This album marks the beginning a multi record deal between Sir Karl Jenkins, the most performed living composer, and Decca Records.  It was released September 29, 2017 – the same day the work received its world premiere in London. Jenkins's whole catalogue of recordings, including his popular work The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace also moves to Decca from starting December 2018. Symphonic Adiemus presents twelve numbers from the Adiemus series in brand new scorings for SATB choir and full symphony orchestra.  Since it was first heard in 1994, Adiemus has been something of a sensation worldwide almost certainly because of its unique combination of classical principles and the flavors of world and ethnic music. Symphonic Adiemus includes numbers from the first three albums – Songs of Sanctuary, Cantata Mundi and Dances of Time. Karl Jenkins: Symphonic Adiemus-London Philharmonic Choir; Adiemus Symphony of Europe/Karl Jenkins (Decca 274260) SEE WCLV: Cleveland PAGE

We remember and keep in mind people we hold dear. Memorials these days can be online, as well as landmark objects, or art objects. There are sculptures, statues, fountains, and even entire parks! We'll hear some audio memorial from composer Karl Jenkins on today's What's New. Karl Jenkins's Cantata Memoria was written for the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster (October 21, 1966) when a coal spoil tip enveloped a school and houses in the South Wales village, killing 116 children and 28 adults. Cantata Memoria is a large composition -  that includes chorus – both mixed and young voices,  baritone and soprano soloists, orchestra with prominent solos for violin, euphonium and harp, and has a libretto by poet Mererid Hopwood. "This work is music and a poem. It is not a documentary, nor even a dramatization, but it does include a conflation of ideas and facts that were relevant and by now part of the legacy. The text is multilingual, in English, Welsh and Latin (four texts from the Requiem Mass), while also referencing various other languages for specific words (eg 'why' and ‘light') in Welsh, English, Swedish, Latin, Spanish, German, French, Dutch and Italian. It is hoped these many languages symbolize how the memorial is at once both specific and universal." - Karl Jenkins LISTEN TO THE Radio Purdue: WBAA SEGMENT p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Sir Karl Jenkins has signed a multi-album deal with Decca, beginning with the release of his new album, Symphonic Adiemus, on 29 September – the day the work receives its world premiere in London. The label will acquire his catalogue of recordings will from 31 December 2018. Symphonic Adiemus comprises a selection of key moments from Jenkins' series of Adiemus albums, arranged for full choir and orchestra. The recording features an extended orchestra of over 100 musicians, including over 20 layers of classical and ethnic percussion, and a choir of 80 men and women. READ THE FULL Rhinegold Publishing ARTICLE p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial} p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Arial; min-height: 11.0px}

Connoisseurs of Western classical and jazz rock music in the city have something to look forward to in September. Acclaimed Welsh musician and composer Sir Karl Jenkins is set to take stage at the NCPA for the Autumn 2017 season of the Symphony Orchestra of India. Best known for his Requiem, and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo crisis, Sir Karl is the most-performed living composer in the world. He will perform for two consecutive days, with the second day featuring the international premiere of his new composition, The Universe. SEE THE FULL Mid-Day PAGE

This year's CLASSIC fM - Hall of Fame includes the highest number of pieces by living composers in the chart's 22-year history, with a total of 44 pieces written by 27 living composers. Mozart has regained his place as the most popular composer with 19 pieces in the chart. Coming in at number four, John Williams is the most popular living composer. Now in his 85th birthday year, Williams has ten pieces in the chart – more than ever before. However, Howard Shore's The Lord of the Rings remains the nation's favourite film score, having climbed six places to number 22. Sir Karl Jenkins retains the title of the UK's most popular living composer, with three pieces in the chart. Jenkins' The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace is the highest placed piece by a living composer at number 13, up two places from last year. ‘Twenty-five years on from the station's launch, this year's Classic FM - Hall of Fame proves that the nation's classical music tastes remain both fascinating and ever-changing,' said Classic FM presenter John Suchet. The 300 pieces of music in the Classic FM Hall of Fame were played on air over the Easter weekend.  SEE CLASSIC fM - Hall of Fame PAGE   SEE TOP 300 p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

