Aberfan

On 21st October 1966, disaster struck the Welsh mining village of Aberfan. At 9:13am, 150 000 tons of coal waste descended on the community from mountain top tips. The resultant avalanche buried Pantglas Junior School and several neighbouring homes. 28 adults and 116 children were killed...

To mark the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, Christopher Wood wrote this work, "Aberfan". It was premiered by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the 2016 Welsh Proms, held at the national concert hall of Wales, St David's Hall, Cardiff. The performance was conducted by Welsh Proms Artistic Director, Owain Arwel Hughes CBE and was also broadcast on the UK's leading independent radio station, Classic FM.

A year later the work was transcribed for brass, and the premiere performance of that version was given at the 2018 Welsh Proms by the massed bands of Lewis Merthyr and RAF St Athan, again at St Davids Hall, Cardiff.

The work was also recorded by Lewis Merthyr Band for the Welsh Proms album "Brass & Voices of Wales", and it is that recording which is included here. Both the premiere performance and recording were conducted by Owain Arwel Hughes CBE. The album is available for download at www.lewismerthyrband.bandcamp.com while copies of the CD are available from www.lewismerthyrband.com/cd

The people of Wales will never forget the tragedy of Aberfan, a disaster which shook the country and which cost a Welsh community a generation

Requiescat In Pace - Cofiwch Aberfan