The little village and its choir gained some measure of fame in the UK when Universal Music Group signed them up to release the album Voices of the Valley. This album was released on 20 November 2006, and peaked at #9 on the UK album chart [1].
The choir was formed at that meeting in 1946, to compete in the first Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod (International Eisteddfod) that had recently been established in the nearby town of Llangollen, and was planned to be held for the first time in 1947. The choir's first conductor was Lloyd Edwards. The Choristers stayed together after the Eisteddfod with Lloyd Edwards remaining as the conductor until 1970.
The choir has remained closely associated with the Eisteddfod and is a regular competitor in the Male Voice Choir competition. In 1955 the choir hosted the Societa Corale Gioachino Rossini from Modena which was competing at the Eisteddfod and won first place. The choir was conducted by Fernando Pavarotti, and the victory at Llangollen is said to have inspired the choir conductor's son, one Luciano Pavarotti, a member of that choir and a student music teacher at the time, to take up a singing career (reportedly with some success). The Modena Choir were again hosted by the Froncysyllte Male Voice Choir during their visit with Pavarotti in 1995.
Mr Edwards' baton was taken up by John Daniel, a local music teacher who conducted the choir for 21 years and is now conductor of the Rhosllanerchrugog Male Voice Choir (Cor Meibion Rhosllanerchrugog) in the nearby village of Rhosllanerchrugog. Mr Daniel led the Choir to success in both the National Eisteddfod of Wales and the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod notably winning "the double" (first in both Eisteddfodau) in 1977. The choir has had several successful overseas tours, notably representing the United Kingdom at the Expo World Fair in Vancouver Canada in 1986.
From 1991 to 2002 the choir's conductor was Val Jones. Ann Atkinson took over as Musical Director in 2002 and led the choir for seven years during which they secured a record deal with UCJ and recorded four albums. In March 2010 Leigh Mason became only the fifth Musical Director in the choirs 64 year history.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Froncysyllte_Male_Voice_Choir
Abide With Me
Fron Male Voice Choir Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The darkness deepens. lord with me abide!
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day.
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Change and decay in all around i see,
I need thy presence ev'ry passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter's pow'are?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, lord, abide with me!
The song "Abide With Me" by Fron Male Voice Choir is a powerful hymn that talks about the inevitability of change and decay in life. The first stanza, "Abide with me! fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens. lord with me abide! When other helpers fail and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!" is a plea for God's presence to abide with the singer during the eventide, or the closing of the day. In this time of darkness, the singer needs God's help because human helpers and comforts have failed. What the singer needs is a helper who can be relied upon. The line "Help of the helpless" underscores this need.
The second stanza, "Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day. Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away. Change and decay in all around I see, O thou who changest not, abide with me!" expresses that life is fleeting, and soon it will come to an end. Even the joys and glories of the world will eventually fade, and everything is subject to change and decay. However, the singer believes that God remains constant and unchanging. The singer is asking for God to abide with him in this changing and uncertain world.
Line by Line Meaning
Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;
Lord, stay with me as the evening comes and the day ends quickly.
The darkness deepens. lord with me abide!
Stay with me as darkness creeps in and surrounds my life.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
In times when other helpers vanish and my comforts are disappearing.
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me!
You are the only help for me when I am helpless, so please stay with me!
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day.
Life is brief and it passes away quickly.
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away.
Daily pleasures and the prestigious things of this world fade away.
Change and decay in all around i see,
I see the constant change and decay in everything around me.
O thou who changest not, abide with me!
Lord, you never change, so stay with me and help me cope.
I need thy presence ev'ry passing hour.
I need your presence every moment of every day.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter's pow'are?
Only through your grace can I resist the temptations on this earth.
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
No one can be my guide and support like you, Lord.
Through cloud and sunshine, lord, abide with me!