On Oct. 21, 1966, the children in the Welsh village of Aberfan went to school just like any other day. But that day, a heavy rain began to fall, and tragedy hit when 40,000 cubic meters of mining debris careened downhill in a landslide burying that little school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, composer Karl Jenkins was commissioned to compose the Cantata Memoria for large vocal and orchestral forces. It was recently recorded with a cast of leading soloists including Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, and harpist Catrin Finch. The work is written in two parts. The first is quite literal, telling the story of the tragedy itself. The rest of the piece is a journey from darkness to light. LISTEN TO THE SEGMENT & You can enter for a chance to win a copy of this week's featured CD on New Classical Tracks. Winners will be drawn at random. Be sure to enter by 9 a.m. CDT on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}

St Pauls Cathedral Choir - Jubilate: 500 Years of Cathedral Music is at no. 1 for the third week in a row since it entered the Classic FM Chart. Einaudi's Islands steps back up to no. 2, whereas last week's no. 2 from Alfie Boe is no longer in the chart. A highlight of the top 10 is Morricone 60, which has climbed up 9 places from no. 13 to no. 4. There is also a re-entry for Classical: The Collection and a new entry from Alina Ibragimova and Cedric Tiberghien playing Mozart.  The other highest climber in the chart equals Ennio Morricone's 9 places - the soundtrack from The Little Mermaid climbs from no. 24 to no. 15. The 1989 film is surrounded by several other film scores, including Gladiator, Lord of the Rings, a re-entry from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and not far behind is the soundtrack to award-winning television series, Game of Thrones. The biggest faller this week is Max Richter's Sleep, which drops from no. 8 to no. 23. Other new entries in the chart include the new release from Marc-André Hamelin playing Medtner and Rachmaninov piano concertos which enters the chart at no. 16, the Nash Ensemble playing Bruch's string quartets at no. 21 and Music For The 100 Years' War: A Brief History In Music & Alabaster at no. 24. The final four albums in the Classic FM Chart this week are all re-entries - including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, The Lost Songs of St Kilda, Karl Jenkin's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and Dustin O'Halloran's soundtrack for Lion. SEE THE CLASSIC fM PAGE

New Classical Tracks is a Syndicated Feature airing Nationally on Classical 24 & Statewide on Minnesota Public Radio. Listen to Julie Amacher's Feature with Karl Jenkins. READ THE TRANSCRIPT - On Oct. 21, 1966, the children in the Welsh village of Aberfan went to school just like any other day. But that day, a heavy rain began to fall, and tragedy hit when 40,000 cubic meters of mining debris careened downhill in a landslide burying that little school, killing 116 children and 28 adults. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Aberfan disaster, composer Karl Jenkins was commissioned to compose the Cantata Memoria for large vocal and orchestral forces. It was recently recorded with a cast of leading soloists including Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, and harpist Catrin Finch. The work is written in two parts. The first is quite literal, telling the story of the tragedy itself. The rest of the piece is a journey from darkness to light. This week on New Classical Tracks, you can enter for a chance to win a copy of Cantata Memoria by Karl Jenkins. Winners will be drawn at random. Be sure to enter by 9 a.m. CST on Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

Welsh composer Karl Jenkins' music is considered by some to be too popular to be classical, and he's just fine with that. Jenkins wants to write music that, first of all, pleases him, and is something that others can enjoy. Beyond that, he tends to resist categorization. "I write pretty accessible, tuneful music," Jenkins said. "Music has a worth and it's not subject to fashion. … [I want] to make an emotional connection. Song can move people." He works with memorable melodies to create an emotive effect. The music is also accessible for all ages,  he said, evidenced by the fact that children often sing his works. In fact, he's one of the most performed living composers in the world. Last summer, his work "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" had its 2,000th performance since it premiered in the year 2000, which averages out to about two performances a week for the past 16 years. His success has been met with polarized responses, and Jenkins takes it all in stride. READ THE FULL Epoch Times ARTICLE p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px} span.Apple-tab-span {white-space:pre}

