'Gloria' with Karl Jenkins

[mihizawi]

Libby, about this Gloria, it seems to me as if it is going to be something completely new, but may also borrow some parts from existent pieces. And aboout Karl Jenkins, you are right, Wikipedia says he was "orchestrator, conductor and producer" in Mike Oldfield's Music of the Spheres.

Michal

[Martin]

And let's not forget that Dame Kiri Te Kanawa has recorded with Karl for her album entitled “Kiri Sings Karl”.

I wounder if that is similar to that great recording "Peter Sellers Sings George Gershwin"?

Martin

[joanne]

Jun 3, 2010 14:29:03 GMT mihizawi said:

I actually understand from the text that the live artists will be completely different from those on the studio recording. The choir, the orchestra... and also it says there will be some "student vocal soloists", so I guess it's them who will do Hayley's part. But who knows... could be the other way.

Michal

Oops, I didn't see that thanks for pointing it out! But either way, at least we'll definitely be able to purchase the studio recording, with a confirmed Hayley appearance. Since the recording of the live audience will only be available to performers and audience members on that night, it's unlikely that many of us will be fortunate enough to get a copy!

cheers,
Joanne

[martindn]

Jun 4, 2010 6:25:40 GMT Libby said:

Is "Gloria" a piece already in existence, or is it Karl's own composition? I've heard of "Gloria" pieces before, and I'm just wondering if this is something already done before, or something completely new.

I'm looking forward to hearing Hayley's part. When she tweeted about it a while back, she said it was some "truly beautiful music". I hope it's more than one song.

Wasn't Karl involved in Music of the Spheres? I thought I remembered him in that "preview" on youtube, where they would show Hayley recording "On My Heart".

Gloria is well known of course. It was recorded by "Them" (Van Morrison) back in the 1960s. All together now

"Gee ell oh are aye ay"

No, I don't think it is that!!

KJ's stuff is original, and I'm sure this will be too. I have seem liver performances of "The Armed Man", "Requiem" and "Stabat Mater" conducted by the composer, and we have tickets to see "The Armed Man" again. All these at our local De Montfort Hall. If he were to perform "Gloria" there with Hayley, I would be ecstatic!

I would expect there to be some live performances, to I have tweeted a question to Hayley about this. In particular, I would like to know if there are any live performances planned with her involvement.

And yes, I agree, anybody else trying to sing in Hayley's place would be a disappointment. I hope Hayley is involved at the RAH.

The RAH premiere is on 11th July, exactly 1 year after the Beaumanor Hall concert, and once again we would need to interrupt our holiday to be there. That will only be worthwhile for me if Hayley is performing. And even then it will be difficult, since we have things already booked for this year's July holiday.

And yes, Libby, Karl was involved in Music of the Spheres, but I doubt he was involved in either of Hayley's tracks. You can hear his influence on some of the others.

Martin D

[Jillian]

Hi Everyone,

The track is now listed on Karl Jenkins' website. There's some catalogue numbers for the release and a more detailed article.

www.karljenkins.com/gloria.php

EMI CLASSICS RELEASES KARL JENKINS’ GLORIA, BRAND NEW CHORAL WORK BY THE WORLD’S MOST PERFORMED COMPOSER

Studio Recording International release: 12 July 2010

5099964643021 (CD)
5099964643052 (digital download)

"As a composer, he recognises no boundaries - musical, commercial, geographical or cultural. His is a way of thinking and composing that is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the times." Classic FM Magazine

EMI Classics presents Gloria, the brand new choral work from Karl Jenkins, the most prolific and performed composer in the world today. Breaking new ground, it will receive its world premiere performance at the Royal Albert Hall on 11 July 2010 by Britain’s largest choral society The Really Big Chorus, with the English Festival Orchestra and student vocal soloists conducted by Brian Kay. Abbey Road Live will record the concert, which also features Fauré’s Requiem, and the resulting CD will be for sale on the night exclusively to the performers and audience. This will be the first time a world premiere has been recorded live and made available for sale immediately following the performance. The following day, 12 July, EMI Classics will release a studio recording of Gloria, paired with Jenkins’s Te Deum featuring the composer conducting the National Youth Chorus of Great Britain and the London Symphony Orchestra with star soloist Hayley Westenra.

Hayley says: "I first came across Karl's work when I was still living in New Zealand. This led me to recording "Benedictus" for my first international album "Pure" seven years ago. For many people it soon became the stand out track and I performed it live for my PBS Special U.S. TV show. Karl's work is so rewarding to sing as he writes such dynamic and beautiful melodies for the voice, and I jumped at the chance to not only perform his music again, but to actually record his Gloria with Karl himself directing."

Jenkins’s Gloria is in five movements and takes as its main text the Latin version of the hymn of praise to God from the traditional Christian Mass. Jenkins says, “Gloria in excelsis Deo (Latin for Glory to God in the highest) is the title and opening line of an ancient hymn that begins with the words that the angels sang when the birth of Christ was announced to shepherds in Luke 2:14. Other verses were subsequently added; the Latin translation from the original Greek is thought to date from the fourth century CE. In its present form the text forms a part of the Mass. In addition to its inclusion in innumerable mass settings the Gloria has been set, in isolation, by many composers such as Handel, Vivaldi and Poulenc.

