Challenge to watch this without getting a lump in your throat

[Iwillnevergiveup]

Welsh boys' choir - Only Boys Aloud

[yesphan]

1. Well, I failed the challenge pretty quick,

but I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

2. YUP

These 133 boys which got
a standing ovation and could go far in the competition. They
were in different degrees of trouble in the valleys of South Wales and were
rounded up and offered a chance to start down a different path - that of
carrying on the tradition of the Welsh Men's Choir.

[edcantor]

11. This audition tape is from March, they went on to

Last edited Fri May 18, 2012, 10:05 PM - Edit history (1)

the semi-finals and finals.

Videos of those events is available on Youtube as well here:

final last Saturday eve.

semi final

The show works so that people in the UK can phone in their votes for winner.

The group came in 3'rd place.

One can also search Google to find their own web page here:

http://www.onlyboysaloud.com/

This group is two years old and has several appearances all over Wales already racked up.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

13. Thanks for posting this

What a joyful, talented group!

[Voice for Peace]

3. not just a lump..

a sweet bunch of tears, too.

[trof]

4. Same here.

[Lifelong Protester]

5. Well, I made it three minutes...

before my eyes were so bleary that I couldn't see the screen.

Or is it "teary" or "blury"??

Whatever it was, I was sniffling and still hearing great music.

[monmouth]

6. This needs to go viral. How stunningly beautiful. What struck me is we don't know what

hardships these boys face on a daily basis, but to be able to produce that kind of music is just beautiful humanity. Thanks so much for posting. I shall listen now for the third time...

[2on2u]

7. I rather like this one.... one lump or two?

[JNelson6563]

9. Wow! Make that the Five Tenors!

Holy crap, a star is born!

Julie

[JNelson6563]

8. That was wonderful!

I wish them great success!

*sniff*

Julie

[Citizen Worker]

10. Beautiful! And Welsh to boot, one of the roots of my ancestral tree.

[edcantor]

12. See my post number 11 here for more info on this group.

Including later performance videos.

[Wraith20878]

14. wow

Truly the heirs of the Welsh Bards. I always enjoy songs in the Celtic language. I don't have any connections to Wales in my family, but I do have Scottish and Irish heritage, and my English ancestors came from Devon county, very close to Wales. Glad these boys got this great opportunity.

[Iwillnevergiveup]

15. THIS

SO trumps FaceBook IPO!

Shameless kick for weekenders.

[edcantor]

16. The Welsh and English translation of Lyrics

Can be found here:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calon_L%C3%A2n

Interestingly, this song is sung in connection with the rugby team(s) of Wales.

"Calon Lân is a Welsh song, the words of which were written in the 19th century by Daniel James (23 January 1848 - 11 March 1920) to a tune by John Hughes (1872–1914).[1] The song is a hymn, but it has become a song more associated with Welsh rugby union, being sung before almost every Test match involving the Welsh national team."


The lyrics in English read like this... sort of like the spirit of Democrats in the USA, I think, (perhaps minus the Christian religious theme).

Calon Lân English Translation
An arrangement of these lyrics has been made by Arthur Bellis

I'd not ask a life that's easy,
Gold and pearls so little mean,
Rather seek a heart that's joyful,
Heart that's honest, heart that's clean

Chorus:
Heart that's clean and filled with virtue,
Fairer far than lilies white,
Only pure hearts praise God truly,
Praise him all the day and night.

Why should I seek earthly treasures,
On swift wings they fly away,
Pure clean hearts bring greater riches
That for life eternal stay.

Dawn and sunset still I'm searching,
Reaching on a wing of song,
Give me Lord, through Christ my Saviour
That clean heart for which I long.

Translation ©Malcolm Cowen 2008

[Iwillnevergiveup]

17. edcantor - I nominate you

for manager of this choir. Beautiful, soulful lyrics - thanks for posting!

[edcantor]

18. I have followed them for months, my friend.

Last edited Sat May 19, 2012, 08:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I was fascinated with hearing their first audition in Manchester, UK in March. I thought they should rise to the top of the heap of talent in that show, of which America has a similar kind of set-up, I guess. (Unfortunately a woman and her trained dog made first place in the finals!!?! What do the English know about history of their culture, good quality community activism for youth, and choral singing in what is a foreign language to the Brits?).

