The Armed Man

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.

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.

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 wars, 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 Armed Man" was the centre piece for the 2005 Windsor Festival, performed by the Windsor Schools' Choir and Berkshire Youth Choir in St Georges Chapel, Windsor Castle, it was attended by Karl Jenkins.

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Alternate Versions
4 External links

[edit] Track listing

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

[edit] 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

[edit] 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 Armed Boy," an original film that was created exclusively to accompany live performances of The Armed Man premiered in March 2007. Starring Tyler Yaldo as the bully. The story of the film revolves around a young boy who suffers under the merciless hands of a bully and his gang. When he finally retaliates, he learns the greater consequences of taking up arms—an allegorical representation of Jenkins’ call for peace in times of war. Created by Robert Cucuzza and Thomas Cucuzza, the film was designed to correspond harmoniously with the theme and tone of each individual piece and the footage was edited in precise synchronicity with Jenkins’ music.

"The Armed Boy" was commissioned by Rackham Symphony Choir and premiered in Detroit, MI on March 25, 2007. In January 2008, the filmmakers were presented with a Peace Award at the Ninth Annual World Sabbath of Religious Reconciliation for their work on the film.