Adiemus Songs Of Sanctuary

Released in 1995, Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary is the first album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins as part of the Adiemus project. The album is the creation of three veteran musicians: composer Karl Jenkins, Mike Ratledge (like Jenkins a former member of Soft Machine) as arranger of programmed percussion, and vocalist Miriam Stockley. They also enlist the talents of the London Philharmonic, which helps to balance out the huge sound created by all the layers of Stockley's voice and the additional vocals by Mary Carewe. A completely new remaster by Simon Heyworth was released on SACD in 2003 providing a considerable improvement in clarity to the entire work.

If you have seen a Delta Airlines television commercial that features an African-sounding, childlike choral chant in its soundtrack, you have experienced the title track from this album. Adiemus is largely the brainchild of former Soft Machine keyboardist Karl Jenkins, with participation from independent vocalist Miriam Stockley, a native of South Africa; the London Philharmonic Orchestra (which Jenkins conducts on this album); and others. The music of Adiemus will prompt inevitable comparisons to acts such as Dead Can Dance, Enigma, and Deep Forest. In the album's liner notes, Jenkins describes Songs of Sanctuary as "an extended choral-type work based on the European classical tradition, but where the vocal sound is more akin to 'ethnic' or 'world' music."

Karl Jenkins, the classically trained master of global `crossover,' has composed a new work for choir and orchestra, Stella Natalis, as a gift to music lovers of all stylistic and spiritual backgrounds for the 2009 holiday season. Its coupling, Joy to the world, features arrangements by Jenkins of carols from around the globe in keeping with the composer's inclusive and universal approach to the message of music.