Table of Contents
What are Karl Jenkins’ most known works (born 1944)?
Karl Jenkins’ best works: the Welsh composer’s most beautiful pieces of music
Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins, CBE, FRAM, HonFLSW (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song “Adiemus” (1995, from the Adiemus album series), Palladio (1995), The Armed Man (2000), his Requiem (2005) and his Stabat Mater (2008).
Please, subscribe to our Library.
If you are already a subscriber, please, check our NEW SCORES’ page every month for new sheet music. THANK YOU!
Jenkins was educated in music at Cardiff University and the Royal Academy of Music, and he is a fellow and an associate of the latter. He joined the jazz-rock band Soft Machine in 1972 and became the group’s lead songwriter in 1974. He continued to work with Soft Machine until 1984, but has not been involved with any incarnation of the group since. He has composed music for advertising campaigns and has won the industry prize twice.
For the bulk of his early career, Jenkins was known as a jazz and jazz-rock musician, playing baritone and soprano saxophones, keyboards and oboe, an unusual instrument in a jazz context. He joined jazz composer Graham Collier’s group and later co-founded the jazz-rock group Nucleus, which won first prize at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1970. In 1971, Jenkins collaborated with Linda Hoyle on her album Pieces of Me, co-writing 8 of the 11 tracks, playing piano and oboe, as well as arranging and conducting the orchestra.
Jenkins has created advertising music, twice winning the industry prize in that field. From the 1980s, he developed a relationship with Bartle Bogle Hegarty, starting with composing musics for their Levi’s jeans “Russian” series. He composed a classical theme used by De Beers diamond merchants for their television advertising campaign focusing on jewellery worn by people otherwise seen only in silhouette. Jenkins later included this as the title track in a compilation called Diamond Music, and eventually created Palladio, using it as the theme of the first movement. Other arrangements have included advertisements for the Renault Clio.
Best Sheet Music download from our Library.
Soft Machine
In 1972, Jenkins joined the Canterbury jazz fusion rock band Soft Machine, playing saxophone, oboe and flute along with keyboard instruments. The group played venues including The Proms, Carnegie Hall, and the Newport Jazz Festival. The album Six, on which Jenkins first played with Soft Machine, won the Melody Maker British Jazz Album of the Year award in 1973. Jenkins also won the miscellaneous musical instrument section (as he did the following year). Soft Machine was voted best small group in the Melody Maker jazz poll of 1974. The albums in which Jenkins performed and composed were Six (1973), Seven (1973), Bundles (1975), Softs (1976), Alive & Well: Recorded in Paris (1978) and Land of Cockayne (1981). Jenkins was the group’s primary composer on Seven and the subsequent four albums.
After Mike Ratledge left the band in 1976, Soft Machine did not include any of its founding members, but kept recording on a project basis with line-ups revolving around Jenkins and drummer John Marshall. Although Melody Maker had positively reviewe
d the Soft Machine of 1973 and 1974, Hugh Hopper, involved with the group since replacing bassist Kevin Ayers in 1968, cited Jenkins’s “third rate” musical involvement in his own decision to leave the band, and the band of the late 1970s has been described by band member John Etheridge as wasting its potential.
Sir Karl Jenkins is one of today’s best-loved composers, named the world’s most popular living composer in the Classic FM Ultimate Hall of Fame in 2015.
The Welsh composer’s musical output has been extraordinarily wide-ranging. While he is now best-known for his choral music, with his works like Adiemus and The Armed Man entering the repertoire of choirs worldwide, Sir Karl had his beginnings in jazz, prog rock and advertising music.
After training at the Royal Academy of Music, in the 1970s he played with Ronnie Scott’s jazz band and in prog rock group, Soft Machine. His eclectic musical background is partly what gives his music its distinctive sound, blurring the lines between classical, global music and jazz.
Last year, his classical harp concerto was heard by millions at The King’s Coronation. At that service he made headlines after being almost inexplicably mistaken for Meghan Markle.
When presenting Sir Karl with one of his many awards, Classic FM once said: “As a composer he recognises no boundaries – musical, commercial, geographical, or cultural. His is a way of thinking and composing that is perfectly in tune with the spirit of the times.”
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace (1999)
Jenkins’ monumental Mass for Peace is his most performed work, presented close to 3,000 times in 50 different countries. In 2023, it achieved 1,000 weeks in the UK Classical chart and placed fifth in the Classic FM Hall of Fame, the highest position for a living composer.
Listen out for the ritualistic, quasi military sound of the ‘Sanctus’, the devastating high cello solo and crashing timpani of the ‘Benedictus’, and the soaring beauty of the ‘Agnus Dei’. A modern mass, with timeless appeal.
