Sunday, June 28, 2009

SONGS OF PRAISE - ALED JONES



I know this will be confusing for you, while I identify as a buddhist, we go to church and I'm an avid watcher of the BBC's Songs of Praise which is shown in Australia on Sunday on the ABC.

Songs of Praise I'm sure, was originally produced for the elderly and housebound who could not get to church on Sundays. In the old days it was just a series of hyms with lyrics so you can sing along and join the worship.

These days, there's alot more production value and even a rotation of hosts. One of which is Aled Jones. From what I can tell he was a child singing sensation and, while not a chart topper, his fame continues until today.

One of my favourite episodes is The restoration of Gorton Monastery episode in June 08, and which wasn't shown here until June 09. Basically it tells of a five year struggle by the community to restore their beloved church in Manchester and in the process turn it into a community space.

Aled sings one of my favourite hyms, Be Still (for the presence of the Lord).
Posted by thang @ noodlies at 7:51 PM
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2 comments:

  1. Hi Thang,

    I applaud you that as a Buddhist, you enjoy going to church. If there were more people, open and accepting of other faiths, there would far fewer wars, intolerances and bigotries. A heartwarming revelation, and I thank you.

    To reply to your query, Aled was indeed a renowned boy soprano in his childhood, the best the world has seen, in my view.

    Aled is Welsh, and began as a chorister in Bangor Cathedral in Wales at 9yrs of age, and it was there he was later discovered at 12yrs of age by a recording company, on the recommendation of an appreciative congregation member who was concerned that his exquisite voice would be lost to the world once his voice broke. From the ages of 12-16, he recorded 16 albums and sold 6 million records-quite an achievement in just 4 years.

    As a boy, Aled performed for the Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, performed with many high profile people -Leonard Bernstein, Joan Sutherland, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Julian Lloyd Webber, Welsh tenor Stuart Burrows, Sir Neville Marriner, Howard Blake to name just a few, and sang at the wedding of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.

    Aled is now 38yrs old and has been recording as a superb lyric baritone/tenor since 2002, recording 6 albums to date, with another due out later this year, plus he's one of the most popular presenters on Songs of Praise, which as you know, airs here in Australia on Sunday mornings at 11:30am. He records 30 programmes a year with Songs of Praise now - in fact he's doing four days of filming for it this week in the UK.

    Do have a browse through Youtube.You'll find a fascinating collection of Aled singing both as a boy soprano/treble, as well as his present lyric baritone self. You'll even find his astonishing duets of himself - his treble and baritone voices together. He has recorded four to date and this type of duet is unique in the world, we believe.
    Look in particular for the two duets of "Walking In The Air", and "O Holy Night". I'll be very interested to hear your reaction!

    Please feel free to join the Forum on his worldwide Official Website (google Aled Jones, and it will be easy from there) You're very welcome too to join his unofficial Fanclub (you'll find the URL at the base of my Forum posts) - two sites which work in harmony with one another to promote Aled's brilliant talents.

    I post a preview note of each week's Song of Praise episodes for Australia every week on the Forum, and also the Fanclub, so you'll know which programme to expect as Sunday draws close. Our episodes in Australia are out of sync with the UK's scheduling - usually a year old, sometimes more, but always wonderful regardless.

    Aled absolutely loves Australia and is hoping to be back here on his 4th Australian Concert Tour early next year, so keep a watch on both the Forum and the Fanclub -I'll post the announcement as soon as it's official. He was last here on tour in October 2008...what a fabulous experience that was!

    He's an amazing performer with a stunning voice, plus he's the most unpretentious, fun-loving, down-to-earth guy imaginable..all too rare in the entertainment world.

    Do tune in online to his BBC Radio 2 programme every week -"Good Morning Sunday". It airs live here from 4-6pm AEST. It's a wonderful light religious programme "for people of all faiths, or none" as Aled perfectly describes it. You can also hear it on iPlayer for a week until his next Sunday's show goes live to air. Well worth tuning into. Aled has clerics of all faiths as regular guests on the show, with one of them giving their chosen 'Moment of Reflection' that week.

    Aled is an amazing presenter, as well as a brilliant singer. (you won't hear him singing on his own show though - he won't self-promote)

    Feel free to email me if you'd like any more info on Aled. I'll be more than happy to help.


    Just one quick question if I may....
    Did you watch Songs of Praise this morning? Wasn't Aled's rendition of 'Be Still My Soul' breathtaking?!
    I've heard him sing it live, six times so far - unbelievably moving!

    Susie.
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  2. Thanks Susie,

    That's fascinating, thank you for the detailed response.

    I did see Aled singing this week, it was wonderful.

    Will check out the BBC radio program and the fan site.. sounds great, thanks again Susie!
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