Mealor’s Aberfan requiem balances remembrance with hope for the valley

Paul Mealor’s new choral work, *Aberfan: From Darkness to Light*, was the centrepiece of a Cardiff concert marking 60 years since the Aberfan disaster. The review describes a moving performance that acknowledged the tragedy while reflecting the wishes of Aberfan residents to make hope, renewal and the life of the valley part of its story.

The 40-minute work sets words by Grahame Davies and was conducted by Timothy Redmond, with Mark Lewis Jones narrating. Children from two local junior schools joined the Ynysowen Male Voice Choir, the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales; their clear, bright singing brought particular emotional force. The disaster killed 116 children and 28 adults, and the piece also remembers rescuers’ bravery and those who might have prevented it.