KLASIKA VISIEMS 2024 | Karl Jenkins „The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace“

"Classic for everyone" invites you to the 12th season! in 2024 Saturday, November 23, 7:00 p.m. St. St. John's Church, Vilnius, will feature Karl Jenkins' opus "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace", which has become one of the most popular contemporary choral works in the world and is often performed on special occasions for to commemorate the anniversaries of wars, the memory of victims or to express the desire for peace.

At the beginning of the concert, the church will be filled with the sounds of the deep, thoughtful and majestic chorale "Da pacem, Domine". This piece by contemporary Lithuanian composer Donatas Zakars will make you think about what is happening in the world right now.

Like current global conflicts and especially right next to us, in Ukraine , echoes of the ten-year-old war will also be heard in K. Jenkins' work. It explores the themes of war, violence, human suffering and the pursuit of peace as relevant as ever today, with the senseless deaths and devastating bombings taking place every day.

"We didn't choose these works for the project by chance, because their theme perfectly responds to today's current events, and the audience and participants will have a unique opportunity to perform and hear impressive works of contemporary music", said Rasa Gelgotienė, the creator of "Classics for everyone" and head of the VU choirs.

"Classics for all" is an open project for participants who know music writing. After announcing its start, those interested register online, receive sheet music and other necessary educational materials, and on the day of the concert, they meet with the VU choirs "Virgo", "Gaudeamus" and "Pro musica", rehearse their voices together, and later with the soloists and the orchestra. After the whole day's rehearsals, the prepared work is presented to the audience at the evening concert.

Together with the VU Wind Orchestra, the participants of the Oktava project will perform in 2002. published choral suite of Karl Jenkins' work, thus giving special colors to this impressive opus. The suite was created by the composer in order to simplify and adapt the original 1999. the piece for a wider circle of performers, especially amateur choirs and concert ensembles, without losing the piece's emotional impact and musical suggestiveness. This version features the main parts of the original mass and the "Hymn before action" part based on the famous British writer R. Kipling's poem. The pieces concentrated in the suite best reflect K. Jenkins' main message about the destructiveness of war and the necessity of peace.

The piece has dramatic tension and musical contrasts, the musical themes express a deep tension between the threat of war and the desire for peace. Audiences are mesmerized by the impressive contrasts used in the piece, from intense war drums and ferocious choral parts to soft, meditative melodies symbolizing peace and forgiveness. Pieces such as "Agnus Dei" or "Benedictus" are especially distinguished by their emotional depth and tenderness, which help to reflect on the horrors of war and express the hope for peace.

K. Jenkins' "Mass for Peace" will be played this year in the twelfth project opens up a whole spectrum of intense emotions, from the ominous premonition of war to a sense of peace and forgiveness, from violence and brutality expressed in wails and lamentations to the hope embodied in pure melodies that peace is still possible.

The concert program will also be supplemented by "Octaves" performed by a modern arranger "Earthdance" written for orchestra by Michael Sweeney.

Those interested in participating in the project as singers, the organizers invite you to find more detailed information at www.klasikavisiems.lt.

The project is partially financed by the State Study Fund.
The concert is organized by the Vilnius University Cultural Center.

On the AllEvents portal you can always Buy tickets to an event Concerts KLASIKA VISIEMS 2024 | Karl Jenkins „The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace“, Vilnius, Šv. Jonų bažnyčia November 23

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