Welsh Imperial Singers

              248h
1928
ROYAL APPEARANCE   LONDON
H.R.H. THE DUKE OF YORK said:
A WONDERFUL PARTY … A CREDIT TO WALES.
The World Renowned
WELSH
IMPERIAL SINGERS
After their triumphant tour in Canada and Newfoundland.

Figure


Photos—Saroni: Liverpool.

Costumes—Rayne: London.

Declared to be Wales' Finest Combination Each Member is a Noted Soloist

THE UNIQUE ENSEMBLE



Press Opinions of the Leading Musical Critics of England & Newfoundland

ENGLAND

LONDON: WESTERN MAIL
Welsh Singers in London. — R. Festyn Davies is to be congratulated on the fine male choral ensemble, which he presented to London at Aeolian Hall this week, designated the Imperial Welsh Choir.  Every member manifests a wholly delightful sense of balance, perfectly unified attack, and a most subtle sense of expressive nuance.  Nor is it in ensemble alone that this Welsh singing body shines.  It has some remarkable soloists, notable amongst whom must be mentioned Jack Newbury, one of the finest basses I have heard in recent years, rich in vocal timbre, controlled and of a lovely sauveness of vocal line, which detracts nothing from vocal vigour. — Leigh Henry.


LONDON: DAILY NEWS
There was some most effective-concerted singing by the Welsh Imperial Singers.  It is well balanced and finely modulated singing, and the choir traverses beyond the confines of the Principality for its programme.  Mr. R. Festyn Davies, the conductor, is to be congratulated on the team work of his forces.


LONDON: WESTMINSTER GAZETTE
'Proudly proclaimed as the collective winners of over 3,000 first prizes, the Welsh Imperial Singers — a famous male voice choir — gave an excellent account of themselves at the Aeolian Hall last night.


LONDON: MUSICAL TIMES
The Choir was wholly of REAL SINGERS and had subjected itself to a rigid discipline.


LONDON: DAILY TELEGRAPH
THE BLEND OF VOICES was EXCELLENT.  There is no gainsaying the effectiveness of a well co-ordinated carefully-balanced ensemble.


LONDON: DAILY MALL
It is a Choir of CAPITAL VOICES trained to a high pitch of discipline.


LIVERPOOL: “LIVERPOOL DAILY POST”
Their singing is SPIRITED and EXPRESSIVE, the BALANCE OF VOICES is uniformly EXCELLENT.


LIVERPOOL: “LIVERPOOL ECHO”
A SONG FESTIVAL — The Welsh Imperial Singers, under the direction of R. Festyn Davies, combine flexible and beautifully controlled voices, with rare artistry and delicate sense of feeling and harmony.  Their repertoire of songs created a great impression last night.


SHEFFIELD: “SHEFFIELD INDEPENDENT”
No lovers of CHORAL SINGING should miss their performance.


BIRMINGHAM: “BIRMINGHAM MAIL”
'TONAL PERFECTION and a FINE PRECISION characterised their following of the baton.  It is the voices of the 22 that REMAIN with one to the END OF THE SHOW.  (AT BIRMINGHAM HIPPODROME.)



CANADA


“MONTREAL STAR”
These singers, each one of whom has a fine voice and knows well how to use it; in fact, the programme and their solos cover a wide range of good songs from Purcell and Mozart to Sullivan and Gounod.  With such material as this and Mr. Festyn Davies' conspicuous abilities as a conductor, the choral singing is quite remarkable in its tone, balance and its spirit.


“MONTREAL GAZETTE”
New meanings given to numbers of Popular Type — Classical renderings also reveal brilliance.
Carrying their audience beyond the quiet ground of their expectations the Welsh Imperial Singers, in their concert given in Windsor Hall, won an acclaim so spontaneous as to make the Concert one of the most interesting as well as one of the most pleasant of recent musical events in Montreal.
There was no need to bolster appreciation by saying that technique compensated for quality of voice, or either for the music that was chosen.  The Choral Work left the listener a refreshed idea of the beauty of harmony that can be in part songs for male voices, and the quality of tone had a downright beauty that was especially remarkable in the basses.  In fact, the performance played an unusual trick on concert-goers in being better than its advance reputation.




Sir Dan Godfrey's Opinion:
PAVILION,
WINTER GARDENS,
BOURNEMOUTH.
August 1st, 1928.

DEAR MR. FESTYN DAVIES,

It gives me the greatest pleasure to place on record the appreciation of the public and myself for the splendid performance you gave with the Welsh Imperial Singers.  I DON'T REMEMBER EVER HEARING A FINER COMBINATION OF MALE VOICES.

The tone and ensemble were splendid, and the soloists, each one showed himself an accomplished artiste.

The variety of the selection of items given was well judged to suit all tastes; in fact, the performance did the fullest credit to your splendid training, and I may add the assistance of your accompanist was no little benefit.

Best wishes,
Believe me,
Yours faithfully,
DAN GODFREY.

R. FESTYN DAVIES, ESQ.




TORONTO EVENING TELEGRAM
Conductor Festyn Davies directs superb voices that sing like an Orchestra.  Tone was brilliant and resonant in forte passages, and wonderfully sweet in subdued passages.  Shading and phrasing and rhythmic sense were of remarkable beauty.  It was indeed as though a chamber orchestra of strings, reed and brass, had set human hearts and voices in their instruments.  Many startling contrasts — sudden hushings and impetuous outburst of passionate emotion — were achieved, and never for a moment did the glorious 'Singing Fever' forsake the ensemble, and of course, voices of superb quality, with temperament to match, were the warp and woof of the finished music.


