Mary Hannah John (26 January 1874 – 18 October 1962) was a Welsh soprano singer who was involved with the

1904–1905 Welsh revival Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Music ...

Life

John was born in

Ton Pentre Ton Pentre () is a village in the Rhondda Valley in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. Historically part of Glamorgan, Ton Pentre, a former industrial coal mining village, is a district of the community of Pentre. The old district of ...

in 1874. She was the penultimate of the seven children born to the Calvinistic Methodist couple of Morgan and Mary John. Her father ran a shoe shop and he was a deacon in Ton Pentre' Jerusalem Chapel where Mary John would sing with their

Band of Hope Hope UK is a United Kingdom Christian charity based in London, England which educates children and young people about drug and alcohol abuse. Local meetings started in 1847 and a formal organisation was established in 1855 with the name The United ...

. She became a student of Clara Novello Davies who had started the

Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir Royal Welsh Ladies' Choir was a performing group of women singers based in Cardiff, active from the 1880s until World War II. Early years The Welsh Ladies' Choir was formed about 1883. Clara Novello Davies was its first leader, "a spirited condu ...

."The Welsh Ladies' Choir"
''Wilkes-Barre Times'' (October 17, 1895): 6. via Newspapers.com In 1893 two of her students, John and Elsie Drinkwater won a prize at the

National Eisteddfod The National Eisteddfod of Wales (Welsh: ') is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors ...

in Pontypridd singing 'Quis est homo?' from Rossini's ''

Stabat Mater The Stabat Mater is a 13th-century Christian hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Its author may be either the Franciscan friar Jacopone da Todi or Pope Innocent III.Sabatier, Paul ''Life o ...

''. This led to an invitation for her choir to attend the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that year. At the Exposition May John took the prize for best soprano. In the following February she and three others sang for Queen Victoria at Osborne House. She went on to study further at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

from 1894 to 1896. In February 1904 the Welsh religious revival after Florrie Evans is said to have inspired listeners and this was the beginning of the revival. John paused her professional career to take part. She sang back in her home town and she sang and preached at revival meetings in Wales and England. She was said to have called on women to bring their talents to get involved. In January 1905 she went to work with the Calvinistic Methodist W. Llewelyn Lloyd. She was then at Broadmead Wesleyan Chapel in Bristol where she and John Cynddylan Jones lead the services. In June 1905 Evan Roberts preached to 6,000 people at Rhosneigr in the open air. He was assisted by a wooden platform and May John who had been part of a group touring North Wales revival meetings. John died in

Porth Porth ( cy, Y Porth) is a town and a community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. Lying in the Rhondda Valley, it is regarded as the gateway connecting the Rhondda Fawr and Rh ...

in 1962 and her death was not reported with an obituary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:John, May 1874 births 1962 deaths 20th-century Welsh women singers Welsh sopranos British performers of Christian music People from Rhondda Alumni of the Royal Academy of Music