The Welsh Revivals: 1859 & 1904

This fascinating documentary traces the rise of Revivalism, or passionate Christian reawakening, in 19th- and 20th-century Wales. Where churchgoing had been a matter of dry orthodoxy, attended by people who often faced hard lives characterized by toil, drunkenness, and dark emotions, a handful of Revivalist ministers (including Dafydd Morgan and Thomas Charles Edwards) and charismatic, non-ordained leaders slowly sparked a brushfire of life-changing faith in small parishes across the land. This half-hour program from filmmaker Gary Wilkinson combines archival photos with interviews of contemporary historians to tell the tale of religious fervor crossing traditional lines of denomination, of antisocial behavior giving way to hours of prayer and song, and of press and political attention riveted to a nation's sea change. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)