Adiemus

Adiemus (pronounced /ædi'eməs/) is the title of a saga of albums by the Welsh composer Karl Jenkins.

Concept

Each Adiemus album is a collection of song-long pieces featuring melodic voices harmonized with an orchestra as accompaniment. There are no lyrics to the songs, but rather the singers recite syllables and words invented by the composer. However, rather than drawing attention to phoneme patterns, the language of Adiemus is carefully stylized so as not to distract the listener's attention from the timbre and tone of the voice; For example, as with African languages, syllables ending in a consonant are unusual. The central concept of Adiemus is that the voice should function as a simple musical instrument, a modern position that has become a certain trend, as exemplified by the music composed by Vangelis for the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise(1992) or the lyrical style of Wim Mertens.

The term Adiemus itself is written similarly to a Latin word meaning 'We will meet nearby', although Jenkins claims he was unaware of this.

Instrumentation and performers

The singer Miriam Stockley performed the vocal part of the first four albums. Mary Carewe provided additional vocals on all albums except Dances of Time, which saw the appearance of the Finnish Adiemus Singers (who would later appear again on Vocalise).. Additional vocals and chorus effects were provided by repeatedly multitrack recording the singers (sometimes up to forty times), and varying the tape speed. Stockley was described by Jenkins as essential to the Adiemus project due to her range and intonation, although, for reasons that remain unclear, she was not featured in Vocalise. i>.

The orchestra of Songs of Sanctuary consisted of a section of string instruments to which were added numerous ethnic percussion instruments, with occasional additions of other instruments, such as bells, a recorder or a quena or pan flute. Mike Ratledge, with whom Jenkins had played in Soft Machine, also contributed to the first album. Jenkins added brass and woodwind instruments for Cantata Mundi, and continued adding different instruments, such as an acoustic guitar, on later albums. For the first three albums, from Songs of Sanctuary to Dances of Time, the London Philharmonic Orchestra was included, then Jenkins formed his own Adiemus Orchestra to perform on The Eternal Knot, returning to the OFL for Vocalise.

Discography

• Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary (1994)
• Adiemus II: Cantatata Mundi (1997)
• Adiemus III: Dances of Time (1999)
• Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot (2001)
• Adiemus V: Vocalise (2003)

• The Journey: The Best of Adiemus (2000)
• Adiemus Live (2002)

(Adiemus is also the title of the first track on the album Songs of Sanctuary.)

Musical style

Although there has been considerable evolution throughout the project, the musical language of Adiemus is largely based on classical music and world music. Jenkins follows conventions in tonality to a certain extent; His harmony derives from gospel and African music, decorated with functional dissonances, such as suspensions and great freedom of movement between tonalities with little in common. He often employs unusual tempos, with a slow 3/2 being very common, along with 6/8, 9/8 and even 5/8 (Cantus Inaequalis from the Songs of Sanctuary). The percussion section, when used prominently, gives the piece generally a high, almost tribal rhythm.

The atmosphere found in Adiemus is energetic and recalcitrant, complemented by what Jenkins describes as an ecclesiastical atmosphere. Many listeners identify Adiemus' sound with New Age or Celtic music. In fact, The Eternal Knot is an album of clear Celtic inspiration that was used in the musical setting of a documentary about the Celts on a Welsh radio station. Within classical music, Adiemus has struggled to distinguish itself from the semi-genre of Chillout, although the first albums are considered to break the barriers of definition within musical genres (crossover).

Audience

Songs of Sanctuary was a huge commercial success, topping the classical music charts. Critics consider it the essential album, in which Jenkins' idea is presented in the best way with the fewest resources. Although none of the subsequent albums received the same positive reviews as the first, Adiemus gained a legion of followers, and maintained a prominent place in the collective consciousness thanks to its use in television advertisements.