers
Welsh male classical composers
20th-century British male musicians