These guys live in about 10 small towns in the southwest valleys of Wales, about 20-50 miles from Cardiff and/or Swansea, spectacular rolling hilly country in the west of England. The roughly 10 groups practice separately for weeks and come together only for final rehearsals and performances at various civic events. There is a church sponsorship of each of these groups, although they are not religious choirs as such.

Wales is not really a separate country in the UK, although the relationship with Parliament and London has had various forms and ups and downs since about 1200 AD. However, the Welsh language pre-dates modern English by 300-500 years at least, perhaps thousands of years. Some cognates exist in both languages, (a cognate is a word that sounds and means the same, roughly, in both languages). One example of a cognate you will hear in this song is the Welsh word "onest":: English: "honest". Other influences upon the Welsh language come from both forms of Gaelic, Irish and Scottish, Gaelic being distinct from Welsh, yet Gaelic having Irish and Scottish major dialects. Scholars today are still mystified as to the exact origins and influences that brought about the Welsh language, distinct from Aglo-Saxon and French roots of modern English.


Wales was once famous for coal and mineral mining, as well as farming and herding, but much of the more modern mining techniques have led to most mines being exhausted of ore. Sheep farming and other forms of agriculture still survive and predominate, along with a few regional industries, and tourism these days, when much of southern Wales is but a 3 hour drive out of London. Some of the stone for the Stonehendge comes from northern Wales.

The Wales section of Great Britain has been the location of discoveries of human skeletal bones dated back about 30 thousand years, so Wales has been occupied by humans for a long long time. At certain periods in history, as today, the gulf stream made Wales a relatively moderate climate compared to equal latitudes in Europe or elsewhere in the British Isles. Thus the foundations of the Welsh language may be contain some of the oldest phonemes (sounds) in all of the European language group. Listen to the first soloist, as he pronounces his "R"s in a rather spectacular way, along with the "OI" (as in oil) frequently appearing before another hard consonnant. Welsh may have been the foundation of many modern sounds in English that are not present in Germanic or Romance languages. (like the "TH" in The, and oi in oil or the British rugby cheer expression "OY OY!)

[Stifyn]

26. Historical Correction

I came across this thread on this forum by accident and I am a fervent supporter of OBA. You have obviously done some research but I would like to make some corrections.

In your first 2 paragraphs you make the following statements.

"What do the English know about history of their culture, good quality community activism for youth, and choral singing in what is a foreign language to the Brits?). "

OBA and the songs they sing have nothing at all to do with English history and culture. Welsh is a foreign language to the English who are Brits but it is not foreign to the Welsh who are the true and original Brits.


"spectacular rolling hilly country in the west of England"

Wales in not in the west of England, it is not even in England.

"There is a church sponsorship of each of these groups"

There is no church sponsorship at all. The groups that make up the choir is sponsored by the Principality Building Society.

The worst insult you could make to a Welshman and to everyone of the choir members of OBA is to say that their country in in England and therefore that they are English.

With regard to your third paragraph. Wales is indeed a separate country within the UK. The UK is a nation state and not a country. The UK comprises a number of countries such as Wales and Wales has its own institutions independent of the UK. Wales has its own government and the Church in Wales is independent from the Church of England.

When the Romans left Britain in the 5th century, all of present day England, southern Scotland and Wales was Brythonic (Welsh) speaking. The oldest surviving Welsh literature was actually written in one of the old Welsh Kingdoms of southern Scotland. When the English ( Angles, Saxons, Jutes) came across from Europe they eventually took over all of present day England and the Welsh and English were at war with each other continually for the best part of 1,000 years. The Normans conquered England in 1066 but they did not conquer Wales either. As a result of the Norman conquest you have many French words in the English language such as rendezvous, parliament, avenue, morale, maroon,etiquette, ect etc etc. In fact approx 30% of words in the English language are of French origin.
Wales was finally annexed to England in 1536 by the Tudor King Henry VIII. His father Henry VII was a Welshman who went into exile as a young man but came back to Wales in 1485 and raised a Welsh army. He marched into England and defeated the then King of England at the battle of Bosworth which resulted in the Tudor dynasty. Henry Tudor is descended from the Tewdr dynasty of Anglesey in North Wales. This was in effect a pyrrhic victory for the Welsh because the Tudors finally in effect brought about then end of conflict and the Welsh struggle for independence that had been going on since the Romans departed 1,000 previously.

