*The Armed Man by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, subtitled "A Mass for Peace"
and composed in 1999, was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum to
celebrate the opening of the museum in Leeds.
It is essentially an anti-war piece and charts the growing menace of a descent into war, interspersed with
moments of reflection. It shows the horrors that war brings; and ends with the hope
for peace, when "sorrow, pain and death can be overcome". It
is based on the Catholic Mass, which Jenkins combines with
other sources, principally the 15th-century folk song L'Homme Armeé.
It was written for SATB chorus with soloists (soprano and muezzin)
and a large orchestra including extensive percussion. Guy Wilson,
then master of the museum, selected the texts for the mass and it was
premiered at The Royal Albert Hall, London, on 25 April 2000, performed
by The National Youth Choir of Great Britain and the National Musicians
Symphony Orchestra.
The piece is one of Jenkins' most popular works, and is regularly
performed by professional and amateur musicians, predominantly amateur
choirs, around the world. In addition to extracts from the Ordinary of
the Mass, the text incorporates words from other religious and historical
sources, including the Islamic call to prayer, the Bible and the
Mahabharata. Writers whose words appear in the work include Rudyard Kipling,
Alfred Lord Tennyson and Sankichi Toge, who survived the Hiroshima bombing
but died some years later of leukaemia.
Of the 13 movements perhaps the most instantly recognisable from its frequent broadcasts is the
rather menacing, Sanctus which transforms into a surprisingly joyful and densely
orchestrated Hosanna before returning to the rather military, march-time Sanctus.
After the Benedictus, Better is Peace ends the mass on a note of hope,
drawing on the hard-won understanding that peace is better than war,
from Tennyson's poem "Ring Out, Wild Bells" and on the text from Revelation 21:4:
God shall wipe away all tears.
*Programme notes extracted from Wikipedia
COME-and-SING
This concert is to be the culmination of a Come-and-Sing event
involving The Bradford Chorale and invited singers directed and conducted
by Caius Lee with accompaniment by Tom Carr.
If you would like to take part, click
HERE
for further information and registration details.
The Bradford Chorale is a registered charity no. 517197 and member of: 
For queries or further information please email: thebradfordchorale@gmail.com
or 'phone 01274 594659