"THE ARMED MAN MUST BE FEARED"

The first I heard of Jenkins was a good few years back following the release of his enormously successful album: 'Adiemus'. He's also written the very popular piece for strings called Palladio (made famous by the Diamond ads). One of his more recent offerings (although not that recent!) is the collection of choral works entitled 'The Armed Man: A Mass For Piece". Any Classic FM listener will be well aware of some of these pieces (notably the Sanctus, Agnus Dei and Benedictus) because they are *always* being played. However, I was curious to see what else the CD had to offer, and so when I received a ten quid Smiths gift voucher I decided to go for it.

So…on to a more detailed look at the tracks:

This is simply a recording of an Arabic call to prayers. No music here as such. To be honest I find this a little tedious to listen to, although it does drive home one of the key themes of the CD: no matter what sort of person you are, regardless of faith, race, etc, the horrors of war should never be underestimated.

This is a musical setting of two Psalms from the bible, sung by male voices only (no orchestral accompaniment, save one extremely well placed 'explosion' from the percussion - you have been warned!). The effect is haunting to say the least.

My personal favourite of all the tracks, the Sanctus opens with that familiar driving percussion sound Jenkins uses often. The mood is uncertain, almost scared. Occasionally we hear the call of a trumpet fanfare above the chorus. The sense of anticipation as the piece opens is phenomenal. Eventually, however, the piece explodes into a HUGE (and very memorable) middle section, which is literally bursting with energy and excitement. The piece ends with the reassuring percussion beat we've had all the way through coming to a sudden stop following the dying calls of 'Sanctus' disappearing into the distance.

Based on the words of Rudyard Kipling, the hymn before action is a loud and full sounding track (it could almost be a piece of film music with it's sweeping string melodies and sheer vastness). Given this, it still has a very uncertain mood, as Jenkins moves closer to the war he's been building up to.

Following a stunning fanfare from the brass and percussion instruments this piece quickly descends into a driving rhythm with a very fast pace (as you may expect from the title!) There is a real build up of tension at the beginning, and then the chorus enters in a dazzling proclamation of the words from 'Song for Saint Cecilla's Day' by Dryden. This is simply fantastic music - brilliant, exciting, and action packed. However, all is not well - as the chorus all shout 'CHARGE!' at the top of their voices the mood quickly falls to give a shockingly different view of war, and all the horrors it stands for are brought into cold light of day. A loud, beating drum is accompanied by screams of terror from the choir, almighty discords from the orchestra, and eventually nothing is left but the sound of flames burning in the background. Then, out of nowhere, a lone trumpeter sounds the last post as the flames crackle on. The quiet accompaniment from the orchestra is menacing to say the least.

Unpleasant sounding chords from the full orchestra open this piece, with the sole intention of sounding evil. This is not a nice piece of music (in terms of atmosphere) - it basically consists of the chorus singing a unison melody over a very sinister accompaniment, explaining the effects of fire on living animals. The lyrics are actually quite disturbing, describing in graphic detail how raging fire is turning everyone into 'living torches'. However, this represents the end of the war as we see it, from here on in the pieces turn to a more peaceful future, never to return to the likes of this piece.

This is one of the most beautiful and simplistic tunes on the CD. Its warm horn accompaniment provides the foundation for a thought-provoking song about the peace of god has to offer. The same snippets of fanfares used in earlier pieces (especially the Sanctus) now appear transformed into a gentle, reflective sound that compliments the mood of the piece perfectly. It is only rivalled in its peaceful character by the Benedictus, more of which later…

Following a very sad sounding introduction by the strings, this piece is sung by a solo vocalist, and features some of the same harmonies as torches. However, the mood is now completely transformed from the vicious sounding horrors of torches into a deeply unhappy, almost desperate atmosphere. Clearly this piece represents the feeling of loss after war, as exemplified by some of the lyrics: "I shall go home alone, and must hide my grief for you, my dearest friend".

Finally the sun starts to come out with this piece and the mood rises considerably with its gentle, subtle opening. A delicate 'cello solo sings out above low chords, and as the piece progresses it explodes into a powerful climax which communicates clearly the message of peace given by the work as a whole.

The final part of the work has the same tune as the first, and although the opening French theme (the armed man must be feared…) is still present, the words are changed, with cries of "ring out the old, ring in the new" above that same driving accompaniment. The work ends quietly with unaccompanied choir, with which I can imagine must be a very atmospheric mood if this work were performed live.

> ORIGINALITY - A highly original work that is full of contrasts but maintains overall structure. 5/5

> QUALITY/CONSISTENCY OF TRACKS - generally excellent, but with a couple of exceptions that don't quite live up to the rest. 4/5

> COVER/INLAY DESIGN AND CONTENT - again, this is very good. The cover is stylishly designed and looks original, and the inlay contains plenty of details, lyrics (with translations), and information about the work generally. 5/5

>> OVERALL - This is a stunning piece of music, and a CD well worth purchasing even if you think you may like only a few of the tracks included. Highly recommended! 5/5