VICTORIA, B.C.: DAILY TIMES
Here is a superlative aggregation of singers from the Old Land, bringing tradition with them and choral attributes of a most distinguishing character.  They not alone sing with their voices but from their hearts, and their articulation, diction, unanimity attack, discipline, gradations of tone and exactitude of interpretation are of the highest standards, and are well worth hearing for those excellences in choral achievement.


EDMONTON: JOURNAL
Complete responsiveness to the baton, tonal beauty, clear enunciation, dynamic perfection — such are the qualities which belong to the Imperial Singers.


VANCOUVER, B.C.: SUN
It is not really difficult to explain why people of all nationalities have fallen so readily under the spell of the art of the Welsh Imperial Singers, the music which they sing being of the finest of a great period of choral music.
They sing it with so revealing a sensitiveness that its beauty goes straight to the hearts of all listeners.



HAMILTON, ONT.: SPECTATOR
The Welsh Imperial Singers, the finest male choir that has ever visited Hamilton — their first appearance in Canada — reflect credit on the genius of their Conductor, R. Festyn Davies.  Individually, they are exceptional singers, and, collectively, they display a team work second to none.  One has but to hear them once to realise that here is an ensemble disciplined to a fine degree and a credit to the land of their birth.


WINNIPEG TRIBUNE
Mr. Davies and his combination have an exceedingly large repertoire, choruses and Solos, many of which are seldom heard in Winnipeg.
The spirit with which the attractive selections of numbers was gone through was the last word in sincerity and drew admiration from all sides.



REGINA: THE LEADER
The Choir's ensemble work was a revelation in unanimity, in tonal beauty and resource, in crisp dictum, in deft dynamic variations, in a remarkable facility in illuminating the moments emotional content.


SASKATOON: STAR PHOENIX
Their sense of balance is apparent in attack and nuance; it is as if one voice expressed itself.


CALGARY: THE ALBERTAN
The Choir's singing of 'Carry me back to Old Virginny,' for example, was an interpretation of a simple song which was a revelation.


VANCOUVER, B.C.: STAR
These singers are not only a group of fine individual musicians, but with Mr. Davies' guidance they constitute a choir of high calibre.
It is seldom that one hears 'The Lost Chord' sung as they sing it, and the harmonies achieved in 'Carry me back to Old Virginny' leave nothing to be desired.  Here they stand alone and incomparable.





NEWFOUNDLAND

ST. JOHNS: DAILY NEWS
The singing of the 'Welsh Imperial Singers' is something unusual — something far out of the ordinary under the distinguished leadership of R. Festyn Davies, and the ensemble renders a programme that has never been equalled in the annals of music in Newfoundland.


ST. JOHNS: TELEGRAM
Its varied nature, the extraordinary precision displayed, the perfect enunciation of the singers, the volume of the choruses, the exquisite shades of tone and the beautiful blending of the voices in harmony, are all features which might be dwelt with at length, but even then it would be impossible to convey to our readers any conception of the intense pleasure of the keenly appreciative audience.






R. FESTYN DAVIES


Mr. Davies was born at Trawsfynydd, North Wales.  He received his musical training at the Guihall School of Music, London, and was a private pupil of the late Sir Joseph Barnby.  Also studied abroad under the famous Italian tenor, Signor Enrico Duzensi.  In 1908 he left England for America.  Mr. Davies' name is well known from the Atlantic to the Pacific Coast, especially so on the Pacific Coast, where he has conducted some of the most noted musical festivals in America.



Comments from Canadian Critics

TORONTO TELEGRAM
Festyn Davies, the Conductor, does with his fingers what STOKOWSKI does with the PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA.  There isn't a resource in concerted song that he doesn't explore and exploit to the joy of listeners who love singing.  His songmen are an instrument tempered and attuned to interpret the utmost of his refined intuitions.


TORONTO STAR
Their pianissimos are phenomenal to an unusually skilful conductor; they sing with absolute discipline to the baton.


MONTREAL GAZETTE
The directing of Mr. Festyn Davies was a factor of even more importance than with the average ensemble.  The blending of voices and unified feeling in the singing, as well as the exactitude, the cunning shading and free dash, each paid tribute to his inspiration.


EDMONTON JOURNAL
R. Festyn Davies is more than a conductor; he is a creative musician in the wonderful effects which he secures.  The picture was constantly varying in its colour effects and shade.  Here familiar part songs, but revivifying of them by a master hand.


VANCOUVER SUN
CHOIR LEADER POSSESSES IT
Conductors of choirs, bands or any musical body who have that indefinable 'It' that not only sways the audience but impels the singers or players themselves to pour their hearts out in music, are very few and far between.  The names that occur to one's mind include Sir Dan Godfrey, Sousa and R. Festyn Davies, leader of the Welsh Imperial Singers.




HEINTZMAN PIANOS
THE HEINTZMAN GRAND is without doubt the most beautifully toned piano made.  It is recognized by musicians and musical critics alike as a superb instrument, pure and rich in tone, delicate and responsive in touch.

The favoured piano of such outstanding artists as Chaliapin, Tetrazini, Edward Johnson and many other great singers, it is being used exclusively by the famous Welsh Imperial Singers during their tour throughout Canada.

Ye Olde Firme,
HEINTZMAN & CO.
193-197 YONGE STREET, TORONTO, CANADA.


Figure