Côr Godre'r Aran (English: Choir from the foothills of the Aran mountain) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

male-voice choir that from

Llanuwchllyn Llanuwchllyn () is a village and community in Gwynedd, Wales, near the southern end of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid). It is one of the most sparsely populated communities in Wales. The electoral ward includes the small settlement of Llangywer. The ...

, 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 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 ...

Dolgellau Dolgellau () is a town and community in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, lying on the River Wnion, a tributary of the River Mawddach. It was the traditional county town of the historic county of Merionethshire ( cy, Meirionnydd, Sir Feirionnydd) ...

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, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

, 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, t ...

, 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 ...

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 The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

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 host ...

;

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 Quayside ...

, Gateshead; Brangwyn Hall, Swansea; and

St David's Hall St David's Hall (Welsh: ''Neuadd Dewi Sant'') is a performing arts and conference venue in the heart of Cardiff, Wales. St David's Hall is the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales. It hosts the annual Welsh Proms and the biennia ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

. 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

record company

SAIN Sain may refer to: People * Bhagat Sain (14th and 15th centuries), king of Rewa, disciple of Bhagat Ramanand * Édouard Alexandre Sain (1830–1910), a French painter * Isidoro Sain (1869–1932), Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church * Johnny ...

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

& 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 aroun ...

. In 2005, the choir won the BBC Radio Cymru competition for Male Voice choirs. The choir is regarded as one of the finest male voice choir in the world, with several

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