Marking 60 years since the Aberfan disaster of 1966, a special event on centres on newly commissioned work by Paul Mealor Aberfan: From Darkness into Light: a concert requiem for hope with words by Grahame Davies.
Conceived as an act of remembrance, written with the communities at the heart of the disaster, the work brings together the combined choirs of Ynysowen Primary School and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd y Grug, alongside Ynysowen Male Voice Choir and the BBC National Chorus of Wales.
Woven from grief, reflection, and compassion, Mealor’s requiem honours those lost while offering a collective gesture of hope and renewal.
The special event takes place at Aberfan Community Centre at 5pm on Saturday October 24. This performance will be of a chamber version.
A second performance will take place at 3pm on Sunday October 25 in Cardiff at Hoddinott Hall, with full orchestra. Tim Redmond will conduct both performances.
About Aberfan
The Aberfan disaster (Welsh: Trychineb Aberfan) was the catastrophic collapse of a colliery spoil tip on October 21 in1966. The tip had been created on a mountain slope above the Welsh village of Aberfan, near Merthyr Tydfil, and overlaid a natural spring. Heavy rain led to a build-up of water within the tip which caused it to suddenly slide downhill as a slurry, killing 116 children and 28 adults as it engulfed Pantglas Junior School and a row of houses.
