The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace
Program Notes
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the United Kingdom Millennium celebrations and was dedicated to the victims of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. The work includes several movements of the Catholic Mass, a 15th century French chanson, the Islamic Call to Prayer, text from the Hindu Mahbharata, and works by Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Toge Sankichi (who survived the Hiroshima bombing).
The origins of the L’Homme armé (The Armed Man) melody are still unknown to this day but date to the late 15th century. Jenkins’ setting of the haunting tune begins with a distant but relentless snare drum. As the army moves closer, the tune begins in the piccolo, then later echoed by the chorus. Similar to Ravel’s Bolero, the theme becomes more intense by adding additional members of the orchestra and thicker harmonies.
Next, we hear the Adhaan, the Muslim Call to Prayer. Traditionally, the prayer is sung in Arabic by a muezzin from the minaret of a mosque.
The Kyrie is the usual opening to a Catholic Mass, asking for mercy and forgiveness. The initial setting of the Greek text is somber and mournful, but transitions into a hopeful and contrapuntal Christe eleison, similar to the Renaissance works of Giovanni Palestrina.
The tenors and basses continue in the style of Gregorian chant with texts from Psalms 56 and 59. Save Me from Bloody Men calls on God to be merciful and to save them from their enemies. However, the final beat of the bass drum foreshadows a long and fateful road ahead.
We return to another movement of the Catholic mass with the Sanctus. This movement is traditionally joyful and celebratory as the text celebrates the glory of heaven and earth. However, the percussion and brass combine to mimic the unsettling forward march of the first movement. The pulsating eighth notes combined with the explosive Hosanna subvert the choir’s hopeful chanting of the customary words.
Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Hymn Before Action, reminds us of the humanity of soldiers that go into battle. The text speaks of the fear and sacrifice that fills their minds.
At the end of the soldier’s prayer, the Charge! begins. Most of the text is based on John Dryden’s A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day of 1687. The middle text however -- how blest is he who for his country dies -- is a loose translation of a patriotic sentiment of the Roman poet Horace: ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.’ During World War I, these words became a motto for the British army. The movement ends with chaos, as the singers vividly convey horror as the battle ensues. A long silence is followed by the Last Post, a traditional trumpet melody played to mark the end of the day and to honor the dead, the British equivalent to the American “Taps.”
Toge Sankichi was a Japanese poet who wrote of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Angry Flames is introduced by the tolling of the bells followed by four soloists.
The Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, is the source for Torches which describes the terror and suffering of animals dying in the burning of the Khandava Forest.
We emerge out of the darkness, to what is traditionally the last movement of the Catholic Mass, with a gentle Agnus Dei.
Guy Wilson, Master of the Armouries and head of the Royal Armouries in the United Kingdom’s National Museum, wrote Now the Guns have Stopped to convey the feelings of a lonely war survivor whose comrades did not come home.
The Benedictus opens with a reflective and pensive cello solo, followed by the faith affirming text. The singers exclaim loudly, “Hosanna in excelsis,” before the movement slowly comes to a close.
Jenkins’ final movement returns to the initial theme of the opening, which was set in a minor key. The new text Better is Peace is sung to the same L’Homme armé melody but now in a major key, conveying positivity and hope. He continues with Tennyson’s poem, Ring out Wild Bells, joyfully proclaiming that a thousand years of war can end with a new Millennium of Peace.
The Mass for Peace concludes with a simple chorale from the Book of Revelations: ‘God shall wipe away all tears and there shall be no more death,’ ending with repeated cries of ‘Praise the Lord!’
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum for the United Kingdom Millennium celebrations and was dedicated to the victims of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. The work includes several movements of the Catholic Mass, a 15th century French chanson, the Islamic Call to Prayer, text from the Hindu Mahbharata, and works by Rudyard Kipling, Alfred Lord Tennyson, and Toge Sankichi (who survived the Hiroshima bombing).
The origins of the L’Homme armé (The Armed Man) melody are still unknown to this day but date to the late 15th century. Jenkins’ setting of the haunting tune begins with a distant but relentless snare drum. As the army moves closer, the tune begins in the piccolo, then later echoed by the chorus. Similar to Ravel’s Bolero, the theme becomes more intense by adding additional members of the orchestra and thicker harmonies.
Next, we hear the Adhaan, the Muslim Call to Prayer. Traditionally, the prayer is sung in Arabic by a muezzin from the minaret of a mosque.
The Kyrie is the usual opening to a Catholic Mass, asking for mercy and forgiveness. The initial setting of the Greek text is somber and mournful, but transitions into a hopeful and contrapuntal Christe eleison, similar to the Renaissance works of Giovanni Palestrina.
The tenors and basses continue in the style of Gregorian chant with texts from Psalms 56 and 59. Save Me from Bloody Men calls on God to be merciful and to save them from their enemies. However, the final beat of the bass drum foreshadows a long and fateful road ahead.
We return to another movement of the Catholic mass with the Sanctus. This movement is traditionally joyful and celebratory as the text celebrates the glory of heaven and earth. However, the percussion and brass combine to mimic the unsettling forward march of the first movement. The pulsating eighth notes combined with the explosive Hosanna subvert the choir’s hopeful chanting of the customary words.
Rudyard Kipling’s poem, Hymn Before Action, reminds us of the humanity of soldiers that go into battle. The text speaks of the fear and sacrifice that fills their minds.
At the end of the soldier’s prayer, the Charge! begins. Most of the text is based on John Dryden’s A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day of 1687. The middle text however -- how blest is he who for his country dies -- is a loose translation of a patriotic sentiment of the Roman poet Horace: ‘Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.’ During World War I, these words became a motto for the British army. The movement ends with chaos, as the singers vividly convey horror as the battle ensues. A long silence is followed by the Last Post, a traditional trumpet melody played to mark the end of the day and to honor the dead, the British equivalent to the American “Taps.”
Toge Sankichi was a Japanese poet who wrote of the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945. Angry Flames is introduced by the tolling of the bells followed by four soloists.
The Hindu epic, the Mahabharata, is the source for Torches which describes the terror and suffering of animals dying in the burning of the Khandava Forest.
We emerge out of the darkness, to what is traditionally the last movement of the Catholic Mass, with a gentle Agnus Dei.
Guy Wilson, Master of the Armouries and head of the Royal Armouries in the United Kingdom’s National Museum, wrote Now the Guns have Stopped to convey the feelings of a lonely war survivor whose comrades did not come home.
The Benedictus opens with a reflective and pensive cello solo, followed by the faith affirming text. The singers exclaim loudly, “Hosanna in excelsis,” before the movement slowly comes to a close.
Jenkins’ final movement returns to the initial theme of the opening, which was set in a minor key. The new text Better is Peace is sung to the same L’Homme armé melody but now in a major key, conveying positivity and hope. He continues with Tennyson’s poem, Ring out Wild Bells, joyfully proclaiming that a thousand years of war can end with a new Millennium of Peace.
The Mass for Peace concludes with a simple chorale from the Book of Revelations: ‘God shall wipe away all tears and there shall be no more death,’ ending with repeated cries of ‘Praise the Lord!’