The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
Studio album by Karl Jenkins
Released	September 10, 2001
Recorded	Air 2000,2001; Angel 2001
Genre	Classical
Length	67:22
Label	Virgin
Producer(s)	Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins chronology
Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot (2001)	The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (2001)	Adiemus V: Vocalise (2003)

The Armed Man is the name of a Mass by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace". The piece was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds for the Millennium celebrations and was initially dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis. Like Benjamin Britten's War Requiem before it, it is essentially an anti-war piece. Also like Britten's work, this piece is based on the Christian Mass which he combines with other sources, principally the fifteenth century folk song L'homme armé in the first and last movements. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... A studio album is a collection of previously unreleased, studio-recorded tracks by a recording artist. ... Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ... AIR Studios is a professional audio recording facility in Central London. ... Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios) is one of the development studios under the Rockstar Games umbrella. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Classical music is a broad, somewhat imprecise term, referring to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, European art, ecclesiastical and concert music, encompassing a broad period from roughly 1000 to the present day. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Virgin Records is a British recording label founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, and Nik Powell in 1972. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ... Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ... Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot is a 2001 album composed by Karl Jenkins as part of his Adiemus series. ... This article is about the country. ... A composer is a person who writes music. ... Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ... Looking up the main stairwell of the armouries The Royal Armouries houses the British national collection of arms and armour. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 Lowestoft, Suffolk - December 4, 1976 Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ... The War Requiem is a requiem composed by Benjamin Britten for the reconsecration of Coventry Cathedral on May 30, 1962 following its destruction during World War II. A mourning song for the victims of war, Britten’s War Requiem is considered one of the great heartrending choral-orchestral works of... Lhomme armé was a secular song from the time of the Renaissance. ...

The text includes words from the Islamic call to prayer, the Bible (e.g. the Psalms and Revelation), the Ordinary of the Mass (e.g. Kyrie Eleison, Sanctus), texts from authors such as Rudyard Kipling and Alfred Lord Tennyson, as well as a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing. Adhan (Arabic: أَذَان aḏān; also: aazan, athan) is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Psalms (from the Greek: Psalmoi (songs sung to a harp, originally from psallein play on a stringed instrument), Ψαλμοί; Hebrew: Tehilim, תהילים) is a book of the Hebrew Bible, Tanakh or Old Testament. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... Kyrie is the vocative case of the Greek word κύριος (kyrios - lord) and means O Lord; it is the common name of an important prayer of Christian liturgy, also called Kyrie eleison. ... Sanctus is the Latin word for holy, and is the name of an important hymn of Christian liturgy. ... This article is about the British author. ... Lord Tennyson, Poet Laureate Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (August 6, 1809 - October 6, 1892) is generally regarded as one of the greatest English poets. ... The Fat Man mushroom cloud resulting from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rises 18 km (11 mi, 60,000 ft) into the air from the hypocenter. ...

The piece begins with a representation of marching feet, overlaid later by the shrill tones of a piccolo emulating the flutes of a military band. It stirs images of the Napoleonic age, of "Redcoats" and war being glorious. The Sanctus seems to continue this theme as God is praised even as we proceed into war. Perhaps this is symbolic of "holy war" - God is on our side. Kipling's Hymn before Action stirs the listener much as Roman gladiators would with their "We, who are about to die, salute you, Caesar." Then the charge with blaring trumpets, crashing drums ending in the agonised screams of the dying. This is followed by an eerie silence, broken by the evocative sound of a lone trumpet playing the Last Post. The piccolo is a small flute. ... ... Rudyard Kipling, British author Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India. ... The Last Post is a bugle call used at military funerals and ceremonies commemorating those who have fallen in war. ...

Track listing

1. "The Armed Man" – 6:25
2. "The Call to Prayers (Adhaan)" – 2:04
3. "Kyrie" – 8:12
4. "Save Me from Bloody Men" – 1:42
5. "Sanctus" – 7:00
6. "Hymn Before Action" – 2:38
7. "Charge!" – 7:26
8. "Angry Flames" – 4:44
9. "Torches" – 2:58
10. "Agnus Dei" – 3:39
11. "Now the Guns Have Stopped" – 3:25
12. "Benedictus" – 7:36
13. "Better is Peace" – 9:33

Personnel

• London Philharmonic Orchestra
• Karl Jenkins - Conductor
• National Youth Choir of Great Britain
• Mohammed Gad - Muezzin
• Guy Johnston - Cello
• Tristan Hambleton - Treble Vocals
• Jody K Jenkins - Additional Percussion
• Dave Hassell - Additional Percussion
• Neil Percy - Additional Percussion

The London Philharmonic Orchestra (frequently abbreviated to LPO), based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom. ... Karl Jenkins (born February 17, 1944) is a Welsh musician and composer. ... A conductor conducting a band at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... The National Youth Choir of Great Britain is recognised as one of the most outstanding choirs of any kind in the world, the original and most senior of the regular choirs is for young people aged 16 - 22, taking them into advanced areas of choral repertoire and giving them experience... The müezzin (the word is pronounced this way Turkish, Urdu, etc. ... Guy Johnston is a young cellist. ... The violoncello, almost always abbreviated to cello, or cello (the c is pronounced as the ch in cheese), is a bowed stringed instrument, the lowest-sounding member of the violin family. ... Treble is a term applied in music to the high or acute part of the musical system, as opposed to the bass, the lower or grave part. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound by being struck with an implement, shaken, rubbed, scraped, or by any other action which sets the object into vibration. ...

Alternate Versions

The track "Sanctus" shares its theme with the Adiemus piece "Immrama" which was introduced on the album set More Journey: Adiemus New Best & Live. "Benedictus" borrows its theme from "The Eternal Knot" from Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot. The work has been transcribed for numerous media, the most notable being a full arrangement by Andrew Wainwright and Duncan Gibbs for brass band, choir and organ. Only five of these full scores were printed, but a slew of recent demand has resulted in a second printing. Adiemus (pronounced ) is the title of a series of albums by British composer Karl Jenkins. ... Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot is a 2001 album composed by Karl Jenkins as part of his Adiemus series. ...

External links

• Karl Jenkins
• Adiemus Unofficial Home Page