A pile of debris from nearby mines had been building up just above the village of Aberfan – and in 1966 it collapsed, pouring a mass of slurry 12 metres deep on to the Pantglas Junior School. It is now 50 years since this disaster – one of the country's worst. And Welsh language TV channel S4C commissioned composer Sir Karl Jenkins to write a piece to mark the anniversary. Cantata Memoria – For the Children is a work for choir and soloists and has been recorded by two Welsh musicians including bass-baritone Bryn Terfel, soprano Elin Manahan Thomas, harpist Catrin Finch and Côr Caerdydd. The children of Pantglas had just arrived at their desks for the final day before the half-term holiday – the teachers were just taking the register – when a loud rumble was hear.  A survivor of the disaster, Gaynor Minett, said: "It was a tremendous rumbling sound and all the school went dead. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone just froze in their seats. I just managed to get up and I reached the end of my desk when the sound got louder and nearer, until I could see the black out of the window. I can't remember any more but I woke up to find that a horrible nightmare had just begun in front of my eyes." About half of the children in the school – 116 – were killed in the disaster, as well as five of the school teachers, along with 23 other adults. An inquiry found that the collapse had been caused by a build up of water and laid the blame at the door of the National Coal Board. You can hear Karl Jenkins' Cantata Memoria – For the Children on The Full Works Concert, Friday 21st October, 8pm p.p2 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 10.0px Helvetica; min-height: 12.0px}

On Tuesday 28 October at 8pm, Classic FM will broadcast the world premiere of The Healer composed by Karl Jenkins. Here Jenkins himself guides you through everything about his latest masterpiece.   In a sentence or less, how would you describe the music to someone who's never heard it before?
I can only refer to it in terms of my style: accessible, tuneful, hopefully memorable with a text that is 'universal'.

What was your brief?
The work was written, to commission, to mark the 10th anniversary of Grayshott Concerts whose aim is to provide top quality classical music performances by renowned soloists, instrumentalists, choirs and orchestras for the people of Grayshott and surrounding villages in the area of the Hampshire/Surrey borders. Essentially, Grayshott Concerts comprises two people: Vivien & Peter Harrison who in 2012 received national recognition when they were awarded the Lady Hilary Groves Prize for their ‘outstanding contribution to music in the community' from the Making Music organisation which supports over 3000 groups throughout the UK. Most of their concerts take place in their church, St. Luke's. READ THE FULL ClassicFM INTERVIEW.

LISTEN TO JULIE AMACHER'S INTERVIEW WITH KARL JENKINS.   Transcript is below

"I always write accessible music - it's tuneful, accessible and strikes an emotional chord with people, I believe. The Mass for Peace, for example, has been performed almost 2,000 times around the planet. So the music does strike a chord with people, which is very humbling and gratifying from my perspective, really." That's Welsh composer Karl Jenkins describing the appeal of his music, which you've probably heard in advertising for Levi's, British Airways, Pepsi, Delta Airlines and De Beers to name a few. He's written music for Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Dame Evelyn Glennie and Bryn Terfel, and he's earned 17 gold and platinum disc awards. And that only begins to scratch the surface of a composer who marks not only his 70th birthday this year, but his 50th anniversary as a musician. Numerous celebrations are already underway, including a performance to celebrate Martin Luther King at Carnegie Hall in January, where a new work called "The Healer," will be premiered. Karl Jenkins is also marking this important anniversary with a new recording of uplifting works for a cappella choir titled, Motets. It features some brand new pieces, as well as new arrangements of some of his most popular works. "And the idea was to strip the music to its bones, really, without any orchestration or accompaniment," Jenkins says. "I usually use a lot of percussion in my works. But it was revisiting some of the most evocative and memorable, to my mind, of my pieces whilst at the same time creating some new pieces. And I was inspired by Stephen Layton and Polyphony, a remarkable vocal group in the U.K. And his interpretation of the music is quite fascinating, really, and beautiful … the sound of it is quite beautiful. So I was thrilled to have him agree to do it" One piece that really struck me was Laudamus te from Jenkins' "Gloria." The stunning key change is so subtle, as if the sun is rising through the clouds. "It's very beautiful," Jenkins agrees, "E-flat to F. But … he kind of milks it, really, the way Stephen interpreted it, exactly the way I would have dreamt it to be. It is, as you say, subtle. The music goes quiet for a while. Then the chord comes in and then it goes off on the tangent again. I'm glad you liked that part. So do I. It's quite thrilling, really." In some respects, Jenkins says each of these works are personal favorites, though he does have a soft spot for the three new pieces written specifically for this release, "Ah, yes. Nunc dimitis, the last one on the recording. There's another one - Locus Iste … like, 'here lives God,' locus iste, which Bruckner set for his text with the same name. And there's hymn from Adiemus which is the Ave Maria text, which fits it like a glove, really. And there's another one - a William Blake poem, I think, which was The Shepherd. An ancient text - not ancient but old &helllip; so there are four, I think … there are three completely new works: The Shepherd, Locus Iste and Nunc Dimitis." In addition to giving familiar works new text, and writing three completely new pieces, Karl Jenkins stretched himself even further by producing this recording in what was, for him, a completely new way. "I usually work in a conventional modern recording studio," Jenkins explains. "I've always produced pretty much like the way a pop recording is made … with a sound bed or a bass … over which is overlaid the orchestra and the choir. Which gives me control over each element. This was different - done in a dated way, I suppose … or a classical way … in which it's all done at once in a church. A slightly new experience for me - we did it in three days. And because it was done in a church, there were some issues as one gets with extraneous sound from traffic, aircraft or whatever. So the recording was interrupted a couple of times because of extraneous noises. But the sound within the natural acoustic was phenomenal." Recording in All Hallows' Church in Hampstead, North London, was a memorable experience for Karl Jenkins, and one he shares with you as he marks his 50th anniversary season with these strikingly beautiful Motets.

