Karl Jenkins conducts The Armed Man in Berlin
Choirs are invited to travel to Berlin to participate in a special performance of Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace to commemorate the centenary of the end of World War I.
Over 2000 choral singers from more than 20 countries around the globe will convene at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin on 2 November for a historic Sing for Peace concert featuring a massed performance of Karl Jenkins's The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace. The composer conducts the World Orchestra for Peace in his powerful work which describes the build up to war, war itself and the consequences of war, combined with a strong plea for peace. A specially made film will be projected onto multi-screens during the performance, synchronised with the music.
Applications and enquiries are welcomed from choirs and choristers who have performed The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace on previous occasions and who are familiar with the work. The organisers require a recording of your choir via email (mp3 or a link to a performance on YouTube) in order that they can assess the balance and standard required for Berlin. A recording made on a phone/tablet/ipad of a recent rehearsal is acceptable. The recording does not have to be of Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man. Applications are also welcome from individuals who have choral experience but there is no necessity to send a recording but individuals are expected to come well prepared. Applications are welcomed from singers who were 16 years and over on 20 July 2018. The Sing for Peace concert is a non-profit project and the participation fee is a contribution towards the staging cost of the production.
Singers from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Wales and the USA have already applied to participate in this historic event.
> Visit the Armed Man in Berlin website
Over the 2018/19 season Jenkins also conducts The Armed Man in multiple concerts in the UK. The Royal Armouries, who commissioned the work, present a gala performance on 6 September at Westminster Central Hall in London, marking 100 days before the Armistice. The concert with Jenkins on the rostrum aims to raise funds for charities including Combat Stress, Help for Heroes and The Royal Foundation - Heads Together. Find out more via the Karl Jenkins Facebook page.
Jenkins conducts a UK tour in Spring 2019 within celebrations for his 75th birthday, visiting St David’s Hall in Cardiff (10 Feb), Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow (3 Mar), Symphony Hall in Birmingham (10 Mar) and Bridgewater Hall in Manchester (16 Mar). The programme includes The Armed Man, his recent organ concerto 6000 Pipes, selections from Symphonic Adiemus and Palladio. Full details and booking arrangements will be released later this month.
New works by Karl Jenkins include Lamentation, premiered at the Swansea International Festival on 6 October, which sets poetry by the young Syrian war refugee Amineh Abou Keresh, who fled from a Damascus suburb in 2012 aged 8, settled in Oxford and won the Betjeman poetry prize for 10- to 13-year-olds last year. This 10-minute 'Lament for Syria' is scored for mezzo soprano, cello solo, SATB chorus and orchestra and its first performance will see the composer conducting the BBC National Orchestra of Wales with soloists Kathryn Rudge and Abel Salaocoe. The all-Jenkins programme at Brangwyn Hall in Swansea also includes the composer's setting of Laurence Binyon's famous poem For the Fallen, familiar from Remembrance Day commemorations, and The Armed Man.
In addition to completing the composition of Lamentation, Jenkins has been working on a new Miserere (a passion for our time), scored for chorus, soloists and orchestra and due for premiere in Autumn 2019.
> Further information on Work: The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (full orchestra version)
Photo: Rhys Frampton
