Ceinwen Rowlands (15 January 1905 – 12 June 1983) was a
Welsh concert soprano and recording artist.
Rowlands was born in
Holyhead, Anglesey, the daughter of William and Kate Rowlands; William was the proprietor of the "Anglesey Emporium", a men's outfitters. Kate Rowlands (''née'' Jones) was a singer, originally from
Cerrigydrudion
Cerrigydrudion, sometimes spelt ''Cerrig-y-drudion'', () is a village and community in Conwy, Wales. Until 1974 it was part of the historic county Denbighshire, when it became part of the newly formed county of Clwyd. When the county of Clwyd wa ...
, Denbighshire.
Ceinwen Rowlands took lessons from Wilfrid Jones, a
Wrexham
Wrexham ( ; cy, Wrecsam; ) is a city and the administrative centre of Wrexham County Borough in Wales. It is located between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley, near the border with Cheshire in England. Historically in the count ...
-based singing teacher. Her reputation as a singer was made when she won first prize in two successive North Wales
national eisteddfods, at
Mold, Flintshire
Mold ( cy, Yr Wyddgrug) is a town and community in Flintshire, Wales, on the River Alyn. It is the county town and administrative seat of Flintshire County Council, as it was of Clwyd from 1974 to 1996. According to the 2011 UK Census, it had a ...
, in 1923 and
Pwllheli in 1925; she was received into the
Gorsedd in 1927.
Rowlands continued to appear in eisteddfods throughout her career, even after re-locating to London, giving the premiere of a Welsh translation of
Felix Mendelssohn’s ''
Lobgesang
''Lobgesang'' (''Hymn of Praise''), Op. 52 ( MWV A 18), is an 11-movement "Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra" by Felix Mendelssohn. After the composer's death it was published as his Symphony No. 2 ...
'' in 1943 at Bangor. She provided one of the off-stage voices for
Ninette de Valois
Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russ ...
's ballet based on ''Orpheus and Eurydice'' in 1941. and was a soloist in ''
The Messiah'' at
Cradley Heath
Cradley Heath is a town in the Rowley Regis area of the Metropolitan Borough of Sandwell, West Midlands, England approximately north-west of Halesowen, south of Dudley and west of central Birmingham. Cradley Heath is often confused with t ...
in 1945. In 1946 she married Arthur Aaron Walter (died 1967), who held the position of Official Receiver at the London Bankruptcy Court.
Rowlands appeared in concert alongside
Kathleen Ferrier
Kathleen Mary Ferrier, CBE (22 April 19128 October 1953) was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the c ...
, among others. Her many recordings included Welsh songs and works by Welsh composers such as
Morfydd Llwyn Owen.
Rowlands' career ended in 1961, and she retired to
Rhyl
Rhyl (; cy, Y Rhyl, ) is a seaside town and community in Denbighshire, Wales. The town lies within the historic boundaries of Flintshire, on the north-east coast of Wales at the mouth of the River Clwyd ( Welsh: ''Afon Clwyd'').
To the we ...
after her husband's death. She died in
Clatterbridge Hospital
Clatterbridge Hospital is a general hospital located on Clatterbridge Health Park in Bebington, Wirral, England. It is managed by Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
History
The hospital has its origins in the accommod ...
, Cheshire, aged 78.
Notable recordings
*Decca 2; AM 626; DR 12795-1: Welsh Music (Boyd Neel Orchestra with
Mansel Thomas; date unknown)
*Decca 2; AM 627; DR 12793-1: Welsh Music (Boyd Neel Orchestra with
Mansel Thomas; date unknown)
*Decca 2; AM 627; DR 12794-1: Welsh Music (Boyd Neel Orchestra with
Mansel Thomas; date unknown)
Wenonah Milton Govea, ''Nineteenth- and Twentieth-century Harpists: A Bio-critical Sourcebook''. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1995. P 81
. Accessed 1 April 2016
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowlands, Ceinwen
1905 births
1983 deaths
Welsh sopranos
20th-century Welsh women opera singers
People from Holyhead