HUGHES, MEGAN WATTS (1842 - 1907), vocalist
Date of birth: 1842
Date of death: 1907
Spouse: Lloyd Hughes
Gender: Female
Occupation: vocalist
Area of activity: Music; Performing Arts
Author: Robert David Griffith
Born 12 February 1842 at Dowlais, Glamorganshire, whither her parents had moved from Pembrokeshire and where her father became superintendent of the Dowlais cemetery.
She came into prominence when quite young as a vocalist in concerts held in the Merthyr and Aberdare districts. A local committee was formed with the object of raising funds to enable her to be trained; with assistance given after the Gwent and Morgannwg musical festival of 1863, she was able to receive lessons from Miss Sarah Ada Gedrych, Cardiff, and Mills, the organist at Llandaff cathedral. In 1864 she went to the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she studied under Garcia. Owing to ill-health, however, she was not able to complete the course. In 1871 she married a London bank-official named Lloyd Hughes. Mrs. Watts Hughes, as she now was, accompanied Joseph Parry on a musical tour of North Wales. She took part twice in ' Orpheus ' (Gluck); she also sang duets with Jenny Lind.
Soon after her marriage she founded a home for necessitous and homeless boys.
She wrote several hymn-tunes, some of which are included in Tonau, Salmau ac Anthemau (David Jenkins); of these ' Wilton Square ' continues to be popular. Her anthem called ' Atgyfodiad ' was published, and her song, ' Y Gwcw ar y Fedwen ' continued in popularity for a long time. She invented a musical device called 'Voice Figures,' gave a demonstration of its use at a Royal Society meeting held in Burlington House, London, and wrote a booklet describing it.
She died 29 October 1907 and was buried in Abney Park cemetery, London; thirty boys from her 'home' were at the funeral, and Madam Mary Davies delivered an address.
Author
- Robert David Griffith, (1877 - 1958)
- Y Cerddor, December 1907
- David Morgans, Music and musicians of Merthyr and district: Together with a list of eisteddfodau to the year 1901 (Merthyr Tydfil 1922)
Sources
- Rob Mullender-Ross, Picturing a Voice: Margaret Watts-Hughes and the Eidophone, The Public Domain Review, viewed 9 March 2020
- Wikipedia Article: Megan Watts Hughes
Further Reading
- NLW Archives: NLW MS 18318C - Hanes bywgraffyddol Megan Watts (Mrs Watts-Hughes)
- NLW Archives: NLW MS 21457D - Biography of Megan Watts Hughes
- Wikidata: Q20733903
Additional Links
Published date: 1959
Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC-RUU/1.0/
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