Adiemus (1993)
‘Adiemus’ is almost impossible to categorise – which is just as its genre-defying composer would like it. The full-blown choral work, which is written in an invented language, combines classical and ‘world’ music influences to create a haunting, powerful piece that would top charts around the world.
It’s not uncommon for classical music to wind up in TV adverts. But in a more unusual turn of events, Karl Jenkins’ now most famous work was originally commissioned for an advert, for Delta Airlines. Sir Karl himself worked in advertising music for a while, following his stint in jazz and prog rock.
To describe ‘Adiemus’ as a work for sopranos and orchestra, would be to box it into a preexisting form that the Welsh composer would likely challenge.
While its inspirations are gospel and African music, and the percussion part grounds the free-flowing vocals with a tribal-like rhythm, the song uses the forms of European classical tradition – like rondo and ternary.
Jenkins, who is one of the most performed living composers in the world, was commissioned by Delta Airlines in 1994 to write a song for their new television advert.
And so, ‘Adiemus’ was born.
Karl Jenkins writes in his performance note for ‘Adiemus’ that the lyrics are written in “an invented language”.
The text has no meaning per-se, rather the vocals were written as sounds to mimic a musical instrument – the idea being that the listener is more able to focus on the free-flowing vocal phrases.
“The text was written phonetically with the words viewed as instrumental sound, the idea being to maximise the melisma by removing the distraction, if one can call it that, of words,” Jenkins says.
The vocal sounds have a folk quality, and the melodies have been attributed to African-tribal and Celtic-style inspiration.
Some have suggested the lyrics bear an unintentional resemblance to Latin. Jenkins later explained that he made up the word ‘Adiemus’ and was unaware that it roughly translates in Latin to ‘We will draw near’.
Karl Jenkins Palladio Piano Solo Sheet Music.
Sir Karl wrote ‘Palladio’ in his advertising music era, for De Beers diamonds. Around the same time, he also wrote and conducted a piece for Levi’s jeans.
The work for string orchestra is one of Sir Karl’s most straight ‘classical’ works, inspired by a 16th-century Italian architect Andrea Palladio. From the off, rigid, resolute string lines become the basis for an increasing sense of drama from the higher strings.
Croatian Chamber Orchestra Mojca Ramušćak, Violin JONATHAN GRIFFITH, conductor
00:00 Palladio intro 00:16 1. Allegretto 04:06 2. Largo 10:29 3. Vivace
Requiem (2005)
From Mozart to Verdi, Requiems have been penned by great composers throughout music history. This 2005 setting of the traditional Latin text has all the movements you would expect – a ‘Dies Irae’, a ‘Confutatis’ and a ‘Lacrimosa’. But the Welsh composer’s take is otherwise completely distinctive, with nods to the conventionally Western buried in a melting pot of musical styles from around the world.
Legendary New Zealand soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, who recorded the ‘In Paradisum’, described Sir Karl’s compositions as “the most amazing, haunting music, that is instantly recognisable and loved across the world.”
Stabat Mater (2008)
A dramatic, reflective work, Sir Karl’s setting of the 13th-century prayer is a powerful musical expression of the suffering of Mary, during Jesus’ crucifixion.
The composer wrote it in 2008 for orchestra and choir, with Middle Eastern vocals and ancient instruments. In the recording, singer Belinda Sykes also performs on the duduk, an Armenian reed instrument. Once again, the composer puts his inimitable stamp on a much-touched text, which has been set by the likes of Haydn, Vivaldi and Dvořák before him.
Gloria (2010)
Jenkins’ setting of the Latin Gloria, for chorus and orchestra, was commissioned by the Really Big Chorus for a performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Often performed in tandem with his ‘Te Deum’, both works were recorded with one of Jenkins’ biggest collaborators, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain.
The jewel in its crown is the exquisite ‘Laudamus Te’. If you already love his more famous ‘Benedictus’, give this a try.
Miserere (2019)
Composed as part of the Welsh maestro’s 75th birthday celebrations, the Miserere has a distinctly Middle Eastern flavour. Motivated by the atrocities of war and the millions of people displaced, Sir Karl dedicated the work to all those affected in conflicts in the Middle East over the last 70 years.
It was conducted by Stephen Layton, who said: “It’s rare I find myself singing things over and over again. There is something very enduring and uniquely wonderful here which I love.”
Its most popular moment is the gorgeously haunting ‘Miserere Mei, deus’.
