2. MARCO TEÓRICO
2.4. Biopelícula, Biofilm o Placa dental
But what did the advancements in tonic sol-fa mean for the people of Wales? As mentioned, tonic sol-fa was introduced to Wales by Eleazar Roberts who had translated
Curwen’s textbook into Welsh; Llawlyfr y Tonic Sol-ffa (The Tonic Sol-fa Handbook) was published in 1862 (Plate 2.4). However,the establishment of the Tonic Sol-fa College seven years later led to the consolidation of the new method in Wales. While the College was not based in Wales, the Welsh were able to study for the various qualifications (including diplomas, licentiates, advanced certificates and fellowships) offered by the institution. Welsh composers were seemingly keen to gain the formal credentials associated with music education; David Jenkins (1848–1915) was the
78 ‘Sol-fa’, item 5: Llawlyfr y tonic sol-ffa, Eleaz[a]r Roberts, 1862, NLW website
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first to receive the advanced certificate in 1869, the year the college opened.79 By the 1890s, the
college was attracting more candidates from Wales than from England: ‘nearly 79 per cent (149) of the college’s 187 advanced certificates awarded between 1891and 1895 went to Welsh
entrants’.80 Considering such statistics relating to the influence of tonic sol-fa in Wales, it is
surprising that McGuire (who provides a lengthy assessment of the tonic sol-fa movement in Britain) does not consider its use in Wales.
While the introduction of tonic sol-fa to Wales ensured that the majority of those participating in group singing from the 1860s did so in a literate manner, a polarisation occurred between those who used tonic sol-fa and those who read staff notation. In this matter, musical periodicals of the era tended to favour one method; for example, Cerddor y Tonic Sol-ffa (The Tonic
Sol-fa Musician, published in Wrexham 1869–1874), Y Cerddor Sol-ffa (The Sol-fa Musician, 1881–
1886) and Y Sol-ffaydd (The Sol-faist, published in Pontarddulais, 1891–1892) printed their music only in tonic sol-fa notation.81 One of the most influential periodicals, namely Y Cerddor Cymreig
(The Welsh Musician), issued its musical supplements alternately in sol-fa and staff notations from 1865. First published in Merthyr Tydfil in 1861 (and later in Wrexham), Y Cerddor Cymreig represented a landmark in the field of Welsh music publishing since, in addition to printing musical supplements, it provided a forum for the discussion of the musical scene in Wales as well as a place where new compositions could be examined. Notably the creator and editor of the journal was the aforementioned Ieuan Gwyllt, who followed a precedent set by the successful London-based periodical, the Musical Times (first published in 1844).
Although tonic sol-fa did not teach its exponents how to read music in the conventional sense (through staff notation), its widespread use taught singers (primarily from the working classes) the basic rudiments of music such as rhythm, pitch and harmony. Moreover, tonic sol-fa
79 The Brecon & Radnor Express: Carmarthen and Swansea Valley Gazette and Brynmawr District Advertiser, 23 December
1915. For Jenkins, proficiency in tonic sol-fa and music in general was more than a pastime. In 1874, he began studying at Aberystwyth College under the tutelage of the famous Welsh composer, and Professor of Music, Joseph Parry (1841–1903). Jenkins later received a Bachelor’s degree in Music in Cambridge in 1878, before returning to Aberystwyth to become a lecturer and later a professor (in 1893 and 1910 respectively).
80 Gareth Williams (1998), p.32. 81 Ibid., p.29.
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played an important role in terms of formal education. In 1870, the Education Act (the first law specifically related to the provision of education in the United Kingdom) ensured that music was taught in all schools throughout England and Wales. In the early years following the introduction of the Act, singing was generally taught by ear without the use of either form of notation. As Dave Russell importantly highlights, the method of instruction changed from an aural to a literate mode of transmission when the government introduced a financial incentive; in 1883, schools were offered one shilling for each pupil taught using notation (either through tonic sol-fa or via staff notation), whereas those continuing to teach by ear were only to receive six pence per child (half the amount). Enticed by the promise of financial award, more schools committed to teaching singing by note; in 1891, 11,833 schools in England and Wales were teaching by ear (36 per cent less than in 1884), 15,153 schools were teaching with sol-fa (more than doubled from 6,773 in 1884) and 2,362 schools were using staff notation (an increase of approximately one per cent since 1884).82 Here, the popularity of tonic sol-fa is evident.