Welsh along with Cornish and Breton are part of the Brythonic branch of Celtic whilst Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic and Manx are part of the Goedelic branch of Celtic. The Scots were a tribe living in Ireland who migrated to the west of Scotland and thus introduced the Gaelic language there. When Scotland was eventually united there were three main languages which were Welsh, Gaelic and Pictish ( another Brythonic language) but they all died out with the exception of Gaelic which is now only spoken by approx 60,000 people in the Western Isles. Irish Gaelic is only spoken as an everyday language in a few remote places in the west of Ireland in areas referred to as the Gaeltacht. Welsh was spoken by half of the population of Wales in 1900 but steadily declined to just under 20% by 1961 but since then it has seen a revival with over 600,000 ( over 20%) speaking it and there is a strong revival with a growing demand for Welsh medium schools. The 2001 census shows that 40% of children in the age group of the OBA choir can speak Welsh.

"Some of the stone for the Stonehenge comes from northern Wales."

The stones in fact came from the Preseli mountains which are in south west Wales.


If you are not aware by the way, OBA are releasing their first album next month which you can pre-order via Amazon. There are 2 versions but I would recommend the Christmas version.

[edcantor]

19. The full version of the broadcast Semi-Finals

Full 5.5 minutes verson

There is a story of a victim of bullying contained in the broadcast version of this. Worth listening to, I think.

Published on May 6, 2012 by 12345djbridger
Britains got talent 2012 auditions - Only Boys Aloud Choir

Britain looks for it's new variety act to perform in front of the royal family at the royal variety performance.
Being judged by Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Carmen Electra, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.

[edcantor]

20. How the 10-12 separate choirs make the sausage that is..

the final product you heard in Manchester singing in the first clip in this thread.

This one is at Aberdare Rugby Club:

People in Wales speak English with a distinctive accent, not unlike much of the southern English countryside, Welsh is still spoken fluently as a language by most of the people in the area, but no longer taught in every school, but most adults and seniors speak some Welsh at home, swear in it, or use it in certain clubs and groups. Most children learned Welsh first at home, and had little further school training in it in the last 20 years; English language training starts in first grade, and English is spoken fluently by most people of the area, except the elders who may not have gone to much school 50 years ago. As a language, Welsh is alive in some ways, in song, in poetry, in churches. Welsh appears on traffic signs, much as French does throughout Canada, (most Canadians do NOT speak French, only in Quebec and some of New Brunswick and a bit of Nova Scotia). In Wales, everyone speaks English, some elders CAN speak Welsh as a first language, but few younger people ever do, and some kids learn it at home and a bit at school, but Welsh fluency, (one of the oldest languages known to modern man, perhaps older than modern Latin), is now being lost quickly. Kids under 20 may learn some, may pick up some at home, but most kids prefer English for conversation.

What a great way to unite 10-12 distinct, distant small town communities, isolated by hills, than by teaching them their common ancient language that their great grandfathers fluently spoke? It's a special distinction for these guys. Welsh is herd and some still speak it, but less and less, as the years go by. Guys from little towns and hamlets find their roots and common bond first, from their ancestral language. Few places in the world can unite teen boys from rival towns in such a unique way.

[edcantor]

21. And, as a sample of spoken Welsh, here is...

the director (40 yrs plus?) of Only Boys Aloud, introducing his group for a concert.

Notice how he has a bit of a problem speaking Welsh fluently to his audience, who will probably understand most of it, (if they grew up on Wales), but he resorts to English when Welsh words are not immediately coming to his mind at the end of his intro.

But here's another performance of our wonderful group of guys: (along with ONLY MEN ALOUD, the sponsor group)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sosban_Fach

Sosban Fach (Welsh for "Little Saucepan&quot is a traditional Welsh folk song. It is one of the best-known and most often sung songs in the Welsh language.