Karl Jenkins has been named Patron of Ty Cerdd - Music Centre Wales, an organization that supports the performance and recording of music in and of Wales. Representing over 22,000 performers, the organization provides grants and artistic advice to a wide variety of musicians. As Patron, Jenkins will serve as an ambassador for Welsh music around the world and will receive a commission in 2015.  READ THE FULL Wales Online FEATURE HERE 

This album of choral music celebrates Karl Jenkins' 70th birthday and his 50-year career in music. A motet is a piece of sacred music for unaccompanied voices. The works on this new collection include movements taken from Jenkins' extended works, reconceived for this format, together with several pieces that are newly composed. They are performed by Stephen Layton and Polyphony, called "the best small professional chorus in the world" by Encore Magazine. Karl Jenkins' Motets is a WFMT: Chicago 'New Release of the Week.'

Karl Jenkins, easily one of the most popular choral composers in the world [and easily the most performed in the U.K Celebraing his 70th birthday this year, DGG has kicked off the event with this release of Motets, though the title is a little misleading. In fact Jenkins has reworked some of the most popular movements from his previous works like The Armed Man, Requiem, and The Peacemakers into the unaccompanied vocal form, and also composed some new pieces as well: The Shepherd, Nunc dimittis, and Locus ist (written only a week before this recording took place), the former two taken from his the Healer: a Cantata for St. Luke which was premiered in 2014. READ THE FULL Audiophile Audition REVIEW

The career of Welsh composer Karl Jenkins is something of a paradox: he's been hugely successful around the globe, having amassed 17 gold and platinum albums and been featured in TV commercials for British Airways and De Beers. His choral work The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace has been performed nearly 2,000 times in approximately 30 countries. Yet, even as he turned 70 in February, many classical music listeners don't seem to know who he is. This release, featuring the English choir Polyphony, offers a fine introduction, featuring choral adaptations of Jenkins's previous hit compositions. They include three pieces taken from The Armed Man (commissioned England's Royal Armouries Museum); Pie Jesu and In paradisum, from his Requiem; and Exsultate jubilate, based on Palladio the neo-Baroque piece made famous in the De Beers ad.  Karl Jenkins: motets - Polyphony is the WQXR -  New York: 'Album Of the Week'

Welsh composer Karl Jenkins is celebrating his milestone achievements with a new album for Deutsche Grammophon called 'Motets.' Featuring a set of choral pieces, some newly composed and some taken from Mr. Jenkins most popular and enduring extended pieces like The Armed Man, Requiem, The Peacemakers, Adiemus and Palladio, Mr. Jenkins talks through the works celebrating both his 70th birthday and 50 years of a career in music. READ THE FULL Wales Online PIECE

