All set for a Mass for Peace with The Armed Man
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Harin Amirthanathan leading the choir of the Colombo Philharmonic in practice. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
By Shannon Salgadoe
Walking into St Andrew’s Scots Kirk in Colombo 3 on either a Monday or Friday evening, one can hear the beautiful voices of the Colombo Philharmonic Choir (CPC) as they rehearse for their upcoming performance. One of the country’s oldest active choirs, the CPC on Saturday, March 4, will perform a work by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins titled The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, originally commissioned by the UK’s Royal Armouries Museum to mark the move into the new millennium and dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict.
Unfazed by the sound of the passing train, the choir goes on rehearsing, only stopping to listen to an interesting anecdote from choral director Harin Amirthanathan, who took over the choir in 2018.
Even though the choir is performing the work this March, the plans for the performance came together a year ago, inspired by – although not fully – the ongoing protests at the time. At the time, the choir had not performed for approximately a year and a half and Harin, who has always been somewhat partial to Karl Jenkins due to the relevance of his works, felt the composer’s Mass would be a good start.
“Of course, we came here, started rehearsing, and I still remember the looks on their faces because the protest was at its height there in Galle Face, and here we were singing this. It felt so rather emotional as well as very personal,” remembers Harin. The lack of fuel threw a cog in the wheels and The Armed Man had to be put on hold indefinitely. The choir did go on to have a performance at Christmas, and with the same momentum, restarted rehearsals for The Armed Man. “Now we’re putting it all together and we are really excited. We are doing it in a short span but I think the music itself is not too difficult – it’s just getting all the emotions right. Putting it together with the instruments will be another challenge,” acknowledges Harin.
The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace consists of 13 movements, and as a whole, charts the overall sentiment of war, from start to finish. In addition to sections of the Roman Catholic Ordinary Mass, the work incorporates text from other religious and historical sources like the Mahabharatha, and poetry from the likes of Rudyard Kipling and Alfred Lord Tennyson.
The Mass for Peace begins with a marching drumbeat and the tune of a 15th-century French folk song which calls out that the armed man is to be feared. A solemn Kyrie is followed by an appeal that calls on God to be merciful. Jenkins then masterfully pairs the hopeful lyrics of the Sanctus with a contrasting setting of percussion and brass, giving the whole movement a sense of foreboding and unease. The Hymn Before Action, with words by Rudyard Kipling, has soldiers preparing for the ultimate sacrifice.
Following the battle is a lament set to the words of the Japanese poet Toge Sankichi and another set to the words of the Mahabharata. Although more hopeful towards the end, the culmination of the Mass is, just like the rest of Jenkins’ work, unpredictable with its hymn containing words from the Book of Revelation.
The entire Mass is overwhelming in its emotion with both the music and words bringing forth images of a war which is not too distant for us. The sense of unease felt the night before the battle, the mourning of the perished, the reflective numbness, and an eerie sense of calm afterwards can all be felt as skilfully intended by Jenkins.
Sharmini Wikramanayake, President of the Executive Committee of CPC says, “We’ve been active for 68 years so we have done big masses but this is quite a big project after a long span and it is the first time we’re singing Jenkins.”
“I’m really excited to do this because it feels very relevant to what we are going through right now. It need not be a war, but still be very relevant,” says Harin.
The choir will be accompanied by Denham Pereira on organ and the Colombo Brass Ensemble led by Naveen Fernando.
Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace will take place on Saturday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Polwatte, Colombo 3. Entrance is by programme (Rs 1000) available at the door.
For enquiries, please contact Sharmini at 077 770 2642
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