Karl Jenkins

In recent years Karl Jenkins has become one of the world's best-selling living composers. He continues to conduct his epic Adiemus Live Concerts with distinguished orchestras including the London Philharmonic featuring in Festivals and concerts in Britain and abroad; and his moving choral work The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace is now firmly lodged as a concert favourite. This new work builds on the style which the British public have come to know and adore. Jenkins has set the usual Latin movements of the requiem mass but in keeping with his usual trait of drawing from other cultures he has also set five Japanese haiku ‘death’ poems. Such poems are usually to dowith nature have a single idea and consist of seventeen syllables divided 5-7-5 over three lines. As one can see from the text the Japanese view nature’s water cycle (precipitation) as being synonymous with life. The Western and Eastern texts are combined in two of the haiku movements Having Seen The Moon and Farewell which incorporate the Benedictus and the Agnus Dei respectively. Both are intoned by male voices in a monastic style as a counterpoint to the Japanese text sung by females. The instrumentation of these haiku settings includes the ancient Japanese wind instrument the shakuhachi. Elsewhere as usual Jenkins has used some ethnic drums (e.g. Arabic darabuca Japanese daiko frame drums) and even a hip-hop rhythm in the Dies Irae!

For Contralto solo Chorus and Orchestra. Looking outside the purely Western Europe tradition for inspiration and freshness Karl Jenkins sets the 13th-century Stabat Mater text in Latin and English and has extended it to a universal depiction of grief with six other texts some of them from ancient sources in a variety of languages. The scoring is for voices and modern symphony orchestra augmented by indigenous instruments such as the Darabuca (Hand Drum) and Riq (Small Tambourine) and the Mey (Woodwind). The work has been recorded by EMI Classics performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra andChoir the EMO Choir of Helsinki with soloists Jurgita Adamonyte and Belinda Sykes conducted by the composer. By turns dramatic and reflective the twelve-movement work incorporates the original 13th-century Latin sequence alongside additional texts such as Ave verum corpus (originally composed for Bryn Terfel) Lament by Carol Barratt and English texts derived from ancient Babylonian and medieval Persian sources.

Complete Vocal Score-A powerful and compelling account of the descent into and consquences of war commissioned by the British Armouries and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict. Using the basis of a Christian Mass (Requiem) Karl Jenkins has set both secular and sacred texts inspired and guided by the 15th-century French song L'Homme Arme to create a major and unsettling choral work that raises questions and provokes poignant reflection. This full vocal score features a Piano reduction for rehearsals.

from Gloria-The Prayer: Laudamus Te is taken from Karl Jenkins' Gloria a large-scale festival piece cast in five movements and is based on the traditional Latin text. This piece is for SATB Choir.

A cappella motet from Stabat mater-Motets is a set of intimate and spiritually uplifting a cappella choral works by Karl Jenkins featuring new pieces and arrangements of a selection of movements from his most popular works including The Armed Man Requiem Adiemus and The Peacemakers.Although scored for mixed choir a cappella most pieces include an optional accompaniment for piano or organ. Next to the complete vocal score (BH 12937) all 19 separate motets are also available as single pieces.Motets was recorded on Deutsche Grammophon 0289 479 3232 by Stephen Layton and Polyphony.

The Peacemakers sets words of peace from iconic world-changing figures such as Gandhi Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King along with other inspirational quotations of Mother Teresa Albert Schweitzer Anne Frank and the Dalai Lama. Also included are religious texts from the Bible the Qur?an St Francis of Assisi and Bahá?u?lláh and the poetry of Shelley Malory Terry Waite and Carol Barratt. One line from the Persian mystic poet Rumi sums up the ethos of the work: ?All religions all singing one song: Peace be with you?. Scored for soprano solo SATB chorus optional SSA chorus flute guitar (acoustic classical or fretless bass) strings & percussion with optionalsoprano saxophone brass timpani solo violin and organ/electronic keyboard. English & Latin text with ?peace? in many languages. Performance materials available on hire. Recorded on EMI CD 50999 0 84378 2 2. Duration: 70'

Gods of Olympus was commissioned by the Really Big Chorus for performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall in July 2012. In keeping with the spirit of the 2012 Olympiad the piece is based on ancient Greece birthplace of the Olympic Games. The movements are inspired by four of the twelve Olympians the mythical Gods that dwelt on Mount Olympus: Zeus Ruler of Olympus; Hermes the Winged Messenger; Aphrodite Goddess of Love; Hephaestus Blacksmith & Fire-God. The text uses Jenkins’ own ‘mythical’ language first used in Adiemus. Performance materials are available on hire at www.boosey.com.Content - Zeus Ruler of Olympus:Part I: Fantare - Part II: Procession - Hermes the Winged Messenger - Aphrodite Goddess of Love - Hephaestus Blacksmith & Fire-God

As featured on the international best-selling album The Armed Man is a powerful and compelling account of the descent into and terrible consequences of war. Commissioned for the millennium by Britain's Royal Amouries and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis this work is a contemporary example of a mass based on the fifteenth century French song L'Homme Arme.

In memoriam Alfryn Jenkins-From the composer of The Armed Man a new setting of Laurence Binyon's iconic poem of remembrance. A simple but stirring anthem interwoven with the Last Post the piece opens as does the poem in a mood of proud thanksgiving and then builds towards a powerful and perfectly judged climax monumental but not over-stated. First performed at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall London 13 November 2010. Featured on the 10th anniversary edition of The Armed Man (EMI Classics CD). Orchestral materials available on hire. Suitable for intermediate standard choirs of all sizes.

As a composer he recognises no boundaries musical commercial geographical or cultural. His is a way of thinking and composing that is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the times Classic FM MagazineReleased ten years after the original Adiemus albums that helped to make Karl Jenkins' name Adiemus Colores draws inspiration from the sights sounds colours and rhythms of Latin American music.As with the original Adiemus Jenkins combines classical principles with the flavours of world and ethnic music supported by lively Percussion. His Choral writing adopts an invented language with nomeaning like scat singing in jazz. Each movement is named in Spanish after a colour and explores the mood that each evokes for the composer embracing Brazilian samba Argentinian tango and Spanish bolero.Adiemus Colores is scored for Choir and Ensemble with Soloists with a total duration of 75 minutes.

A cappella motet from Requiem-Motets is a set of intimate and spiritually uplifting a cappella choral works by Karl Jenkins featuring new pieces and arrangements of a selection of movements from his most popular works including The Armed Man Requiem Adiemus and The Peacemakers. Although scored for mixed choir a cappella most pieces include an optional accompaniment for piano or organ. Next to the complete vocal score (BH 12937) all 19 separate motets are also available as single pieces.Motets was recorded on Deutsche Grammophon 0289 479 3232 by Stephen Layton and Polyphony.