Adiemus (Karl Jenkins)

Ethno-classical project Adiemus was spearheaded by composer/conductor Karl Jenkins, a longtime member of prog-rock innovators the Soft Machine. The concept originated as a piece Jenkins penned for Delta Airlines television commercial, its fusion of ethnic vocals and orchestral backing proving so popular with consumers that a full-length Adiemus album, 1995's Songs of Sanctuary, was created with the aid of vocalist Miriam Stockley and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The record was a hit on both popular and classical charts, and was followed in 1997 by Adiemus II--Cantata Mundi; Adiemus III: Dances of Time appeared a year later and Adiemus, Vol. 4: The Eternal Knot was issued in early 2001.

Born Feb 17, 1944 in Swansea, Wales
Composer, arranger, keyboardist and woodwinds player Karl Jenkins fell in with the London jazz scene of the late '60s while studying at the Royal Acedemy of Music. Prior to spending over a decade in the last incarnations of Soft Machine, he spent time in a number of jazz groups, along with the Graham Collier Band and Nucleus; he also leant his services to recording sessions and tours for PJ Proby and Scott Walker.

Along with John Marshall, the Welshman navigated Soft Machine through most of the '70s, which saw the group developing their sound significantly away from their earlier years. After the band decided to call it quits, Jenkins turned to film, TV, theater, and orchestra work. In the '90s, he spearheaded Adiemus, a studio project that released a series acclaimed ethno-classical discs. He has recorded under his own name as well, including 1998's Imagined Oceans.

Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi is world music in the broadest sense of the word. It stems from the world of Karl Jenkins' imagination. Tribal, new age, and classical are all possible labels, but none quite fit the imagined landscape of Jenkins' compositions. The opening track, "Song of Tears," is probably the most famous track from the album. As with all of Adiemus' songs, vocals consist of nonsense syllables -- a language invented to allow the voice to function as another instrument. It allows the listener to focus on the overall layers of the composition and the emotion it evokes, rather than what the lyrics tell you to feel. "Song of Tears" is a prime example of this. It deftly combines mournful longing with a sense of hope, all with an indefinable tribal feel. "Song of the Spirit" captures the tempestuousness of the human spirit with a lively arrangement. "Choral IV" is in many ways its opposite, with plaintive, haunting vocals and orchestration. Though the novelty wears off about halfway through this lengthy album (75 minutes), it never tires you. Miriam Stockley's vocals are truly stunning, ranging from solemn to joyful, soaring to soothing. The London Philharmonic adds full-bodied orchestral support to this unique work. Cantata Mundi is music for the soul, transcending categorization. It's lovely and haunting, soothing and invigorating, majestic and intimate. It's a journey worth embarking on.

Karl Jenkins and the Adiemus singers led by vocalist Mariam Stockley are known for original vocal arrangements that are vaguely liturgical and feature movie soundtrack-like string arrangements. Jenkins explores different cultures and musical periods on this album. There is a bolero and a square dance, an alpine folk dance, and dance styles from the 16th and 17th centuries. Notes for each track point out the historical derivations of each original piece, sometimes with the unique rhythm detailed in a notated example.

No less than the prodigious Meat Loaf once exclaimed of Adiemus (composer/producer Karl Jenkins), "What vibe is that?," but it's likely classical purists will never quite understand this fascinating blend of world music and Beethoven, Chopin, and Rachmaninov (et al.) that creates a musical realm all its own. Jenkins' idea to mix his own compositions -- blending orchestral and choral arrangements sung in his own invented language, a truly exotic type of vocalese -- with new twists on famous composers is perhaps risky, but will be fascinating to the open-minded. He dives right into the mix with "Rondo," an adaptation of the last movement of Beethoven's Violin Concerto, with the often percussive drama of the orchestra joining or trading lines with the rousing female choral chanting. A gentler mix of strings and voice takes place on the seductive "Allegrettango," which finds Jenkins turning the Allegretto movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 into an irresistible tango. Chopin's piano piece is turned into a magnificent tribal dance on "Akruzam," which features Pamela Thorby's lush solo sections on recorder. Jenkins tackles more modern classical composers as well, including Heitor Villa-Lobos, whose dreamy composition Aria is treated with percussive Brazilian kid gloves. This piece is also notable for its passages sung in Portuguese, an actual world language. Jenkins' own compositions include the dramatic "The Protector," which features sung English verses from the Psalms. The riches on this very deep musical extravaganza include improvisations from top jazz musicians Martin Taylor and Nigel Hitchcock.

Adiemus is the creation of three veteran musicians: composer Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge (like Jenkins a former member of Soft Machine) as arranger of programmed percussion, and vocalist Miriam Stockley. They also enlist the talents of the London Philharmonic, which helps to balance out the huge sound created by all the layers of Stockley's voice and the additional vocals by Mary Carewe. The concept of the album was to create modern music using classical forms, such as rondo and ternary, and not individual songs. To further the universal aspect of the music, all the vocals are written as vowel and consonants sounds. The voice here is used as simply another instrument with which to make music and not to convey a lyric message. The result is a powerful wall of sound: a full orchestra and a giant choir created by multiple harmony tracks of Stockley and Carewe. The concept may be classical form, but the music contained within those strict forms is a mix of African-tribal and Celtic-style melodies. The resulting hybrid sounds like the musical love child of Enya and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.