1 of 1

Write now Article Tools

It the beginning was the word, well a few words really and the words were "can you write some music for an Airline commercial?" Thus begins the story of Adiemus, a series of musical works that have now stretched to four albums, international fame and critical success. Its creator Karl Jenkins is now a well-respected composer in the field of classical music but his route to his exalted position today began in jazz music being a member of the bands Nucleus and later Soft Machine, one of the seminal bands of the 1970's. Despite winning awards for his work with such bands and later for film scores and advertising music, it is perhaps the Adiemus projects that have become his best known work, a music that seems all encompassing in many ways and non-categorisable at the same time. A piece of work that Jenkins had in mind for another recording project was pitched to the aforementioned Airline company (Delta, if you must know), they loved it and from the initial track "Adiemus" a concept was born. For a type of music that is no stranger to Classic FM it is surprising that the music is reminiscent of many "new age" bands such as Enya, Dead Can Dance and Deep Forest but with the main emphasis on vocal work rather than any prominent instrumentation. In the words of the man himself, "When I conceived the Adiemus concept initially, I was thinking of it purely as a recording. My intention was to compose a work based in the European classical tradition but with vocal sound more akin to ethnic or world music." Although initially in a fairly defined heritage, the work has grown over the years to include African, Celtic, Arabic and even ecclesiastical themes and sounds. The percussion, the main accompaniment to much of the work also incorporates diverse beats and rhythms that suggest Indian, Middle Eastern, Japanese and even Australian styles as well as those of its original brief. This album, "Journey" is a compilation of the four albums to date and contains nineteen original and beautiful tracks.

Opening with the most famous piece of the project "Adiemus" is a song that you will already be aware of even if you don't know that you know it, its one of those pieces of music that just stays in the back of the mind for later recall. This one piece does really sum up the magical qualities of the concept. Soloist Miriam Stockley's voice opens on an almost Arabic chant as tribal background beats pick the song up. Its when the backing group of singers join in the piece that it really

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Music reviews: The Adiemus projects, by Karl Jenkins?
We want to hear your view. Write now!