Lise & I first discovered Adiemus at my favourite second hand record store, Good Vibrations, in Bay St, Brighton (sadly no longer there). They were playing it and Lise was enthralled by it, so we bought the CD.
Adiemus is The London Philharmonic (it’s an orchestra with a choir) playing music composed by Karl Jenkins. The trick about this music is that the lyrics aren’t exactly “lyrics.” The choir sings in gibberish. The sound the choir makes is based not on words, but the sounds of syllables.
To me it’s classical music with a Celtic slant.
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adiemus
www: http://www.karljenkins.com/adiemus_story.php (the Adiemus creators website)
Adiemus – Songs Of Sanctuary
1995
This was the first CD we got of Adiemus. I guess it’s a wholly new experience listening to it for the first time. Pop music listeners would think “OMG DIS IS CLASSICAL MUZAC LOL,” whilst classical music listeners would think, “What is this nonsense?! It’s not classical music, what, what!!”
You may not find this accessible if you listen to commercial radio, but if you like both classical and modern music or world music this album has some beautiful and some quite powerful moments in it and is well worth finding.
Standout tracks are Adiemus, Cantus Inaequalis, Cantus Insolitus, Catnus Iteratus, Amaté Adea and Hymn.
7.5/10
Adiemus – Cantata Mundi
1996
This is the second Adiemus album. Jenkins got a bit more adventurous on this album and whilst the gibberish is still the main focus, the music itself has been tinkered with, in some cases to good effect, in others to it’s detriment.
There is a hint of Enigma in some tracks and a lot more dramatic rises and falls in others. Some tracks just sound like The Lion King (I guess it’s more to the point that The Lion King sounds like those tracks).
Some tracks I like more than the original album, others I like more when they’ve finished. Overall not quite as good as Songs Of Sanctuary.
Standout tracks are Song Of Tears, Chorale II (Roosh Ka Ma) and Song Of The Odyssey.
6.5/10
