Karl Jenkins

Few contemporary classical composers match Karl Jenkins for touching the hearts of millions worldwide. He first did so in 1995 with the release of the first of his Adiemus compositions, part of a series of albums and concert pieces built from a potent mix of yearning vocals, vibrant orchestral sounds and infectious rhythms. Adiemus – Songs of Sanctuary introduced listeners to the sonorous elements of Jenkins’ invented sung language, loosely based on Latin but without any clear meaning. Its music and words have proved irresistible to a vast audience and new generations of Adiemus fans. Born in the Welsh village of Penclawdd in 1944, Karl Jenkins caught his lifelong love for music from his schoolteacher father. He veered off the narrow path set by classical music studies at Cardiff University and London’s Royal Academy of Music to pursue a career in jazz. Jenkins joined jazz-rock band Soft Machine in 1972, and soon became its chief composer before leaving to achieve considerable success writing for television commercials. Jenkins’ broad experience and versatility across a multitude of genres set deep foundations for the Adiemus project and has since supported other works. The hugely popular The Armed Man is an anti-war setting of the Latin Mass and other lyrics, while One World is an ambitious score for voices and orchestra to promote peace and equality. Crossing the Stone (Tros y Garreg) for harp and strings was written in 2023 for the coronation of Charles II.