Aled Jones

One boy whose talent has carried him beyond his treble years and into adult stardom is Aled Jones. He has an interesting story in that a woman, Hefina Orwig Evans, attended a service at the Bangor Cathedral where she heard Aled sing Hear My Prayer. She was so impressed that she wrote a letter to the Recording Studios of Sain advising them to listen to him. They did and liked it, so 12-year-old Aled started his recording career.

He actually started singing at the age of 9 with the Bangor Cathedral Choir in Wales where he became lead soloist within two years. By the time his voice changed at age 16 he had recorded sixteen albums that sold more than six million copies. His voice really was remarkable and it’s not just the sweet tones but the skill that he possessed at that early age.

The CD that I have is the Best Of Aled Jones and it has that perfect version of Hear My Prayer that got Ms. Evans so excited. It’s the best version I’ve heard so far.
There are some songs with titles that I assume are Welsh like Yr Ehedydd, Ddwyfor Iesu (Pie Jesu), and Bugeilio’r Gwenith Gwyn. Oh, how I wish I could pronounce those names.

I like Mozart’s Laudate Dominum, Frank’s Panis Angelicus and especially Bach’s Ave Maria in which he belts out some super high, powerful notes. There is also Agnus Dei, How Beautiful Are The Feet, Where’er You Walk and several others, all great.

The CD cover calls him “one of the best treble singers the world has ever seen” and I can’t disagree. I doubt that there are many boy singer fans who don’t have some of his music.
Too bad he had to grow up, but I’m sure he’s a great guy. After all, he’s a big Libera fan.