The song catalogues the troubles of a harassed housewife. The song is mostly associated with the rugby union club Llanelli RFC and, more recently, the Scarlets regional rugby side. The association derives from Llanelli's tin plating industry, which used to tin-plate steel saucepans and other kitchen utensils as a cheap supply to the British public. During the final years of Stradey Park, the former ground of Llanelli RFC and the Scarlets, the goalposts were adorned with Scarlet saucepans as a tribute to the town's history; the utensils have been transferred to the clubs' new ground, Parc y Scarlets. Also, the Scarlets' official magazine is titled Sosban.

This song is alluded to as 'Calcifer's silly saucepan song' in the book Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. It is also used as background music in The Goon Show episode The Mighty Wurlitzer, with one character telling another, "I've come to bring your saucepan back." The Welsh rock band Man during the 1970s sometimes brought the Gwalia Male Voice Choir on stage to sing the song during shows. In the Steptoe & Son episode The Lead Man Cometh Harold Steptoe says "Saucepan vach and all that" in an attempt to speak Welsh.

[edit]Lyrics

Welsh
Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi brifo,
A Dafydd y gwas ddim yn iach.
Mae'r baban yn y crud yn crio,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach.
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân,
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr,
A'r gath wedi sgrapo Joni bach.
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
A gwt ei grys e mas.
Mae bys Meri-Ann wedi gwella,
A Dafydd y gwas yn ei fedd;
Mae'r baban yn y crud wedi tyfu,
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
Dai bach y sowldiwr,
A gwt ei grys e mas.
Aeth hen Fari Jones i Ffair y Caerau
I brynu set o lestri de;
Ond mynd i'r ffos aeth Mari gyda'i llestri
Trwy yfed gormod lawer iawn o 'de'
Sosban fach yn berwi ar y tân
Sosban fawr yn berwi ar y llawr
A'r gath wedi huno mewn hedd.


English (literal translation)
Mary-Ann has hurt her finger,
And David the slave is not well.
The baby in the cradle is crying,
And the cat has scrammed little Johnny.
A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat has scratched little Johnny.
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
And his shirt tail is hanging out.
Mary-Ann's finger has got better,
And David the servant is in his grave;
The baby in the cradle is crying,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.
A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
Little Dai the soldier,
And his shirt tail is hanging out.
Old Mary Jones went to the fair in Caerau,
To buy a tea set;
But Mary and her teacups ended up in a ditch,
Through the consumption of rather too much "tea".
A little saucepan is boiling on the fire,
A big saucepan is boiling on the floor,
And the cat is 'asleep in peace'.

Notice how there are lots of "cognates" in Welsh for English words .. (words that sound and mean about the same). Welsh: "Sosban" English "Saucepan"
When sung slowly, the melody can deceive non-speakers of Welsh into thinking the song is a hymn than rather than a folk song.

[edcantor]

22. And the final reason why O.B.A exists, with audience participation

Audience participation starts about 9:40 into the video.

From none other than TED Talks.

In 2000, Tim Rhys-Evans set up a Welsh male voice choir called Only Men Aloud, a contemporary take on the Welsh choral tradition. Eight years later, it was voted the nation's favourite choir when it won BBC 1's Last Choir Standing. In 2010, as part of his mission to safeguard Welsh singing traditions, and to keep choral singing alive in the communities in which it first developed, Tim formed Only Boys Aloud. It's open to all boys between the ages of 14 and 19, without audition, and there are now nine separate choirs, in nine South Wales towns. Together they form Only Boys Aloud. Mentored by the adult members of Only Men Aloud, part of Tim's mission is to inspire the boys in other areas of their lives and one way he does this is by providing unique performance opportunities, such as TEDxObserver.

A message from each and every Welshman to each and every American, as long as you go all the way through this last video.

[edcantor]

23. Just found last Satruday's final full broadcast performance link

They came in 3'rd. Sorry to say, after all this.

DO click to watch on Youtube, where it says to click.

[freshwest]

24. It is beautiful, what the human race could be. Inspired me to find more videos by them. Thanks!

[Tarheel_Dem]

25. The most beautiful thing I've seen in a long time, but then I'm a big old wuss.