“In my setting of the Gloria the traditional Latin text is set in the first, second and fifth movements, these being entitled The Proclamation, The Prayer and The Exaltation. Further to this I have extended the parameters by incorporating additional text in two further movements: movement III, The Psalm sets Psalm 150 in Hebrew, and movement IV, The Song, is my own adaptation in English of Deuteronomy 32:2, Psalm 144:9 and 1 Chronicles 13:8. “In between movements, I have selected readings from various ancient religions, each expressing their own concept of the divine or a deity. The detachment of Buddhism, and the paradoxes of Taoism are both alternative ways of perceiving ultimate reality, and they therefore stand as a kind of counterpoint to the Abrahamic religions:

Hinduism: In Sanskrit, a section from the Bhagavad Gita (The Song of the Blessed Lord), the classic Hindu scripture. Buddhism: Also in Sanskrit, the last section of the Diamond Sutra, the text in the world's oldest dated printed book. Taoism: In Chinese, the opening lines of the main Taoist scripture, the Tao Te Ching (The Classic of the Way and Virtue). Islam. In Arabic, the beginning of the Qur'an, the section known as Al Fatiha (The Opening), recited in Muslim daily prayers.”

The second work on the studio album is Jenkins’s Te Deum, composed in 2008. Sometimes known as the Ambrosian Hymn, the Te Deum is an early Christian Latin text praising God. The title is taken from the opening line, Te Deum laudamus, which translates as We praise you, O God. The text has been set to music by many composers, including Haydn, Mozart, Berlioz, Verdi, Bruckner, Dvoøák, Britten, Byrd, Tallis Purcell, Handel and Elgar. After the premiere of Karl Jenkins’s Te Deum in Liverpool, the Liverpool Echo described it as “a joyous, theatrical piece of music.”

Gloria is the first commission by The Really Big Chorus, Britain’s largest choral society, which is made up of singers from hundreds of different choirs all over the UK, as well as thousands of individuals. The Really Big Chorus is in regular contact with a pool of some 30,000 singers from the UK as well as from Europe, the USA, Australia, Japan, the Middle East and South Africa. They all share a common love of choral singing and the sense of exhilaration that comes from singing wonderful music in the company of like-minded people.

“Karl Jenkins is a rarity among contemporary composers, balancing popularity with innovation.” The Independent

On Karl's 'Recordings' page, it is described as 'With Hayley Westenra'.

www.karljenkins.com/recordings.php

On the main page, it is described as 'The New Album'. I think that may suggest that 'Gloria' is in itself quite long and not just 'a track'.

[Richard]

Thanks for the article, Jillian!

I'll post the link on our new website.

Richard

[nicola]

Hayley won't be at the live concert. But I'm going anyway. I love Karl Jenkins. I know Hayley won't be there, but is anyone else coming?

[martindn]

Hi Nicola,

I love Karl Jenkins music too, and if Hayley had been singing, I would have interrupted my holiday to be there. I did exactly that a year ago to be at Beaumanor, exactly one year before the RAH concert.

But with no Hayley, I will wait until it gets performed more locally. KJ's work usually does, I already have tickets for The Armed Man later this year, having seen it live with KJ conducting before.

But what is a problem for me is who on earth can replace Hayley? She is unique, and I'm sure once I've heard that CD, I'll be disappointed if anyone else performs her part.

Martin D

[mihizawi]

Well, I am sure noone can replace Hayley, but I am sure those students will be great too... Hayley has to give room from time to time to people maybe not so incredibly talented, but as hard working as her... afterall, if there was only Hayley, she would stop being so special ^^.

Michal

[Dave]

Jun 6, 2010 21:44:51 GMT martindn said:

I already have tickets for The Armed Man later this year

Hello Martin D and everyone!

I have some "Gloria's" trivia for you here. Since the release of The Armed Man - A Mass For Peace CD in the UK on 10 September 2001, there have been 455 weeks. This album has been in the Classical Artist Chart (top 40) for 429 of them, and is in it at no. 30 this week. Put another way, it's only been out of the chart for 6 months in nearly 9 years!

This has got to be a record, probably by a mile. I'm really pleased that Hayley is once again associated with the music of Karl Jenkins and I can hardly wait to find out what exactly it is that Hayley sings.

Cheers, Dave

[Libby]

Well, this'll be something to keep us happy while we're waiting for her album. It sounds like it's going to be really good. With Hayley as the star soloist, could this get her more recognition on the world stage?

You know what, this sounds like something that could get Karl Jenkins a nomination at the Classical Brits. And you know what that could mean... Hayley might get to perform some of it on the show! Even if that didn't happen, Hayley would still get recognition for the album, as well as for her new album. And I'm sure her own album will be nominated then, too.

[nicola]

Judging by the publicity of KJ's last regular vocalist, I wouldn't say that this will do much for Hayley on that score. Miriam Stockley doesn't sell many albums.

I do hope it will pick up a few extra fans.

[Libby]

Hayley has an extra beautiful l voice though, so maybe it'll turn out better for Hayley than Miriam. How well-known is she to begin with, though? Hayley sold a lot of albums to start with, so that may give her anadvantage. I hope.

[nicola]

Miriam was the lead vocalist of his choral project of Adiemus for many, many years. Her voice is exceptional too (though it's a very different kind to Hayley's, as is the Adiemus project compared to 'Gloria'). But that's where her fame came from.

Miriam has released three solo albums since, but Adiemus was a worldwide smash that sold practically everywhere. I personally don't think 'Gloria' will up Hayley's profile much, but we'll just have to wait and see how it goes. But every single new fan is valuable.

[Libby]

Well, the difference seems to be that Hayley was fairly well-known (in some regions) before this album, but Miriam was not popular until after the album. So, if this could make her more popular without having been popular before, then imagine what it could do for someone who already was known.