songstersmiscellany:

cherish-for-sunshine:

"Bread and Roses" from Pride

Hair raising.  The song starts in the time-honored way with a single voice a cappella listened to in respectful silence* before moving on to group singing in harmony, evoking the Welsh tradition of folk choirs.  My impression (and it may be wrong) is that when outsiders to the tradition think of Welsh choral music, they think first of all-male ensembles.  So it’s nice to have the women sing first.  Of course this may be a choice by the music director: have one gender sing alone and then bring in another to add punch to that musical moment…

* = I’m not sure if this is also a Welsh practice, but in Irish pubs known for their folk music performances, you could talk while instruments played, but songs required silence