Jenkins: The Armed Man - A Mass for Peace

2005 release. Dr. Karl Jenkins OBE B.Mus FRAM, educated at Gowerton Grammar School, Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, London, is one of the most prolific and performed composers in the world today. The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace alone has been performed nearly four hundred times in recent years while his recorded output has attained seventeen gold or platinum disc awards. Jenkins has said that The Armed Man was inspired by the "L'Homme arm‚" masses that were popular in the 16th century, and he makes this debt clear with passages written in a neat pastiche of Palestrina-style renaissance polyphony.

Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is a departure from his Adiemus recordings into the more conventional territory of large-scale choral and orchestral writing, though his customary passion for mixing languages remains in full force with texts in English, Latin, and French. Jenkins has said that The Armed Man was inspired by the "L'Homme armé" masses that were popular in the 16th century, and he makes this debt clear with passages written in a neat pastiche of Palestrina-style renaissance polyphony. There are also echoes of earlier and later styles, including plainchant, medieval ballads, John Barry-style horn writing (think Goldfinger), and even a direct quote from Rigoletto (the choir imitates wind sounds at one point as in Act 3 of the Verdi opera). The smorgasbord manages to hold together, probably because Jenkins's obvious sincerity shines through every note. The London Philharmonic Orchestra plays beautifully, and treble Tristan Hambleton performs his solo with ethereal clarity. The National Youth Choir sings with vigor and accuracy, even if the young sopranos sound a little thin at the top of their range. If you liked the soundtrack to The Mission, this should press all the right buttons. --Warwick Thompson