"The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace" by Karl Jenkins is the result of a special millennial commission from the Royal Armouries and the latest in a six century old tradition of "Armed Man" masses that take the fifteenth century French song "L'Homme Arm " as their starting point. According to Guy Wilson, Master of the Royal Armouries "The theme that 'the armed man must be feared' which is the message of the song seemed to me painfully relevant to the 20th century and so the idea was born to commission a modern 'Armed Man Mass'. What better way both to look back and reflect as we leave behind the most war-torn and destructive century in human history, and to look ahead with hope and commit ourselves to a new and more peaceful millennium." Large scale in both scope and scale "The Armed Man" it is a profoundly moving yet very accessible work which uses the most traditional of means to explore an all too contemporary subject. As Karl explains, "As I started composing "The Armed Man" the tragedy of Kosovo unfolded. I was reminded daily of the horror of such conflict and so I dedicate the work to the victims of Kosovo" . In a manner reminiscent of Britten's War Requiem, "The Armed Man" interpolates a number of different texts within the usual Mass form. Malory, Dryden, Swift, Tennyson, Kipling, The Koran and the Hindu Mah bhar ta contribute to a compelling account of the descent into and terrible consequences of war. Karl was very moved and much inspired by Guy Wilson's selection of texts and in his music for "The Armed Man" has drawn on a similarly diverse array of cultural and historical sources. It's difficult to think of another composer who could successfully place a muezzin's call to prayer within a Mass setting and follow it with a Kyrie that quotes both Palestrina and Brazilian drum rhythms. That Karl does so with such ease and to such powerful effect is a tribute to his remarkable skill and musical sensitivity. The CD features Karl Jenkins conducting The London Philharmonic Orchestra and The National Youth Choir of Great Britain alongside soloists Tristan Hambleton (Boy Treble), Mohammed Gad (Muezzin) and Young Musician Of The Year, Guy Johnston (Cello). "The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace" received its world premi re in April 2000 at London's Royal Albert Hall. In a rapturous performance, by turns visceral and ethereal, the Mass was "a firebomb of orchestral and human voices" (The Times) that drew "prolonged shouts of approval from the audience" (The Independent).

Welsh-born Karl Jenkins, who has been called "the most popular living composer", is one of the most successful contemporary British composers, writing music that speaks to audiences across the world. Followingthe huge success of his Adiemus project, which has gone gold in many countries, and The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, Karl Jenkins has now completed his new piece Requiem, which is being released on EMI Classics. Requiem is a dramatic and powerful work that takes its inspiration from both Western and Oriental musical traditions. It incorporates Western melodic style and elements of world music, such as Japanese harmonies and melodies, and instruments. It is a Mass set to texts from both the Christian Mass, written in Latin, and Japanese jisei, which are traditional Japanese haiku that highlight the cyclical nature of life, death and rebirth. Karl Jenkins said "It was a moving and rewarding time for me when composing this work, with its blend of traditional Latin text combined with the haiku poems from Japan and a thrill to bring what are seemingly disparate elements together such as a fabulous orchestra from Kazakhstan, the best of Welsh choirs and our brilliant soloists." In some tracks Jenkins combines the two styles, as in Farewell, which is intoned by male voices in a monastic style as a counterpoint to the Japanese text sung by the female voice. Karl Jenkins has said that the Requiem is dedicated to his late father "...who was a musician, friend and inspiration." Performing the Requiem is the West Kazakh Philharmonic Orchestra and this marks the first ever commercial recording by an orchestra from Kazakhstan. This is a historical milestone for this country and its culture. The director and leader of the orchestra, Marat Bisengaliev said "I feel that with this high profile recording of the first Kazakh orchestra with worldwide distribution represents the new post-soviet, democratic era that our country is entering into, and its achievements both economic and cultural. It shows Kazakhstan as a truly civilized and fast-developing country with enormous potential. This very first recording on EMI will be, no doubt, one of the most popular recordings around the world and will be cherished by millions of citizens of my country for many years to come." In addition to the Requiem, the disc also includes another new work by Karl Jenkins entitled In these stones, horizons sing. Commissioned for the opening of the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, the work was premiered there, performed by the renowned bass-baritone Bryn Terfel and the award-winning harpist Catrin Finch, both of whom are also from Wales. Their performance was broadcast live on television in the UK in November 2004 and they have joined together again for this, the first recording of the work. Set to the texts of eminent modern Welsh poets, this piece celebrates Welsh culture, by combining folk music elements that depict Welsh tradition, and saxophone improvisations and ethnic percussion that evoke the influence of the rest of the world.