The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace

For some reason Amazon seems to be lumping the reviews for the Anniversary Edition together with those of the original edition, but they're pretty separate recordings.I first encountered The Armed Man in 2007, when I performed it with a choir in New Hampshire. It was a really moving experience, and the music stuck with me.The original release is decent. However, this new release is really beautifully done. The recording is much more crisp than that of the original, and so it's much easier to distinguish what the words actually are. In my uneducated opinion the engineering is spot-on, with great depth and balance. The orchestration is, put simply, gorgeous.As for the piece itself, it carries a tremendous amount of passion. So do many other pieces of classical music, but this is more "accessible" as others have noted: the passion can be felt and appreciated by everyone regardless of how knowledgeable they are about music. Jenkins does an amazing job of using different harmonies and melodies to embody atmospheres that are exciting, macabre, sad, hopeful, despairing — to downright uncomfortable, like the screaming in "Charge!". Even without the lyrics it would be easy to feel what's "happening" in the music. I wouldn't call this piece cerebral, but it certainly makes you think.My only criticisms are that some of the lyrics are a little cliché and I'm a lyrics snob. Also, the vocalists are clearly classically-trained and that's maybe a little too evident in some places for my liking: the baritone's perfectly-rolled 'r's detract a little from the emotionality and genuineness of "Angry Flames", for instance. Those are both tiny things to nit-pick.I would highly recommend this piece as a way of presenting classical music in a way that's relatable to those who may not have had much exposure to it. I'd also recommend it to anyone who's a sucker for emotion. I just bought this recording yesterday and have already listened to it 5 times all the way through. It's also really tempting to sing along since the lyrics and melodies are clear and easy to understand. How often can you say that about classical?

Karl Jenkins is a contemporary British composer perhaps most famous for his music for the de Beers diamond commercial--the score that sounds like Vivaldi but isn't.In this commissioned Mass Jenkins sets out to sum up War and Peace in the 20th Century (it was a millennial project) and he mimics if not just the music of the 20th C. at least the music that we listened to in the century, at times you'll think Faure, at other times Monteverdi (although the liner notes say "Palestrina.") The overall effect is like a score for a movie, but a good score at that. The broad selection of texts is itself derivative from Britten's War Requiem and in a tip to multiculturalism also includes a Muslim call to prayer (somewhat pretentious in a Christian Mass, I think).The performances are strong with the National Youth Choir remarkably polished for their age and experience. Jenkins conducts and one could say "over conducts"--as others have noted, the emphases seem a bit forced and many numbers end with a sudden staccato, an odd effect. The recording is the result of multiple takes in many different studios and the resultant mastering reflects this: The CD in no way sounds like an actual performance of the work. As John Lennon said of one Beatles album, "Play loud" and it's impressive.One man's pastiche is another man's familiar favorite and despite the lack of orginality this Mass is likely to have enduring popularity.

For some reason, the beautiful Blue Ray, done in Germany with a huge chorus and a huge crowd and films projected behind the chorus did not use the marching machine in the intro or the ending. It definitely adds something sinister at the beginning. That is why I bought this, as it was the version I first heard on SiriusXM Symphony Hall. I definitely recommend this as the definitive recording, even though Sir Jenkins conducted the Blue Ray version. The full libretto, which I also wanted, is also included, which the Blue Ray does not include. If you can play vinyl, get this one1

Carl Jenkins is not loved by the critics, but who writes for them anyway? The Mass, as typified by Bach and those who followed became highly stylised; Jenkins breaks this model and takes a far more ecumenical view - I doubt that this Mass would be welcome in many Roman Catholic churches - and a lot of protestant ones would agree.Commencing with a medieval French song - "Beware the Armed Man" the Mass then proceeds to Islam with the Call to Prayer: Allah is great, there is no other god but Allah, sung by a muezzin.There follow a number of excursions into the classical Mass, interwoven with poetry from the likes of Dryden, Kipling and Tennyson and also Togi Sakichi reflecting on Hiroshima. A verse from the Mahabharata could also refer to the bomb, however this work dates back to the 4th century and earlier.The work is confronting, challenging and evocative.I liked it.

I bought this because my college choir was singing it and having something to listen to in order to drive the music in my head helps me since my sight reading skills are horrible.It's a decent recording, and the music is beautiful, sometimes haunting, and just generally amazing (albeit derivative as others have said). I love that it has a poem written by someone in Japan who survived both the bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki right next to a selection from the Mahabharata (an ancient Indian text). The pairings of the text and music are wonderful.My only slight annoyance with this recording is a few incorrect pronunciations of words (namely in the French), but it doesn't take away from it, really.

Magnificent work, performed beautifully

眠られないままＮＨＫのラジオ深夜便を聴いていました。「ロマンチック・コンサート」でした。そこで紹介されたのがこのアルバムからの抜粋。たしかKyrieとSanctusだったと思います。始まったとたんぶっ飛びました。ド迫力に圧倒されました。感動しました。眠られないどころではありません。もう必死で作曲者名とアルバム名を暗記しました。翌日早速ネット検索し、即発注しました。何度聴いても飽きません。ジャズが好きな方、クラッシックが好きな方にぜひオススメです。

Disque usagé de qualité presque neuf. Excellent !

Having experienced this wonderful work from both sides of the footlights, I cannot praise it enough. Chorally, it's a hard sing but, well worth the effort. It is emotional and, in places, makes the hair on the back of the neck stand to attention.From the audience, the atmosphere it creates is amazing.The CD is a great introduction to the work, and creates the ambition to experience a live performance.

This is a wonderful piece to sing and listen to. The words, the rugged horror of the battle contrasted with the ethereal nature of the prayers and pleas. It is truly magnificent. This version just does not, in my opinion, capture this contrast and I am hoping the only other version for sale on amazon is better