Karl Jenkins' "The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace" performed at the Dormition Abbey, Mt. Zion, Jerusalem

Photo: Frank.D. Roemer

The first Jerusalem performance of Karl Jenkins’ “The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace” took place on October 16th 2017 at the Dormition Abbey, Mt. Zion, Jerusalem. Under the direction of Dr. Helmut Föller, the work was performed by a joint choir made up of the Collegium Vocale Bad Homburg, Germany (director Helmut Föller), the Olive Branches Choir (Bethlehem) and Schmidt’s Girls College Choir, Jerusalem (director: Erwin Meyer). The instrumental ensemble comprised German- and local players. Soprano Hayat Chaoui sang the solos. Helmut Föller and Erwin Meyer shared the conducting.

Opening the event, Pater Nikodemus Schnabel, pastor of the Dormition Abbey, spoke of the complicated question of performing a piece that includes content from India, the Far East and Muslim liturgical material in a church on Mt. Zion in Jerusalem. Could this be considered scandalous? Or a loss of identity? The overriding issue he concluded is that of human beings killing each other, that this is what should shock us. Fr. Nikodemus invited audience members to open their hearts to the challenge of the music, to its intellectual dialogue and to have the courage to be changed by it..

Welsh oboist and composer Karl Jenkins (b.1944), whose oeuvre ranges from pop, to symphonic music, spiritual chorus, ethnic music and to film music, composed the “The Armed Man” in 1999, at the time of the Kosovo conflict. It was premiered in April 2000 at London’s Royal Albert Hall and has since been much performed and recorded. Jenkins explains that “The Armed Man” was inspired by the "L'Homme armé" Masses that were prevalent in the 16th century, and he makes this reference clear with movements based on Renaissance polyphony. The work also includes writing in earlier and later styles. In the masterful weaving of disparate sources into a coherent and compelling whole, “The Armed Man - a Mass for Peace” manages to  combine parts of the Ordinary of the Mass  with other texts pertaining to war and its horrors -  a Japanese poem about the firestorms that followed the atomic bombs, an apocalyptic passage from India's Mahabharata and more.

A crossover work of this variety poses many challenges to performers, yet this group - a mix of amateurs and professionals - gave poignant expression to the many styles and gestures used by Jenkins. Bookended by two different treatments of the 15th century melody, the work’s contents emerged as moving and shocking, its  emphasis on the dehumanisation of war as strong as its humanistic statement. In meticulously coordinated and precise performance, the three percussionists gave credence to the work’s stark, arresting message, as did the very fine brass players. Oboist Stefan Gleitsman’s solos were exquisitely performed. Altogether, the instrumental ensemble contributed high-quality and engaging performance.

The conductors’ dedicated work amalgamated  choral singers of different ages and backgrounds into a splendidly blended choral ensemble, attentive to detail and colour. Their singing pleased with its pure, unforced and unmannered quality, whether engaging in the haunting tones of the “Sanctus”, the calming, velvety textures of the “Agnus Dei” and the “Benedictus” or in the clamorous tutti sections describing war scenes:

‘The earth is full of anger,

The seas are dark with wrath,

The Nations in their harness

Go up against our path:

Ere yet we loose the legions—

Ere yet we draw the blade,

Jehovah of the Thunders,

Lord God of Battles, aid!’       Rudyard Kipling “Hymn before Action”

German-born soprano Hayat Chaoui’s stable, crystal-toned voice and her fine diction gave expression to solo sections in singing that was at the same time objective, moving and subtle. In “Now the Guns have Stopped”, against the pale otherworldly sounds of high strings, she presents the feelings of personal guilt and sadness weighing on a survivor returning from World War I; the text is by Guy Wilson (b.1950, curator of the United Kingdom’s national museum for arms and armour from 1988 to 2002:)

‘Silent, so silent now,

Now the guns have stopped.

I have survived all,

I who knew I would not.

But now you are not here.

I shall go home alone;

And must try to live life as before

And hide my grief.

For you, my dearest friend,

who should be with me now,

Not cold too soon,

And in your grave,

Alone.’

As “Better is Peace”, the work’s 13th and final section, concluded with a serene chorale, its tranquil harmonies became infused with the sounds of church bells ringing outside, a poignant reminder of where we were.