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The soul-stirring music of Karl Jenkins will be performed by Adelaide Philharmonia Chorus in the tranquil surroundings of UKARIA Cultural Centre on Sunday 29 July at 2 pm.

Welsh composer Karl Jenkins is a phenomenon in contemporary music. A prolific composer and imaginative arranger, he was knighted in 2015 for services to music. The Chorus will sing selections from Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace and Symphonic Adiemus, along with short works by Rutter, Vivaldi, Mozart and Bruckner.

The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace – so relevant to our times, haunting and at times confronting – is one of the most performed works by a living composer. Commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds for Millennium celebrations, it is dedicated to victims of the Kosovo crisis.

It takes the form of the Latin Mass, interspersed with texts from other religious and historical sources, including the Bible and the Mahabharata, and expanded with words from writers including Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson and Sankichi Toge, who survived the bombing of Hiroshima.

Jenkins combines military music, Gregorian Chant, polyphonic intricacy and hymn-like simplicity to create a style of musical pageantry. Some parts call for reflective tenderness, but others call for wild percussive energy to evoke the blind martial determination and sheer terror of war.

Symphonic Adiemus, a unique blend of Western classical with African-tribal and Celtic-style melodies, is hauntingly beautiful at times and aggressive at others. Jenkins uses an invented language for lyrics, making full use of the human voice as an instrument.

Don’t miss this wonderful afternoon of compelling music that blends genres, cultures, and historical periods.

The Chorus, conducted by Music Director Aldis Sils, will be accompanied by a small professional ensemble.

Tickets: Adult $40, Pensioner/Unemployed $30, Student/Child $15

Trybooking: www.trybooking.com/VODH