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Original poster

To cry when I hear

23 replies

crockofshite · 05/12/2024 05:04

Welsh male voice choirs?

What is it about their voices and harmony that is so powerful?

And why aren't there as many Welsh female voice choirs?

OP posts:
Tellmeagain · 05/12/2024 05:11

I don't know what it is but I'm the same - tears every time!

LittleBitAlexa · 05/12/2024 05:18

Yes! Me too. The human voice is so
Powerful. I'm also the same with brass bands.

StrictlyAFemaleFemale · 05/12/2024 06:02

Children singing Little Donkey makes me cry, Not men. Everyone always bangs on about Welsh choirs and I just don't get the hype. I'm not saying they're bad, because they certainly are good choirs, and I do enjoy hearing them from time to time, but I don't have this reaction that others seem to have.

TooManyCupsAndMugs · 05/12/2024 06:11

Harmony is just the most beautiful thing, that's why!

Justleaveitblankthen · 05/12/2024 11:25

I see your male Welsh voice choir and I raise you a marching brass band (alongside old soldiers even better) 🥹

CuriousRunner · 05/12/2024 12:42

Spitfire or Lancaster planes flying over. I have no military background 🤷‍♀️

KarmenPQZ · 05/12/2024 12:52

I think it would make me really angry if I heard it. I’m sure I read an article that women were excluded from these choirs historically because it was deemed their voices didn’t sound as ‘pure’ as all male choirs.

StepawayfromtheLindors · 05/12/2024 12:53

I cry when I hear Mull of Kintyre 😭

sprigatito · 05/12/2024 12:54

KarmenPQZ · 05/12/2024 12:52

I think it would make me really angry if I heard it. I’m sure I read an article that women were excluded from these choirs historically because it was deemed their voices didn’t sound as ‘pure’ as all male choirs.

My stepfather believed in this crap. He railed against letting little girls into choirs because "little boys have purer voices". In other news, he was a fucking pervert.

Lemonyfuckit · 05/12/2024 12:54

Yep completely agree! I remember at my aunties' funeral there was a Welsh male voice choir (lived in Swansea and my uncle sings on the choir) singing - oh my god, actually makes the hairs stand up / get tearful just remembering it.

OnlyFrench · 05/12/2024 13:12

CuriousRunner · 05/12/2024 12:42

Spitfire or Lancaster planes flying over. I have no military background 🤷‍♀️

Only time I ever saw my DH cry was when we saw nine Spitfires take off together.....no tears for the death of his dad or the loss of our baby.

OnlyFrench · 05/12/2024 13:13

Hakas and flash mobs do it for me. Oh, and people playing the piano in shopping centres etc!

merryhouse · 05/12/2024 15:23

to be fair, most little girls don't sound the same as most little boys (and adult women definitely don't).

However, the boys of St Paul's don't sound the same as the boys of King's who don't sound the same as the boys of St John's who all definitely don't sound the same as the Vienna Boys'...

so yes the answer to why no female voice choirs is "the patriarchy"; and putting girls in a choir changes the tone but that doesn't mean you can't.

AffIt · 05/12/2024 15:30

Actually this is an interesting point - I love choral music (especially early modern, such as the works of Thomas Tallis) - why do male voice choirs sound so different to female voices, especially those of children?

In a mixed-sex choir, obviously every layer has its place, but why are there more boys' than girls' choirs?

Arlanymor · 05/12/2024 15:35

crockofshite · 05/12/2024 05:04

Welsh male voice choirs?

What is it about their voices and harmony that is so powerful?

And why aren't there as many Welsh female voice choirs?

Floods and floods and floods.

Lots of female choirs in Wales now, and mixed ones, it wasn't historically a sexist thing. It started with the mines - coal and slate - where you didn't find women. And it was a way of men from many nations - not just Wales - who spoke different languages, Welsh, English, but some far more exotic, to form a sense of camaraderie - which you need when you are risking your very life daily.