Browse in the Library:
Artist or Composer / Score name | Cover | List of Contents |
---|---|---|
(500) Days Of Summer Piano Theme ( Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen) | (500) Days Of Summer Piano Theme ( Mychael Danna, Rob Simonsen) | |
10,000 Maniacs Because The Night Piano Solo sheet music | ||
100 Golden Standards The World’s Best Piano Arrangements by the greatest pianists of the Century | The World’s Best Piano Arrangements | |
100 Great Keyboard Intros Songbook | 100 Great Keyboard Intros Songbook | |
100 Greatest Film Scores (Book) by Matt Lawson & Laurence E. MacDonald | ||
100 greatest POP songs | 100 greats pop songs | |
100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll, Selections From Piano Vocal Guitar Sheet Music | 100 Greatest Songs of Rock & Roll, Selections From Piano Vocal Guitar Sheet Music | |
100 Hits Simply The Best – Guitar (Die besten Songs aus Pop Rock) German | 100 Hits Simply The Best (Die besten Songs aus Pop | |
100 Jazz & Blues Greats Book | 100 Jazz & Blues Greats | |
100 Jazz Solos & Etudes by Jacob Wise | 100 Jazz solos | |
100 Light Classics For Piano Solo | 100 Light Classics For Piano Solo | |
100 Must-Know Jazz Tunes with MP3 audio tracks to Play Along | 100 Must-Know Jazz Tune – C version | |
100 of the Best Movie Songs Ever! Piano Vocal Guitar | 100 best movie songs 1&100 best movie songs 2 | |
100 Of The Best Songs Ever For The Keyboard by Daniel Scott | 100 Of The Best Songs Ever For The Keyboard | |
100 Piano Solos (100 popular standards of today arr. by Frank Booth) with guitar chords | 100 piano solos 1 | |
100 Pop Hits Of The 90’s by Dan Coates | 100 Pop Hits Of The 90’s by Dan Coates | |
100 Rock N Roll Standards Piano Vocal Guitar chords | 100 Rock N Roll Standards Piano Vocal Guitar chords contents | |
100 Songs For Kids – Easy Guitar Lyrics with Tablature | 100 Songs For Kids – Easy Guitar Lyrics | |
100 Tunes Every Musician Should Know Professional Chord Changes And Substitutions By Dick Hyman | 100 Tunes Every Musician Should Know Professional Chord Changes And Substitutions By Dick Hyman | |
100 Ultimate Blues Riffs For Piano Keyboards | 100 ultimate riffs jazz piano | |
100 Women Of Pop And Rock 100 songs by 100 artists | 100 Women Of Pop And Rock 100 songs by 100 artists Piano Vocal Guitaral Leonard | |
100 Years Of Popular Music 1980s Part Two Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | 100 Years Of Popular Music 1980s Part Two Piano Vocal Guitar Chords | |
1000 Examples of Musical Dictation (Ladukhin, Nikolay) | 1000 Examples of Musical Dictation | |
1000 Words – Final Fantasy X-2.mscz | ||
1001 Blues Licks by Toby Wine – Piano | 1001 Blues Licks by Toby Wine – Piano | |
1001 Jazz Licks A Complete Jazz Vocabulary For The Improvising Musician (Jack Shneidman) | 1001 Jazz Licks A Complete Jazz Vocabulary For The Improvising Musician (Jack Shneidman) | |
101 Cançoes Que Tocaram O Brasil Nelson Motta (Book) (Brazilian Portuguese) | ||
101 Frank Sinatra Hits For Buskers | 101 Frank Sinatra Hits For Buskers | |
101 Mississippi Delta Blues Fingerpicking Licks Guitar and TAB by Larry McCabe | Larry McCabe – 101 Mississippi Delta Blues Fingerpicking Licks | |
101 Must-Know Blues Licks (Guitar Educational) (Wolf Marshall) PDF + MP3 audio tracks Play Along with Tablature | 101 Must-Know Blues Licks (Guitar Educational) (Wolf Marshall) | |
1015 Songs – The Original Musicians’s (Musicals) | 1015 Songs – The Original, Musicians’s (Musicals) | |
106 Songs Everybody Plays | 106 Songs Everybody Plays | |
11 Short Classical Piano Pieces | 11 Short Classical Piano Pieces | |
116 Arrangements Of Baroque, Classical & Ballet Pieces For Piano Solo | 116 Arrangements Of Baroque, Classical & Ballet Pieces For Piano Solo | |
129 Easy Pieces For Piano Solo, also for beginners | 129 easy pieces for piano solo | |
12th Street RAG – Liberace Collection Book of 5 compositions | ||
12th Street Rag by Euday Bowman (Piano Solo sheet music, Noten, partition, partitura, spartito).mscz | ||
