Hughes’s Lasting Legacy.

In May 1910 copies of Cwm Rhondda and some of his other hymn tunes were received by Queen Alexandra, who wrote to thank him. Gradually its appeal spread far and wide, enjoying growing international appeal in both a religious, competitive and sporting setting.

However during the early years after its writing, Hughes’s score’s popularity with the Welsh public was not always matched by the support of the Baptist movement. Many felt that its popularity at sporting events made it unfit for places of worship. The Archdruid of the Gorsedd at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, Rev Elvet Lewis, pastor of King’s Cross Tabernacle in London said the Welsh Baptist Hymnal should ban it altogether because it was so frequently being performed at “football matches and on charabancs”. Similarly the Rev D. Ivor Jones condemned the use of it in church services at a well-publicised meeting of the Blaenavon Easter Vestry.

It was undoubtedly becoming more of a firm favourite at sporting events than any other tune. During the 1920s newspaper reports claimed that Arsenal lost the cup at Swansea because of the impromptu performance of Cwm Rhondda by the spectators around the field! When the Welsh rugby team took on Ireland in Cardiff in 1924, the congregation of 50,000 sang it for the Prince of Wales.

On June 22, 1918 an Evensong Service was held at Westminster Abbey to aid the Committee of the Welsh Prisoners of War National Fund. Attended by Her Majesty Queen Mary, David Lloyd George and members of the Royal Family, John Hughes was invited to attend however he declined the offer, and his chair was left vacant throughout the service. One report suggests he was too nervous to sit alongside such high-ranking individuals, while others claim he would not want to wear a top hat and frockcoat to the event as requested! However, the congregation was deeply moved by the hymn, so much so that many of the British elite wrote to the composer – not least of all the organist at the Abbey, E.S.Roper, to express his delight and admiration.

John Hughes was becoming a much sought-after conductor, particularly when it came to public performances of Cwm Rhondda. Although he often avoided publicity and preferred to remain rather modest in his work, he still undertook a number of high profile engagements.

On May 18th, 1927 he conducted a choir of a dozen miners 159 yards below ground at the bottom of Pwllgwaun Colliery in Pontypridd, better known as “Dan’s Muck Hole”. The concert, which included Cwm Rhondda and another traditional tune Y Delyn Aur, was actually broadcast by the old Welsh broadcasting station 5WA with B. Gregory Evans RCM accompanying the composer underground to conduct Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau at the end. The Western Mail newspaper remarked that, “all the items were rendered with fervour and rich musical tone.”

When Prince George (later the Duke of Kent) was visiting the pithead baths at Cwmparc near Treorchy, the day shift had congregated in the washroom and conducted by Arthur Morgan sang Cwm Rhondda while splashing in the showers.

At the Treorchy National Eisteddfod in 1928, David Lloyd George and his wife Megan arrived late due to a car accident, but were there to witness the most bizarre of incidents. The then Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was in attendance along with Eisteddfod Presidents Colonel Watres of Scranton, Pennsylvannia and the Rt Hon J.H.Thomas JP. Without warning members of the Communist Party, for which the Rhondda Fach and especially Maerdy was renowned, began waving flags and calling for The Red Flag to be performed on stage in the main marquee. Without hesitation the conductor W Morgan Evans avoided an incident by calling out “Let Mr Baldwin hear Cwm Rhondda!” as a way of reducing any unpleasant disharmony with the congregation of 20,000 quickly following his lead!

Personal letters to the composer illustrate how members of the armed forces had also taken the hymn tune to their hearts as it helped dispel homesickness. Most notably the Royal Welch Fusiliers sang it as they went into the slaughter at Mametz Wood on the Somme. For many it was the last piece of music they heard.  Many soldiers also visited Tonteg to tell him they had even heard the hymn sung in the trenches and that Germans were heard singing it across “no-man’s land” on a still evening.

