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The Armed ManSaturday 21 March, 7.30pm
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Jenkins composed the work in 1999, commissioned by the Royal Armouries (Leeds) for the new millennium, while the Kosovo conflict was killing thousands of people, and dedicated it to the people of Kosovo. It made an immediate connection with audiences and since its first performance on 25 April 2000 in London it’s been a sell out success at more than 400 venues around the world.
This will be the first performance in Christchurch, with 200 voices to create the fireball sound of a strong anti-war message in a multi media concert.
Music Director Brian Law is confident The Armed Man will bring in a new audience with its relevance to current affairs.
“It resonates with the world-wide mood for change and greater integrity which we can see in the hope engendered by the election of President Obama" Brian Law said.
“This is a work that speaks directly to people, and many will be find they respond with tears to some of the evocative music, played against the backdrop of visual images that show the stark horror of war, its terrible carnage and the anguish inflicted on all caught up in its brutality.”
“Musically, it will be different from many of our concerts. The composer is a commercially successful writer of advertising and film music, which by its nature has to be instantly understandable. Thus in The Armed Man the music won’t be difficult for the audience to relate to, it will feature many poignant melodies played by solo instruments to carry an emotion and let it linger, before being swept up in the ferocious energy of the full orchestra and choir.”
Each of the thirteen segments combines imagery, song, silence, solo instruments and orchestra elements, such as the lone trumpet and single bell which begin Angry Flames, written by a survivor of the Hiroshima bomb.
The words come from several sacred texts including Islam, Hinduism and the Bible, as well as from writers and poets. They were selected by the Master of the Royal Armouries, Guy Wilson, to give relevance and meaning across many cultures.
The female soloists are Auckland soprano Morag Atchison and the ever-popular and versatile mezzo Helen Medlyn. The three male soloists are tenor Andrew Grenon and bass Ben Caukwell, both University of Canterbury vocal graduates and members of ChristChurch Cathedral Choir who are frequently heard as soloists and in ensembles, and treble Max McGillivrary (13), senior chorister at ChristChurch Cathedral.
The Choir will be at its symphonic strength with about 200 singers, including young singers from St Margaret’s College, Christchurch Girls’ High School, Christ’s College and Villa Maria College..
The first half will include an excerpt from Alexander Nevsky by Serge Prokofiev and Britten’s Sinfonia da Requiem.
The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra will accompany the choir, and for principal oboe Peter Dykes it will be the second time he has played as he was a member of the orchestra at the premiere in 2000.