Music of Wales in the country's national sport of rugby, which in 1905 saw the first singing of a national anthem, Wales's "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau", at the start of an international sporting encounter. A tradition of brass bands dating from the Victorian era continues, particularly in the South Wales Valleys, with Welsh bands such as the Cory Band being one of the most successful in the world. The 20th century saw many solo singers from Wales become not only national but international stars. Ivor Novello, who was a singer-songwriter during the First World War. Also, opera-singers such as Geraint Evans and later
Ynysangharad War Memorial park there is memorial to Evan James and his son James James who wrote Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the Welsh National Anthem. Evan James and his son James were weavers who lived in Pontypridd when they composed the National Anthem in 1856, James wrote the words while Evan composed the music. Although originally called Glan Rhondda (Banks of the Rhondda) it was quickly renamed Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau (Land Of My Fathers) when it gained huge popularity after being performed at the 1858 Llangollen National Eisteddfod. Unlike many anthems it was not written to represent a particular occasion in history,