When Dr Joseph Bowen took his Royal Welsh Gleemen on a tour of the United States they performed at Utah State Prison. At the time two black prisoners were awaiting execution and we asked what song they would like heard - they both requested Cwm Rhondda. It was composer Dr Daniel Protheroe who sent John Hughes frequent invitations to conduct singing festivals in the United States, although he declined each of the offers, preferring once more to avoid the glare of publicity.

During the early 1930s, John Hughes accepted the invitation to conduct the hymn at a series of high-profile music festivals throughout South Wales. These festivals attracted congregations of tens of thousands of people. On June 22nd, 1930 the South Wales Echo organised a Music Festival at Roath Park Pavilion, Cardiff for an audience of 30,000 people conducted by Ronald Chivers with the Roath Temple Band. Such was its success that another was held at Ynysangharad War Memorial Park in Pontypridd with multiple eisteddfod winner Madam Jennie Ellis as soloist and W.Griffiths leading the 5th Battalion of the Welch Regiment. Organised by the Parks Committee and the Pontypridd and District League of Christian Churches, B.Gregory Evans, the eminent conductor from Pontypridd and former assistant to Daniel Protheroe in Chicago, USA, conducted the festival. Finally the third festival with John Hughes conducting Cwm Rhondda came at Beechwood Park in Newport, again organisedby the South Wales Echo. Newport Musical Society led the singing with D.Brinley Williams as conductor, the Newport S.A. Bands played throughout and Robert Ivory was the tenor soloist. In a letter to the Echo Mr Hughes explained, “I am prepared to go with you to assist you in the work you are doing. It is to me a great privilege to have the opportunity. If the people will not sing praises, then we must take it to them. The effects will be far-reaching.”

While few of his other works have so robustly stood the test of time, Cwm Rhondda’s popularity continued to grow and has since been translated into almost eighty languages. In the USA it has several popular versions to the words Come Ye Saints Look Here and Wonder and also God of Grace and God of Glory. Although its roots remain deeply entrenched in places of worship throughout the world, nobody can deny its affection in the hearts of rugby football supporters, particularly those from Wales. Now performed with incredible fervour as an almost tribal chant in the great sporting arenas of the world, Cwm Rhondda’s international appeal cannot be underestimated.

Cwm Rhondda was later sung to Ann Griffith’s Welsh version in the 1941 Academy Award winning movie 'How Green Was My Valley', starring Maureen O’Hara and Walter Pidgeon and based on the novel by Richard Llewellyn. Ten years later and it was also sung to the words God of Grace and God of Glory in the soundtrack of the Humphrey Bogart film 'The African Queen'. More recently it has been sung at the opening of the new Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, and the enthronement of the current Archbishop of Canterbury. As one of the Royal Family’s favourite hymns, it was performed at the fun­er­al of Di­a­na, Prin­cess of Wales, in Sep­tem­ber 1997 and at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in April 2002.

The great Welsh choirs have of course ensured that Cwm Rhondda remains an essential ingredient in their concert repertoire. Pendyrus performed it at the Kremlin; Morriston Orpheus sang it at Carnegie Hall and Treorchy brought the audience of the Sydney Opera House to its feet with their renditions of it on several occasions. Cwm Rhondda has also been recorded by a variety of soloists, more recently arranged as a rock anthem and performed by the likes of Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel and Aled Jones.

Surely no other hymn tune has enjoyed such international appeal and worldwide admiration as Cwm Rhondda. As we celebrate in 2007 its centenary, let us remember that it was in Tonteg that John Hughes became inspired to write those first few notes that would later grow into a world-famous hymn. Today it has become renowned as an anthem of sporting arenas, congregational singing, male voice choir concerts and above all as the very epitome of all that is passionate, rousing and inspiring about the proud cultural heritage of Wales. If its world wide appeal over the last one hundred years is anything to go by Cwm Rhondda will continue to ring out from Capel Rhondda across the world thus maintaining John Hughes great legacy to the musical tradition of his homeland.