More here: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/music/the-origins-welsh-male-voice-choirs

I was lucky enough to be in a pub near Tower Bridge back in 2012 (Minories if you know it) with my best mate and I swore I could hear 'Myfanwy' - I thought I was going a bit mad! But on my way back from the toilets I could hear it more clearly and pulled back this velvet curtain at the end of the corridor. There was a whole room filled with a choir singing - I didn't realise they had back rooms in this pub! I waited until they were finished and then clapped - forgetting I wasn't supposed to be there! And they all bowed in unison, it was so sweet - I said: "Mae'n flin 'da fi!" ("I'm sorry") and the choirmaster said: "Not at all! We're rehearsing for the Olympics." Yep it was THAT Choir, that then performed at the opening ceremony. He then said: "What's your favourite?" I said: "Sospan Fach" - so they sang that and then Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - I was like a baby, tears running down my cheeks. It was so lovely and I felt so homesick. Lovely bois.

The origins of Welsh male voice choirs

An overview of the conditions in Wales that led to a unique and world-famous musical tradition.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/music/the-origins-welsh-male-voice-choirs

SoNiceToComeHomeTo · 05/12/2024 15:35

I don't think that's true about little boys sounding 'purer' than little girls of a similar age with the same amount of vocal training. Boys who have been hand-picked for their natural musicality and then trained to a high standard may sound purer than girls who are singing in a primary school choir for a nativity service, but that's not a fair comparison. Excluding young girls from choirs and favouring boys is down to habit and a way of downgrading the feminine.
Having said that, I love a male voice choir - those booming basses!

Arlanymor · 05/12/2024 15:36

Justleaveitblankthen · 05/12/2024 11:25

I see your male Welsh voice choir and I raise you a marching brass band (alongside old soldiers even better) 🥹

We have those in Wales too!

CuriousRunner · 07/12/2024 13:24

Salvation Army band in town today playing the good church hymns. Hits me deep 🤷‍♀️

(Maybe there is something in the fact that I'm NOT a crier in life. So the crying "leaks" sometimes 🤷‍♀️)

spiderlight · 07/12/2024 13:30

I'm welling up here just thinking of 'Myfanwy' sung by Swansea Male Choir, who used to rehearse just down the road from my childhood home. It was a favourite of my dad's, and he told me the story every time he heard it. That final 'Ffarwel'... 😭

napody · 07/12/2024 13:36

Arlanymor · 05/12/2024 15:35

Floods and floods and floods.

Lots of female choirs in Wales now, and mixed ones, it wasn't historically a sexist thing. It started with the mines - coal and slate - where you didn't find women. And it was a way of men from many nations - not just Wales - who spoke different languages, Welsh, English, but some far more exotic, to form a sense of camaraderie - which you need when you are risking your very life daily.

More here: https://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/music/the-origins-welsh-male-voice-choirs

I was lucky enough to be in a pub near Tower Bridge back in 2012 (Minories if you know it) with my best mate and I swore I could hear 'Myfanwy' - I thought I was going a bit mad! But on my way back from the toilets I could hear it more clearly and pulled back this velvet curtain at the end of the corridor. There was a whole room filled with a choir singing - I didn't realise they had back rooms in this pub! I waited until they were finished and then clapped - forgetting I wasn't supposed to be there! And they all bowed in unison, it was so sweet - I said: "Mae'n flin 'da fi!" ("I'm sorry") and the choirmaster said: "Not at all! We're rehearsing for the Olympics." Yep it was THAT Choir, that then performed at the opening ceremony. He then said: "What's your favourite?" I said: "Sospan Fach" - so they sang that and then Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau - I was like a baby, tears running down my cheeks. It was so lovely and I felt so homesick. Lovely bois.

Show quote history

That's lovely.

And I agree there's something poignant about seeing men with that opportunity to come together and have that closeness. As a woman I feel like I have so many channels for that, it just makes me happy when I see men benefit from it too. And I reckon more of that for men would benefit all of us.

Sgtmajormummy · 07/12/2024 15:00

There’s something so pure about a man who can sing clear and true.
I used to tear up at Bear in the Blue House😍.

SensibleSigma · 07/12/2024 15:08

I dislike the sound of soprano voices- women’s at least.
Male voice choir has all the harmony and bass, richness and mellow tone, without the shrillness of a woman’s voice over it. Though there are places where the soprano shriek works well. Dies Irae, I think it is.

I sing. My top notes are as harsh as anyone’s!

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