Midsummer Music

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 (‘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 ‘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. ‘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 ‘Zorba the Greek’ (1964).