"Adiemus" is a world music song written by

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

composer

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

and performed by

Miriam Stockley Miriam Arlene Stockley (born 15 April 1962) is a British singer. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and her work is influenced by the African music of her home country. Her distinctive ''vocal warm up#Vocalise, vocalise'' style gained in ...

with

Mary Carewe Mary Carewe is an English singer and vocal coach, best known as one of the lead vocalists in Karl Jenkins' musical project '' Adiemus'', often singing harmonies with Miriam Stockley. She was born in England and trained as a singer in London. He ...

. It was recorded by the Adiemus project and officially released on the 1995 '' Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary'' album.

Recording

"Adiemus" was written in 1994 by Karl Jenkins and premiered in a 1994

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the List of airlines by foundation date, world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atla ...

television advertisement. The song was also used in some Delta in-flight videos. Jenkins chose singer Miriam Stockley as a lead vocalist due to her wide range and Purley resident

for additional vocals. The

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

also performed. The main idea was to create a modern song using classical forms, such as rondo and ternary. The lyrics themselves have no meaning. The vocals are simply used as another instrument to make music and not to convey any message. The song, written in D minor, is a mix of African-tribal and Celtic-style melodies. The song was also used as a soundtrack within the Italian TV programme

Ciao Darwin ''Ciao Darwin'' is a variety game show format created and hosted by Paolo Bonolis (Stefano Magnaghi is the co-creator), and produced by the Italian mass media company Mediaset. There are two competing teams of 50 people each, usually made up of ...

and as the opening titles music on the Biblical series Testament: The Bible in Animation.

Credits and personnel

– composer, lyrics, conductor, producer *

– lead vocals * Mary Carewe – additional vocals *

Mike Ratledge Michael Roland Ratledge (born 6 May 1943) is a British musician. A part of the Canterbury scene, he was a founding member of Soft Machine. He was the last founding member to leave the group, doing so in 1976. Biography and career Ratledge was ...

– arranger (programmed

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

), producer * Mick Taylor – flute *

- Violins, violas, cellos, double basses, percussion.

Charts

References

{{reflist 1995 compositions 1995 singles Choral compositions Compositions in D minor Compositions by Karl Jenkins