Cylchgronau Cymru

Chwiliwch trwy dros 450 o deitlau a 1.2 miliwn o dudalennau

JOHN THOMAS REES, Mus. BAC., F.T.S.C., CWMGIEDD AND PEN-Y-GARN: 1857-1949. JOHN THOMAS REES was born in the village of Cwmgiedd, Ystradgynlais, Brecknockshire, on 14 November 1857, eldest son of Thomas and Hannah Rees. Christened John 'Morgan', fellow miners later substituted 'Thomas' (after his father) for 'Morgan', to avoid confusion with another young miner of the same name, and John "Thomas" he remained. His mother died when he was about five years old, whereupon his maternal grandparents took him to live with them at their farm "Llwynbedw" on the outskirts of the village. This period was to furnish him with happy memories, but it was of short duration as his father took him to work underground when he was only nine years old. At the age of twelve he used to accompany his father to and from the Rhondda mines, and it was about this time that he came dangerously near to losing his life when pinned down, with a broken leg, to waggon rails by a fall of coal. By 1876 he had definitely left Cwmgiedd to work in the collieries at Cwmaman (Aberdare). His musical education had begun at Cwmgiedd where he had attended classes held by Phylip Thomas-reluctantly attended at the start, according to him, being literally hauled in by the teacher However, he soon discovered that he had a bent for music and made rapid progress, so much so that before he left for Cwmaman he had a class of his own, with a promising youngster named Daniel Protheroe among his pupils. At Cwmaman he passed the examination for A.C., of the Tonic Sol-fa College, and his obvious love of music and his budding talent decided some kind local friends to send him to Aberystwyth College for a course of study under Dr. Joseph Parry. While at Aberystwyth, to supplement his exiguous financial resources, he in 1880 accepted an invitation to hold music classes at Pen-y-garn C.M. Chapel, about four miles north of Aberystwyth, being warmly recommended for the post by another musical son of Brecknockshire, David Jenkins, Mus. Bac. This step proved an all-important one in the young man's life, as, attending his classes was one Elizabeth Davies who became his bride on 20 May 1881, and whose home 'Bronceiro' from then on became the young musician's home also. Here, except for a brief sojourn in the United States (1882-83) he spent the many years of life that lay ahead of him, and here, within a month of attaining 92 years of age, he died peacefully on 14 October 1949. His remains were laid to rest in Pen-y-garn Cemetery alongside those of his wife and two eldest children. During the years following his marriage he became well-known throughout Wales as music teacher, adjudicator, composer, and conductor of musical festivals, 'Cymanfaoedd Canu', which during the half century preceding the first World War reached maybe their apogee. He was ever a student and a voracious reader, and in 1889 he successfully sat the examination for Mus. Bac., held in this country by Toronto University, Canada,