Stay with me through good and bad times, Lord.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: HENRY FRANCIS LYTE, WILL HENRY MONK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@misskim2058
Me too! I’ve never heard most of what others want to sing these days. But then again, I didn’t grow up in a proper church, either. There actually aren’t a lot of proper churches out there to start, ones that stick to the Bible and add no tittles or jots as we are commanded not to do.
There are whole denominations that engage in massive idolatry (like that one in Rome, for example, with its speechless statues, engaging in necromancy as they attempt to contact the dead (Mary and saints) to “intercede” for them, ignoring the fact that Jesus Christ is the only intercessor; and having statues of angels and demons (how they manage to miss that part of the 10 Commandments I don’t know: “make no images of anything in the heavens, or beneath the earth, or in the waters beneath the earth”…don’t make them at all, AND don’t bow down (or kneel down, God consis that to be the same thing, no technical loopholes here), so it’s crystal clear, that would indeed include not making images of angels or demons, they absolutely fit the description, God doesn’t say “unless it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy and holy inside, then go ahead and ignore what I said”...no, there is no “ignore what I said not to do” part written anywhere in the Bible)...and they even have a collection of some quite obscene statuary, depicting acts of pedophelia, beastiality, and at least one rather gymnastic act of self-pleasuring, but many have a man’s (usually a priest’s) robe lifted enough to expose his genitals, another has one in a woman’s gown, the bodice is definitely not that of a man...
Suffice it to say that no true man of God would ever house such a collection personally, nor should such a collection ever be in a supposed house of God, nor would a man of God finance and partner with a Project L.U.C.I.F.E.R., nor create a mass with a song exalting Lucifer above Jesus Christ (sung in Latin, of course, so members can sing “amen“ (“I agree, so be it”) to things they don’t even understand.
The Bible warns us to be very careful what we say because “ye shall have what ye say”....yes, what ye say, what ye say, what ye say...and speak what is not as though it were ( to change a negative circumstance into a positive one), And whatever we say, say, say, if we don’t doubt it in our hearts, in our hearts, in our hearts, not in our minds but in our hearts, we should have at least say, so people should be very careful not to fill them selves up with negative things that they believe in their hearts will happen to them and then go around saying it over, and over, and over, and over, and over.... I won’t not even talk to such people who marinate in negativity all day and night and want to discuss it. They have faith in the works of Satan. They don’t rebuke it. They cower and fear, rather than use the Word to defeat the enemy.
Whatever we say, say, say, if we don’t doubt it in our hearts, in our hearts, in our hearts...not in our minds, that’s to be expected to a degree, it says if we believe in our *hearts*, (good or bad), we shall have what we say, so people should be very careful not to fill themselves up with negative things that they believe in their hearts will happen to them, and then go around saying it over, and over, and over, and over, and over.
God tells us to set a watch over our tongues, and what goes in our eyes and ears goes into our hearts, and becomes a belief, (“Faith comes by hearing”, and if you listen to a lot of negativity, you will have faith in that, which is having faith in Satan instead of God. Faith comes...it arrives. It comes to you, what you listen to comes TO you.
What you listen to comes to you, what you listen to comes to you, what you listen to comes to you, because faith comes by hearing, and what is heard becomes a belief in the heart, and what you hear you repeat, and you shall have what you say, so what you hear will come to you, because you’ll speak it and believe in it (and God is not a liar), so one should be very careful what one sees and hears), and that comes out of our mouths....and we shall have what we say, so it’s very critical not to let things in our eyes and ears that we don’t want, and to not repeat things we do...not...want…
This would be a time in the world when it’s ever so critical to remove one’s self from the world, because of its toxic mindset and speech, (I’ve had 12+ blissful years without the news at all, I highly recommend it; people will always bang on about something if it’s quite important, and besides, I get my information from real sources, not the idiot box, so the “surprise” events aren’t a surprise at all. They’re usually written well ahead of time, the masses are simply too lazy or fearful to read up on what is in store for them, so they don’t actively combat it ahead of time as we all should), and not engage at all in the type of talk that is on many people’s lips.
