CLASSICAL
Armed and ready for peace
high-pitched cello solo floats over the orchestra, its melody undecorated in anguish. Then, a tenor introduces the Benedictus, supported by huge chorus and underlined by crashing timpani. Whereas the majority of new classical music has to fight for a second hearing, Karl Jenkins’ is said to be performed, somewhere in the world, on average twice a week. There have been more than 3,000 performances since the work (1962), which blends secular texts – such as poetry by Wilfred Owen – with the Latin mass, uses the Islamic call to prayer, as well as writing by Kipling, Tennyson and Hiroshima survivor Sankichi Tōge into the traditional framework, giving it wide appeal. Some special performances will be added to this year’s stats: the composer will be conducting a series of concerts featuring at London Royal Albert Hall (10 March), Glasgow Royal Concert Hall (17 March), Glasgow, Birmingham Symphony Hall (30 March), Nottingham Royal Concert Hall (6 April), Cardiff Wales Millennium Centre (13 April) and Manchester Bridgewater Hall (14 April).
