Karl Jenkins Armed Man - A Mass For Peace CD

Sir Karl Jenkins, the most performed living composer, is celebrating his 75th birthday with a brand-new album and a host of reissues from his immensely popular catalogue – all now available on Decca Records.

The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace, written for the millennium, is one of Sir Karl's most well-known compositions, which has been in the UK classical charts for 15 years. It has been performed over 2500 times since its premiere in 1999, which equates to more than 2 performances a week! It has also been in the UK classical artist chart for nearly 800 weeks.

"In a rapturous performance, by turns visceral and ethereal, the Mass was a firebomb of orchestral and human voices." The Times

Over 20 years ago, Sir Karl changed the way classical music was perceived as Adiemus – Songs of Sanctuary broke the chart music rule books. It caused a huge stir as the album was not considered eligible for the classical charts, despite its huge popularity among classical fans – selling a million copies worldwide in its first year. The album went on to achieve 17 Gold and 2 Platinum discs. 

Sir Karl Jenkins has been decorated with a considerable range of awards for his services to music, including an OBE, CBE, and a knighthood. There are over 250 performances per year of his work in more than 20 countries, and he has consistently been the highest placed living composer in Classic FM's Hall of Fame.