Carmarthenshire choir Côr Persain delighted their audience on Monday night with a fantastic concert at the Houses of Parliament. Dynamic musical director Anne Wheldon skilfully conducted the choir in a varied and engaging programme, which included beautiful Welsh numbers such as Robat Arwyn’s Anfonaf Angel and Jeffrey Howard’s Y darlun, classical works by composers Thomas Morley and Handel, and upbeat and sparkling show tunes such as Hey Big Spender and All That Jazz.
The choir’s performance showed great range and musicality. Their performance of All Through the Night in Welsh (Ar hyd y nos) was warm and melodious. Conductor Anne entertained the audience with interesting and humorous introductions for each piece and the choir’s piano accompanist Catherine Morgan provided excellent support with strong and sensitive playing.
Commenting on the performance, the Choir’s Honorary President, Nia Griffith MP said:
“The word Persain is Welsh for ‘pure sound’ and the voices of the women tonight were absolutely sensational. This was an emotionally-charged and skilful performance, which had great heart and showed off the great voices of the choir members. I know I speak on behalf of all the audience, who included members of the London Glamorgan Society, as well as Members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, when I say that we have had a great evening. I have loved attending many of the choir’s concerts over the years and this one was no exception. Conductor Anne Wheldon always provides strong leadership and the distinctive presentation of the choir, along with their singing without music, added to the specialness of the night.”
Formed in 2000, Côr Persain is a ladies choir of 26 voices based in Ammanford. The choir released its first CD in December 2015 and its title “Sing for Joy” encapsulates its philosophy that music making should be fun. The choir has performed at various venues in the South West Wales area and abroad. It has a varied concert programme throughout the year, singing at a number of concerts, weddings, harvest suppers and St. David’s Day events, giving recitals to raise funds for charities and it has entertained at the National Botanic Gardens of Wales, the Llandeilo Festival of the Senses and the Cenarth River Festival.