This is the time to read aloud the promises of Abrahams blessings in the Bible, and promises of health and protections. The Bible tells us to read it aloud so it goes in our eyes and ears and comes out of our mouths all at the same time, which builds our faith in our promises, because faith comes by hearing, and we are told there is a synergistic affect that happens when we read the Bible aloud. Also, our angels follow whatever we *say*, if it’s written in the Word of God, and that means they must allow good or bad, depending on what we say, according to the Word of God. Doing that instead of listening or watching negativity on a radio or television, or in conversation with others, is time much more powerfully spent.
But I digress.
That Roman place (and other churches, too) have added back what God tore asunder (like the temple veil, Jesus has filled that role, he is our priest, our high priest, and he ended the role of human priests, that was made super-clear....there was an Old Testament (covenant), which required priests, then Jesus Christ established the New Testament, the new covenant, and became the only priest, as God then made the new covenant to deal with each of His children directly. He said “call no man Father, for I am your Father”. That got completely ignored as well...by many. Of course one could write a book, or two, or three on all of the ways many denominations completely ignore God’s written Word.
The Bible is clear, since the church is a spiritual collective of people to follow the teachings, the “one true church“ would therefore never be able to be a formal organization or a building. It has to be, by definition, quite simply the spiritual collective of each individual worldwide who reads, studies, and follows the teachings of the Word of God. No formal organization could ever declare that they do, because none of them actually do without removing something or a lot of somethings, and adding what isn’t written to do. But even if they did, they could never declare that each and every member reads, studies, and follows the teachings. It’s not a membership club to a big box store, nor is it even a membership club to an exclusive club .But a lot of misguided people seem to feel that they can simply sign up to a formal organization, engage in some rituals, and discount the actual Word of God.
Anyway, as for the songs... Almost no one sings this, or Amazing Grace, or other classics anymore, it seems, or few do. Maybe it’s up to each of us to start those types of churches, those types of gatherings, One doesn’t need a special building, even Jesus just gathered at the seaside or on the mountainside or wherever else. It’s true he taught in the synagogue but he also taught or ever people would hear him. I can be in the grocery checkout line or anywhere. It can be with one person, or thousands.
It would be nice to have the classics sung again. No rock band necessary. Though I also love the Gospel chiors with the rich and soulful voices of black people, too. A joyful noise they make indeed.
And for those right now being harassed for making joyful noises, remember there are many ways to make noise in a joyful manner. If you can’t sing, you can hum, you can use instruments, you can clap, or drum with your hands on anything...you can even use your feet, you can tap dance for the lord...or you can sing anyway. It is a golden opportunity to become far more creative in how we, the children of God, make our joyful noises to the Lord.
@jameslevens2121
My Dad was moved to tears because it reminded him of his father. Dad himself died on January 11th this year (2024), so Mum and I will always think of Dad when we hear this.
@davidjames6021
He is a legend this was my parents funeral song.
That is why son
@davidjames6021
This song will bring you closer to him .
@jameslevens2121
@@davidjames6021 Thank you very much.
@davidjames6021
@@jameslevens2121 no problem freind. Over the next few years , you will say and do things that will make you realise he is still here. (the stuff that use to embarrass you aswell) 😉
@judeobscure3870
Stunning. I'm not even a Christian but this moved me to tears, its in the genes though, great gran was Welsh, gran was Scots, mum is Irish..... its the celtic gene.... I would like this at my funeral as well, just so everyone cries!
@freds8868
There is a gate ajar.
@babyRoses7
My grandmothers favorite hymn! She taught me how to play this on the piano when I was a little girl!
@GusDChihabaSr
Astounded another excellent version of my favorite hymn. I wish the hymn could have been longer.
@misskim2058
That’s exactly my thoughts. I always wish they’d hold some notes longer, too, and have a little more pausing at some points, not rush through the song. The pacing always seems just a little fast. But this one is closer than most....