150 Best Songs For Acoustic Guitar | ||
150 More Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever (Songbook) Piano Vocal Guitar | 150 More Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever (Songbook) Piano Vocal Guitar | |
150 Of The Best Jazz Standards Ever | 150 Of The Best Jazz Standards Ever | |
150 Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever 3rd Edition | 150 Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever 3rd Edit1 and 150 Of The Most Beautiful Songs Ever 3rd Edit2 | |
16 Pop and Movies Hits Keyboard Piano Book (Mike Emerson) | 16 Pop and Movies Hits Keyboard Piano Book (Mike Emerson) | |
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue The Musical By Leonard Bernstein And Alan Jay Lerner Vocal Selections | ||
17 Moments of Spring – Mgnovenia (Mikael Tariverdiev) | ||
1812 Overture Op. 49 Thaikovsky (arr. piano solo) | ||
1950s Jazz (Fake Book lead sheet music) | 1950s Jazz (Fake Book lead sheet music) | |
20 Century Fox Theme Transcription By Deusde Coppen | ||
20 Modern BEBOP Licks – by Noah Kellman All Keys with left hands chords | 20 Modern BEBOP Licks – by Noah Kellman All Keys with left hands chords | |
200 Jazz Standards Tunes (chords progressions for C Instruments) Bob Taylor | 200 Jazz Standards Tunes (chords progressions for C Instruments) Bob Taylor | |
200 Of The Best Songs From Jazz Of The ’50s | jazz of the 50s | |
2014 Top Hits Of 2014 Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar | 2014 Top Hits Of 2014 Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar | |
2016 Top Hits Of 2016 Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar | 2016 Top Hits Of 2016 Songbook Piano Vocal Guitar | |
2018 Greatest Pop Movie Hits Songbook For Piano | 2018 Greatest Pop Movie Hits Songbook For Piano | |
2019 GREATEST POP MOVIE HITS SONGBOOK FOR PIANO PART 2 Piano sheet music (Jim Presley) | 2019 GREATEST POP MOVIE HITS SONGBOOK FOR PIANO PART 2 Piano sheet music (Jim Presley) | |
2020 Greatest Pop Piano Sheet Music Book Songbooks For Piano | 2020 Greatest Pop Piano Sheet Music Book Songbooks For Piano | |
20th Century Classics Volume 1 | 20th Century Classics Volume 1 | |
20th Century Jazz Guitar by Richie Zellon (with Tablature) | 20th Century Jazz Guitar by Richie Zellon | |
20th Century Masters Of Fingerstyle Guitar by John Stropes | 20th Century Masters Of Fingerstyle Guitar by John Stropes | |
20th Century Piano Music – Book (1990) David Burge | 20th Century Piano Music Book (1990) David Burge | |
24 Etudes Op.35 – Fernando Sor (1778 – 1839) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
24_Preludes_Op.34 Shostakovich.mscz | ||
25 Short Classical Guitar Pieces (with Tablature) | 25 Short Classical Guitar Pieces | |
262 Classic Piano Rags Various Composers | 262 Classic Piano Rags Various Composers | |
273 Easy And Intermediate Piano Pieces | 273 Easy And Intermediate Piano Pieces contents | |
28 Modern Jazz Trumpet Solos Book 2 | 28 Modern Jazz Trumpet Solos Book 2 | |
3.10 to Yuma (Marco Beltrami) | ||
30 Best Rock Guitar Songs Ever (Guitar TABs) | 30 Best Rock Guitar Songs Ever (Guitar TABs) | |
300 Sacred Songs Melody Lyrics Chords Fake Book Melody Lyrics Chords | 300 Sacred Songs Melody Lyrics Chords Fake Book Melody Lyrics Chords_compressed | |
36 Christmas Carols Songs | 36 christmas carols songs | |
38 Special Guitar Anthology Guitar Recorded Vers. with Tablature | 38 special guitar anthology | |
39 Progressive Solos For Classical Guitar (with Tablature) | 39 Progressive Solos For Classical Guitar | |
39 Progressive Solos For Classical Guitar Book 2 (with Tablature) | 39 Progressive Solos For Classical Guitar Book 2 sheet music pdf | |
40 Easy Guitar Pieces (Painted with the Sound) | ||
49 Most Popular Jazz Songs | 49 Most Popular Jazz Songs | |
5 Christmas Songs Sheet Music Trumpet in B & Piano accompaniment (Viktor Dick) | 5 Christmas Songs Sheet Music Trumpet in B & Piano accompaniement (Viktor Dick) | |
