Karl Jenkins
"Requiem"

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Released: 21st March 2005.

There comes a time in every composer's career when they realise that they are sufficiently famous that people might be considering mourning their death, and they need to write a requiem mass to honour that. It is very clear that Karl Jenkins has reached that point in his career.

Jenkins is probably best known for the writing and conducting with the choir Adiemus, and so upon first listening to this CD, you expect to be greeted with classical music that borders firmly on chill-out/new-age – easy to drift away to and lacking in any genuine words. Is this the case?

The mass is set in the traditional Latin and the early movements are powerfully and majestically written with strong choral parts and powerful trumpets topping the bill from the Kazakh orchestra. However, this would all be far too conventional for Jenkins, so he has included some more Adiemus-esque moments in the piece, in the shape of a selection of traditional Japanese haikus set in a much calmer tone to contrast with the Latin pieces. As the album progresses, the Latin pieces become more sombre and reflective, as you would expect of a funeral mass.

However, that is not all the "Reqiuem" CD contains. Also featured is "In These Stones, Horizons Sing" a title familiar to Cardiff residents as the inscription carved in the stone of the Wales Millennium Centre. It was commissioned for the opening of the centre, and it sums up the magnificence of this venue.

Whilst this is not all what you would expect from Karl Jenkins's previous famous works, it is still a magnificent piece of music and well worth checking out.

(matthew_dixon)

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