ABSTRACT
The Welsh Revival of 1904-5 stands within a tradition that has characterized belief and theology in Wales since the eighteenth century, because, as at least one commentator explains: The Welsh people have always been easily acted upon by religious influences. In and of itself, church hymnody was by no means unique to the 1859 Welsh Revival, but the practice of congregational improvisation of harmony in counterpoint to the tune was peculiar to the evolving Welsh musical tradition, even though 'such improvisations differ very little from the harmonization of the composers of the hymn tunes. Be that as it may, the principle of musical spontaneity came to characterize Welsh revivals, and found its greatest manifestation in the next great national revival, that of 1904-5, which came to be known to some as the 'singing revival' because of the prominence of the voice. As already mentioned, spontaneous singing played a key role right from the start of 1904-5 Welsh Revival.
