His music has been performed all over the world, now Karl Jenkins’ latest premiere is taking place in Shanghai. He tells Karen Price how he’s racing against the clock to make it there
KARL JENKINS is on a mission to get to China.
The Swansea composer’s latest work will be premiered at the Shanghai Spring Festival next week. It’s the first time the festival has commissioned a British composer.
But due to the travel disruptions caused by the volcanic ash, his original flight has been cancelled so he’s searching for an alternative.
Although he’s not conducting the piece, which is called Zhi Jiangnan, he’s hoping to be in China’s largest city to hear the music being performed in front of an audience for the first time by the choir and orchestra of the Opera of Shanghai.
“It’s not crucial that I’m there as I’m not conducting it but I have been invited as guest of honour,” says Jenkins, who is famous for his innovative crossover project Adiemus.
“The main thing is that I’ve written the piece.”
Jenkins was commissioned by the festival, which is running in conjunction with the Shanghai Expo, to write a piece of music based on how the area looks through a visitor’s eyes.
So he travelled to the city to gain some first-hand knowledge before starting work on the project, which is supported by the British Council.
“It was the first time I’d been to China and it was interesting,” says Jenkins, who was born and raised in Penclawdd and began his diverse musical career as an oboist in the National Youth Orchestra of Wales.
“Shanghai is a big bustling city and all the brand names are there. It looks like other major cities and there’s a massive financial district with skyscrapers.
“But there are pockets of tradition – there are old villages and parts of the city that look like how you imagine China to be.”
Jenkins was given a Chinese poem which he’s incorporated into Zhi Jiangnan, which in English means On Visiting Jiangnan.
Parts of it are sung in Chinese and parts in English.
“I wanted to mix the two cultures,” he says.
Although Jenkins has written many Welsh/English pieces, it’s the first time he’s worked on a bilingual project.
“But I’ve introduced ethnic elements in the past,” he says. “In Requiem I had Japanese poetry and in Stabat Mater I had Arabic text.”
The new nine-minute work also features a Chinese instrument called an erhu, often referred to as a “Chinese violin”.
“It’s a like a two-string violin,” says Jenkins, who studied music at University College, Cardiff, and at the Royal Academy of Music. “It’s a folk instrument and sounds particularly Chinese.”
Jenkins celebrated his 65th birthday last year – a major celebration was held at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff – but has no plans to slow down.
He’s currently putting the finishing touches to the album, Gloria, recorded last week with the London Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Choir of Great Britain. It also features New Zealand soprano Hayley Westenra.
Released on EMI Classics later this year, the title track will receive its world premiere at London’s Royal Albert Hall in July.
This year also marks the 10th anniversary of his celebrated work The Armed Man: A Mass For Piece.
“There will be a series of concerts to mark the anniversary and the first one will be part of the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in July. There will also be concerts in London, Cardiff and Manchester,” says the composer.
“There have been 1,000 performances in 10 years, so roughly two a week somewhere in the world since it was written. I’m amazed by the impact it’s had. A lot of my work is taken up by choirs now and sung around the world.”
Earlier this year, his Euphonium Concerto received its US premiere in New York and he’s currently working on a project about the bards of Wales which will be in three languages – Hungarian, English and Welsh – and premiered in Budapest.
But, for now, Jenkins’ thoughts are on Shanghai – he’s still hoping to make it there in time for the premiere of Zhi Jiangnan on Wednesday.
“I’m very pleased with it so I’d love to be there,” he adds.