50 Broadway Shows 50 Broadway Songs | 50 Broadway Shows 50 Broadway Songs | |
50 Classical Guitar Solos In Tablature (Howard Wallach) with Tablature | 50 Classical Guitar Solos In Tablature (Howard Wallach) | |
50 Essential Bebop Heads Arranged For Guitar Tablature (best lines Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and more) | 50 Essential Bebop Heads Arranged For Guitar Tablature (best lines Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and more) | |
50 Gershwin Classics Songbook | 50 Gershwin Classics Songbook | |
50 Jazz Standards Every Jazz Musician Needs To Know with MP3 audio tracks to Play Along | 50 Jazz Standards Every Jazz Musician Needs To Know – C version | |
50 Most Popular Classical Melodies (Easy Piano) | 50 Most Popular Classical Melodies | |
50 Of The Most Beautiful Piano Love Songs Solos Ever. | 50 OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PIANO LOVE SONGS SOLOS EVER | |
50 Piano Arrangements Of Hymns And Gospel Songs (Fred Bock’s Best) | 50 Piano Arrangements Of Hymns sheet music | |
50 Piano Classics – Easy | 50 piano classics | |
50 Riffs For Blues Guitar – Martin Shellard with MP3 audio to Play Along with Tablature | 50 riffs for blues guitar | |
500 Piano Intros For The Great Standards – Steinway | 500 piano intros | |
55 Country Classics (Voice, piano, Guitar) | 55 Country Classics (Voice, piano, Guitar) | |
557 Jazz Standards (Sheet Music – in C for all instruments) swing to bop (lead sheet) | Standards (Sheet Music – Piano) | |
60 Progressive Solos For Classical Guitar By Mark Phillips (with Tablature) | ||
67 Fun Songs arranged by Jon Schmidt (Piano) | ||
70’s Hits (Easy Piano Solos) – Hans-Gunter Heumann [Piano, Vocal, Chords] | ||
750.000 anni fa.l’Amore (Banco del Mutuo Soccorso) | ||
75th Anniversary A Tribute In Music From The 20s Through The 90s Various Artists Warner Bros | 75th Anniversary A Tribute In Music From The 20s Through The 90s Various Artists Warner Bros | |
78 Quarterly No 1 and 2 (1967) Book magazine | ||
8 ½ Theme (Nino Rota) | ||
8 Femmes (Krishna Levy) | ||
8 Jazz scales you need to know.mscz | ||
80 Most Requested LDS Songs (Mormon music) | 80 Most Requested LDS Songs (Mormon music) | |
88 Piano Classics For Beginners – David Dutkanicz | 88 Piano Classics For Beginners – David Dutkanicz | |
88 The Giants Of Jazz Piano by Robert L. Foerschuk (Book) foreword by Keith Jarrett | ||
9 easy guitar pieces – Sveinn Eythorsson | ||
97 Oeuvres pour Guitare de Jean Francois DELCAMP | 97 Oeuvres pour Guitare de Jean Francois DELCAMP | |
99 Easy Piano Pieces | 99 Easy Piano Pieces | |
A Beautiful Mind – A Kalidoscope of Mathematics | ||
A Beautiful Mind – All Love Can Be | A Beautiful Mind – All Love Can Be | |
A Beautiful Mind – Kalidoscope | ||
A Child Is Born – Oscar Peterson (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A Chordal Concept For Jazz Guitar by Peter O’Mara | A Chordal Concept For Jazz Guitar by Peter O’Mara | |
A Ciascuno il Suo (Luis Bacalov) | ||
A Clare Benediction – John Rutter – Piano Solo Arr. (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana) | A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana) | |
A Clockwork Orange (Beethoviana) (Musescore File).mscz | ||
A Comparative Study Of The 24 Preludes Of A. Scriabin And Sergei Rachmaninoff (book) | ||
A Complete Course of Instruction For The Piano-Forte (Dr Karl Merz) (1885) | Instruction… | |
A Cool Yule. Ten Jazzy Christmas Songs | A Cool Yule. Ten Jazzy Christmas Songs | |
A Creative Approach To Jazz Piano Harmony Bill Dobbins | A Creative Approach To Jazz Piano Harmony Bill Dobbins | |
A Creative Approach To Practicing JAZZ – by David Baker | A Creative Approach To pravtising Jazz | |
A Dance of Dragons – Blood of the Dragon (Game of Thrones) Piano solo arr. | ||
A Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. 4 (A.D. 1450-1880) Edited in 1889 | ||
A dozen A Day Book 1 Technical exercises for the piano | A dozen A Day Book 1 Technical exercises for the piano |