In addition to its role in musical education (in both examinations for adults and for children in schools) and Welsh-language publications, tonic sol-fa played a significant part in the formation of a nation skilled in multi-part collective singing. Although children were instructed in the method from a young age (the school-leaving age was ten in 1880), tonic sol-fa singing was nurtured through religion in the community. Here, Sunday schools which acted as a context for musical learning were especially important. Moreover, the relationship between choralsinging and religious practice was strengthened further by two developments that occurred in Aberdare in the landmark year of 1859. First, the earliest Undeb Canu Cynulleidfaol (Congregational Singing Union) was founded by Ieuan Gwyllt, a union that brought together members of the community to sing from his newly-published tune book. In line with the popularity of his
publication, similar singing unions were established in a number of locations across South Wales, including the neighbouring areas of Merthyr, Dowlais and Pontypridd (as well as Cardiff and
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Swansea), and also in North Wales (in Penllyn, Nant Conwy and Pwllheli). Second, Aberdare was the location of the first cymanfa ganu (pl. cymanfaoedd canu), a hymn-singing festival utilised by chapel choirs strictly to disseminate religious ideas while also improving musical worship.83 In
addition to singing, cymanfaoedd canu included lectures on musical topics. Unlike earlier
temperance unions that merged choirs for collective singing, the whole congregation sang as a united choir in the cymanfa.
Conclusions
In this chapter, I have outlined the major religious developments in Wales which provided the framework on which congregational singing was based. In terms of a native form of identity, the use of language played a crucial role. Despite increasing pressures to anglicise religious services through their delivery and use of newly-imposed English-language publications, campaigners such as Salesbury ensured that the people of Wales were able to participate in their native tongue. Here, the creation of Welsh-language materials reflected more than a simple alternative to religious books in English. Importantly, Welsh was the language of nonconformist worship in which 80 per cent of the Welsh population were engaged in 1851 (according to the relevant census). Moreover, I argue that a tripartite relationship existed between religion, language and industrialisation in the mid-nineteenth century. Drawing upon the work of Herbert, it has been noted that the movement of workers within Wales to meet the demands of industrial labour promoted a form of cultural homogeneity not only through native identity (i.e. being Welsh) but also through language.
This chapter also showed how the promotion of Wales as a musical nation (a land in which people were enthusiastic about singing in parts) was shaped significantly by the emergence of tonic sol-fa in Wales. Although singing in general was practiced by both men and women (it
83 Such festivals were popular not only in Wales, but also in Welsh disaporic communities where the cymanfa ganu was
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was inclusive), I contend that gender affected the development of music pedagogy in Wales. In particular, dissemination of Sarah Glover’s pedagogical method was limited due to her social position (as a woman) and, as McGuire points out, because the system itself was viewed as paternalistic. The marginalisation of Glover in this instance prompts further questions about the involvement, and more importantly the representation, of women in musical endeavours in the relevant period (see also Chapters 5 and 6). More broadly, however, I argue that tonic sol-fa had a social function due to its development alongside the rise of nonconformity and a demographic explosion consequent to an increased economic output (iron and coal mining); it brought people together to sing in chapels. To highlight the importance of this matter, Williams notes ‘if singing became the national preoccupation of the Welsh in the second half of the nineteenth century, sol-fa was the hinge on which the door to so much musical experience swung open’.84 Together
with the emergence of events such as the cymanfa ganu, it ensured that singing in Wales became a collective rather than an individual endeavour. In the following chapter, I detail the first major occurrence of collective singing in Wales on a national scale. Moving from the practice of singing in religious settings, I examine choral singing in a secular, competitive context with respect to the National Music Meetings of 1872 and 1873.
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