The choir is on a short concert tour

The Bards of Wales, composed by John Hardy, will be sung by the massed voices at the National Youth Choir of Wales at St David's Cathedral, in Pembrokeshire.

The work tells how a huge band of poets were murdered by Edward I.

"When Edward conquered Wales, he asked 500 bards to sing his praises," explained Wyn Davies, a member of the choir.

"But when they got up to speak, they only spoke of the death and bloodshed he had brought upon Wales, so he had them burnt at the stake."

Rachel Mather, also in the choir, said the piece held "a lot of challenges".

"A lot of modern composers at the moment are tending to use a lot of clashes which, for singers are quite hard because it doesn't sound too good for the ear, but it is good fun," she added.

The choir starts a brief tour in St David's Cathedral on Friday night, before moving onto Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff over the weekend, and the Margam festival on Monday.