A musical tribute to the Aberfan disaster, featuring the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and various Welsh choirs, commemorating 60 years since the tragedy.
Aberfan 60 comes to BBC Hoddinott Hall on Sunday 25 October, a concert marking sixty years since the Aberfan disaster. The afternoon is built around From Darkness into Light, a new requiem commissioned from Paul Mealor with words by librettist Grahame Davies. It's a work for hope, and it brings together the Aberfan schools choirs, the Ynysowen Male Voice Choir, and the BBC National Chorus of Wales in an act of remembrance.
The rest of the programme traces a path from urgency to hope. Anna Clyne's This Moment opens with restless energy, followed by the first movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 44, known as the Mourning Symphony, which drives forward with fierce intensity. Mozart's Andante cantabile from Symphony No. 41, Jupiter, brings a weight and luminous calm, and Vaughan Williams' Toward the Unknown Region, inspired by Walt Whitman, sets out on a searching journey towards the horizon.
On stage, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales is conducted by Timothy Redmond, with narrator Mark Lewis Jones. The vocal side is a big one: the combined choirs of Ynysowen Primary School and Ysgol Gymraeg Rhyd y Grug, the Ynysowen Male Voice Choir, and the BBC National Chorus of Wales all join in. The performance is part of the BBC NOW 2026-27 season and will be BSL interpreted.
Every week we pick 🏆 the 5 best 🏆 things to do in Cardiff and send them to your inbox. Just one weekly email, no spam.
By submitting your email, you accept our Privacy Policy
The concert starts at 15:00 on Sunday 25 October at BBC Hoddinott Hall in Cardiff, and it's already sold out.
