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Midsummer Music

A celebration of the welcome, the fun and the colour awaiting visitors at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod.

Documentary 1960 19 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

Overview

Even without tickets for the pavilion – where the national dances are performed in competition - it is possible to experience the sights and sounds of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod for there is always much going on informally in the streets and on the eisteddfod ground (β€˜maes’), as this film shows. Terry Fellows, a local boy, acts the part of a lad beguiled by one of the visiting dancers and it is through his eyes that much of the life of the β€˜maes’ is conveyed.

Established by the inhabitants of Llangollen and Wrexham in 1947, the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod is intended to promote understanding and harmony across the globe and it has always included a message of peace and goodwill from the local children. In 1955 Luciano Pavarotti and his father were members of a winning male voice choir from Modena, Italy. This film was scripted and directed by Hazel Swift, who worked mainly in continuity but also directed a number of films e.g. β€˜Shirt Factory’ (1963), funded by the BFI Experimental Film Fund. Walter Lassally, a director of photography, was her cameraman on this film. He won an Oscar for his work on β€˜Zorba the Greek’ (1964).