Distinguished Concerts International New York (DCINY) presents The Music of Sir Karl Jenkins: An 80th Birthday Celebration in Review
Jonathan Griffith, Artistic Director and Conductor
Sir Karl Jenkins, Conductor
Jeff Spurgeon, Host
Blythe Gaissert, Mezzo-Soprano
Distinguished Concerts Orchestra
Distinguished Concerts Singers International
Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
January 15, 2024
Sir Karl Jenkins, a prolific and celebrated composer in England and around the globe, was given a joyous and heartfelt tribute at Carnegie Hall by Distinguished Concerts International New York. The rapid approach of his ninth decade has not diminished his popularity or vitality, as he is currently juggling several projects and commissions.
Though I was unfamiliar with the work of Mr. Jenkins before this concert, his talent and facility as a composer and his commitment to music as a vehicle for pacifism were in evidence this evening. The centerpiece of the performance was The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, a work in thirteen movements that has the distinction of occupying fifth place in the list of Great British Classics. A fifteenth-century French chanson, L’Homme Armé was the point of departure for an affecting work that evoked both the carnage of war and its opposite, a plea for peace and healing.
Mr. Jenkins is a very fine orchestrator, especially for brass and percussion, and they were given plenty to do throughout this work due to the nature of its subject matter. The players handled it brilliantly, particularly the trumpets, led by Michael Gorham, and every one of the percussion soloists. This composer has a gift for melody however, and it was in those more lyrical movements that the Mass was most compelling. Mezzo-soprano Blythe Gaissert led a simple but poignant Kyrie against an underpinning of low strings and chorus. Similarly, the Hymn Before Action, with its sweeping, unapologetic romanticism, was worthy of a 1950’s biblical epic. But it was the penultimate movement, the Benedictus, that was the highlight of the evening, in large part due to the superb playing of cello soloist Robert Burkhart. In general, the strings played a supporting role in this concert, but they produced a consistently beautiful sound, led by their excellent leader, Jorge Ávila.
Midway through the evening, Sir Karl Jenkins himself made an appearance, sporting his signature walrus moustache and aviator glasses. More encomiums were offered, including a clever arrangement of Happy Birthday played by the orchestra with full audience participation. At age eighty, he seems to have retained his youthful demeanor and commitment to music that has social relevance. After intermission, a selection of his most famous compositions, billed as “The Best of Karl Jenkins,” received a committed performance. Several movements from Symphonic Adiemus, Requiem and Stabat Mater solidified my impressions from the first half of the concert. The composer writes well and idiomatically for orchestra and chorus, albeit with challenging passages. The chorus sounded more settled and accurate in the second half, and once again the percussion section shone with featured solos on traditional Middle Eastern instruments. My one reservation about this concert was the programming of mostly liturgical works that had remarkably similar overall structures. The use of ostinato, driving rhythm and repetition to build tension were present in virtually all of the Allegro movements, while the development of thematic material was largely absent. Played separately, each work would have had more impact, but all of them performed consecutively lessened the effect. Still, I was happy to have spent a night with the music of this celebrated and well-loved musician, Sir Karl Jenkins.
