Cork International Choral Festival·and the·RTÉ Concert Orchestra·present: Karl Jenkins·conducting· The Armed Man:·A Mass for Peace
with·the RTÉ Concert Orchestra Our Lady’s Choral Society and guest soloists including·Sharon Carty and Imam Salem·(muezzin)·
Conductor:·Karl Jenkins
Listen to extracts from 'The Armed Man':
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"I adore Karl's compositions. From this quiet, gentle human being, comes the most amazing,
haunting music, that is instantly recognisable, and loved across the world." Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
PROGRAMME All works by Karl Jenkins (1944 - ) Te Deum Palladio, 1st movement
-INTERVAL-
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace 1 The Armed Man 2 The Call to Prayers (Adhaan) 3 Kyrie 4 Save Me from Bloody Men 5 Sanctus 6 Hymn Before Action 7 Charge! 8 Angry Flames 9 Torches 10 Agnus Dei 11 Now the Guns Have Stopped 12 Benedictus 13 Better Is Peace
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
‘The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace’ was composed in 2000 to mark the millennium and is one of Karl Jenkins’ most famous and most popular works, having been performed over nine hundred times in twenty different countries since its premiere in 2002. The work comprises a mix of classical, ethnic and ecclesiastic elements in a dynamic and moving exploration of the complex interplay between war and peace, and is one of the composer’s most courageous and bold musical expressions.
In addition to extracts from Christian Eucharist, the words incorporates references from other religious and historical sources, including the Islamic call to prayer, the Bible and the Indian Mahabharata, as well as words from Rudyard Kipling and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
Tonight’s performance is a particularly special one. The music will be performed against a thematic multimedia backdrop of dramatic and evocative images expressing the futility of war. ‘The Armed Man’ film is an incredible collection of video footage and images drawn from the military, social and political conflicts of the 20th century. The footage, edited in precise synchronicity with Jenkins’ music, provides a suitably poignant visual context for this powerful composition.
Karl Jenkins
World-renowned Welsh composer Karl Jenkins brings his famed work ‘The Armed Man’ to Cork in a very special collaboration with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and Our Lady’s Choral Society. For the first time as part of the Cork International Choral Festival, Jenkins - widely recognised as the world’s most popular living composer - takes to the podium to conduct one of the best-loved pieces of our age.
Educated at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music in London, Jenkins first made his mark on the London jazz scene, playing at London’s famous Ronnie Scott’s club before going on to take top awards at several international jazz festivals. Over the years his dynamic and diverse musical incarnations have packed concert venues from New York’s Carnegie Hall to Cardiff’s Millennium Music Hall, and have headlined events as varied as the Proms and Reading Rock Festival.
Karl Jenkins’ musical output includes the harp concerto ‘Over The Stone’ commissioned by HRH the Prince of Wales for the Royal Harpist, Catrin Finch; a Euphonium Concerto for David Childs; the concertante ‘Quirk’, commissioned by the London Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Sir Colin Davies as part of its 2005 centenary season; ‘Tlep’ written for virtuoso violinist Marat Bisengaliev; and ‘In These Stones Horizons Sing’ which was premiered – featuring Bryn Terfel and Catrin Finch with the WNO Orchestra & Chorus – at the Royal Gala opening of the Welsh Millennium Centre in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen.
The composer’s celebrated recording career has resulted in seventeen gold and platinum disc awards and numerous international accolades and recognitions. Jenkins has also enjoyed an illustrious career in the field of advertising and film music, composing scores for many documentaries and movies, and was twice awarded the prestigious D&AD award for best music, the Creative Circle Gold, and several Golden Lions from Cannes.
After a lifetime of achievements, awards and accolades, Karl Jenkins was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in her 2005 New Year’s Honours List. This was followed by a CBE in 2010 for services to music.
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra (RTÉ CO) has had a special place in Irish musical life for over 60 years, with a range that sees them equally at home in classical, opera, jazz, film, rock and traditional music.
The orchestra has performed Nessun Dorma with Pavarotti and Handel’s Messiah for the Pope, and has played with jazz legends like Lalo Schifrin and Cleo Laine and rock musicians like Jon Lord of Deep Purple. The RTÉ CO gave the electrifying first performance of Riverdance, heard by millions of Eurovision viewers around the world, and went on to record the phenomenally successful CD.
Other commercial recordings include Declan O’Rourke’s BigBad Beautiful World, Duke Special’s I Never Thought This Day Would Comeand a recording of Balfe’s opera Falstaff that was acclaimed as ‘a triumph for singers, conductor, orchestra and chorus alike’ (The Irish Times). Film credits for the RTÉ CO include The Island by Brian Byrne, Irish Destiny by Micheál Ó Súilleabháin and The League of Gentlemen’s Apocalypse by Joby Talbot. The orchestra also made its first appearance at Electric Picnic in September 2010 with a performance which was hailed as one of the highlights of the weekend.
The orchestra’s education programme is presented nationwide to tens of thousands of young people through the RTÉ/The Irish Times Music in the Classroom series, which has been running successfully for over 21 years.
David Brophy has been Principal Conductor of the RTÉ Concert Orchestra since 2007. The orchestra’s Principal Guest Conductor is John Wilson and Proinnsías Ó Duinn was appointed Concert Laureate of the RTÉ CO in 2003.
Our Lady’s Choral Society (OLCS) was founded in Dublin in 1945, after the Dublin Archdiocese brought together the best singers from all the church choirs of Dublin for a performance of Handel’s Messiah. Today OLCS welcomes members from all religions and walks of life. The 120 choristers chosen for membership are united by a passion for singing great choral music at a professional level. The eminent Irish conductor Proinnsías Ó Duinn has been responsible for the choir's musical development since 1979. Under his direction, OLCS has undertaken many ambitious works, from Charpentier to Stravinsky. It has also premiered works by luminary Irish composers, such as John Kinsella and Seoirse Bodley. OLCS appears regularly at the National Concert Hall, accompanied by the National Sinfonia, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland.
