I was first introduced to this by the Avondale Conservatorium, they performed this musical display of war and peace last year. I was certainly inspired by the music after listening to it live, and have it high in my play count on Spotify. Today let me show you my thoughts about a few of the pieces in Karl Jenkin’s A Mass for Peace; I recommend that you listen to it too.
I haven't written about all the songs. Sanctus I enjoyed the beat in it and the cymbals. The Armed Man, I enjoyed that too. There were brochures handed out with the lyrics and translations, A Mass for Peace is multilingual and multicultural, a real enjoyment, but it really helps if you understand what the chorus is singing about.
Angry Flames
The atomic bomb is the theme of Angry Flames. The lyrics paint the picture of the destruction witnessed by a Haiku poet.
Charge!
Another anti-war piece, although Charge! does not sound like it at the beginning. The trumpets are exciting the people to go to war and fight. But the chorus ends their singing with one final charge and then and eerie “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!” It was too late to retreat and who knows how many have died in the thousands of wars that have occurred. The trumpets later on in the song I have heard during ANZAC day, the lone trumpet is sounded to remember the dead who fought for country.
Agnus Dei
Another beautiful piece of music, the lyrics translate to “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us”. The people involved in Charge! have seen the carnage of war and can only hope that God will forgive them for their actions. The next song, Torches, shows yet another ugly side to war it is not over yet.
Torches
This song is not spoken about to the musicians and chorus later in the night. To the visual minded, this song can be scarring. I will describe the chorus and music as creepy, slowly moving within a terrifying scene, the lyrics are horrifying. However, it is the words, screamed out “As living torches”, that is where this song hits you.
This is where the theme of war leaves us.
Better Is Peace
A reflection on The Armed Man, the music for Better is Peace has a faster pace and ditches the charge sounding trumpets and army drum for hippy shakers and woodwinds. The chorus sounds joyful as they sing about ringing out the old and ringing in the new, bringing in the thousand years of peace. Ring is defined as surrounding for protection, so I imagine that the idea is that people should close out the false statement “the armed man should be feared”, and “ring in the valiant man and free, the larger heart, the kindlier hand.”
There are two parts to the song, the second part moving into Benedictus’ quiet beginnings, with a reference to what Heaven will be like “And there shall be no more death“.
Benedictus
The story goes that during a performance of this piece the audience in the church were beginning to shut their eyes, the soft, gentle music of Benedictus helping them to rest in their chairs. The conductor, eccentric as they were, smiled with glee as they waved their hand and moved the trumpeters, drummer and enthusiastic chorus to the climax of this piece of music. This visibly startled everyone in the church.
