With its message of peace, Karl Jenkins’s Benedictus brings solace in hard times.
Sir Karl Jenkins’ Benedictus is the penultimate movement from his anti-war mass, The Armed Man. Written twenty-five years ago this year and performed over three thousand times, Sir Karl dedicated it to the victims of the 1998-1999 Kosovo war. It was originally commissioned by The Royal Armouries Museum and premiered for the millennium.
The Armed Man as a whole reflects the descent into war, but the movement of Benedictus’ emerges as a message of hope and peace in the aftermath. Benedictus is recognised for its haunting cello theme, in a register unusually high for this resonant instrument. The cello solo gradually expands into a full choir and orchestra.
Benedictus has given solace to listeners through some of the most difficult moments of their lives. We hear some of their stories. Featuring:
British Armed Forces Veteran Michael Young, who served in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan;
Reverand Charles Thody, Priest in Lincolnshire and chaplain for the NHS;
Dane Coetzee, cellist in Cape Town, South Africa;
And the composer of Benedictus himself, Sir Karl Jenkins and his wife, Lady Carol Jenkins.
Producer: Eliza Lomas for BBC Audio Bristol
Sound Engineer: Ilse Lademann
Editor: Emma Harding
November 8, 2024
Art
Books
Social Issues
Grace Ebert
Morel Doucet. Photo by Alaric S. Campbell. All images excerpted from ‘Crafted Kinship’ by Malene Barnett and published by Artisan Books, © 2024
Whether drawing on connections to the land and memory or speaking to colonial histories and African origins, each artist offers insight into their practice.
A new book by Malene Barnett celebrates more than 60 artists, designers, and craftspeople whose work has been shaped by their Caribbean roots.
Published by Artisan, Crafted Kinship: Inside the Creative Practices of Contemporary Black Caribbean Makers peers into a range of multi-faceted practices influenced by the diaspora. Whether drawing on connections to the land and memory or speaking to colonial histories and African origins, each creative shares insight into their practices, histories, and communities through insightful interviews.
Firelei Báez
Several artists featured previously on Colossal have contributed their stories to the nearly 400-page tome. Firelei Báez, for example, discusses how her work strives to center the Caribbean within a global context by capturing traditions like Carnival or perfectly translating the way sunlight would filter through her grandmother’s backyard in the Dominican Republic.
Charmaine Watkiss
Similarly, Morel Doucet explains how foregrounding his Haitian identity has allowed him to tell his own story, rather than have others decide who or what his delicate, ceramic sculptures are about.
Also included in the book are April Bey, who illuminates the relationship between opulence and thriving futures, and Sonya Clark, who unravels the Eurocentric distinction between art and craft. Barnett, too, is an artist and maker who shares glimpses into her studio and meticulous ceramic practices. […]
Sonya Clark. Photo by Alaric S. Campbell
Source: ‘Crafted Kinship’ Unravels the Creative Practices of 60 Carribbean Artists, Designers, and Makers
