Adiemus

Karl Jenkins & Kilkenny High School Choir

Welsh composer Karl Jenkins has furnished several masterpieces, and he surely is one of the most performed contemporary artists. The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, for example, is a profound piece of anti-war religious music inspired by various global spiritual traditions.

His “Adiemus” song draws inspiration from gospel and African tribal music but applies distinct forms of the European classical tradition such as the rondeau. The song’s lyrics, by the way, are completely made up—“invented language,” Jenkins says. The words are without intended meaning so as not to distract from the effect of the music itself.

Our chosen version of the “Adiemus,” which simply “rocks,” is by the Kilkenny High School Choir and their formidable music teacher. You can see the love that lady has for her girls as she displays the right amount of propriety mixed with a perky gusto that gives them the freedom to forget themselves. She wants them to shine at this Britain’s Got Talent show, and the lasses give it their all.

Uplifting to watch.