Karl Jenkins, Composer

First Church of Belmont UU, MA. Directed by Alfa Joy Radford, Minister of Music and Organist

This piece by Karl Jenkins, a contemporary Welsh composer, features a chorus which sings in Latin and Japanese, and juxtaposes and overlaps psalms with haiku; the chords and overtones are eerie, unexpected and exquisite. The shakuhachi plays over and through the lyrics and orchestration.

The Poems:

 Gozan: “The snow of yesterday that fell like cherry blossoms is water once again”

Issho: “From deep in my heart how beautiful are the snow clouds in the west”‘

Hokusai: “Now as a spirit I shall roam the summer fields”

Kaga no Chiyo: “Having seen the moon even I take leave of this life with a blessing”

Banzan: “Farewell, I pass as all things do like dew on the grass”

Check out this video with the composer:

Requiem: http://www.karljenkins.com/video/view/karl-jenkins-requiem-interview-1

404 Concord Ave, Belmont, MA 02478, Tel: (617) 484-1054 Ext. 206; http://uubelmont.org/