Adiemus

Adiemus /ædiˈeɪməs/ is a series of vocalise-style albums by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins. It is also the title of the opening track called "Adiemus" on the first album in the series, Songs of Sanctuary.

Concept

Each Adiemus album is a collection of song-length pieces featuring harmonised vocal melody against an orchestra background. There are no lyrics as such, instead the vocalists sing syllables and 'words' invented by Jenkins. However, rather than creating musical interest from patterns of phonemes (as in scat singing, or in numerous classical and crossover compositions), the language of Adiemus is carefully stylised so as not to distract the listener's attention from the pitch and timbre of the voice. Syllables rarely end in consonants, for example. In this respect it is similar to Japanese and several other languages. The core concept of Adiemus is that the voice should be allowed to function as nothing more than an instrument, an approach that was a trend in some New Age and World Music choral writing in the mid to late 1990s. (compare, for example Vangelis's score for the film 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), or "Dogora", a symphonic suite by French composer Étienne Perruchon).

Adiemus (song)

Adiemus is a new age song written by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins and performed by Adiemus. It was officially released on Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary in 1995.

The song was used in a 1994 Delta Air Lines commercial directed by Hugh Hudson. Female vocals were recorded by Miriam Stockley and Mary Carewe with their vocal harmony tracks being multiplayed in the studio.

Recording

Adiemus was written in 1994 by Karl Jenkins, and it premiered in Delta Air Lines television commercial. An important contribution to the song was made by the British composer Mike Ratledge, who was, like Karl Jenkins, a former member of Soft Machine. Jenkins chose South African singer Miriam Stockley as a lead vocalist due to her wide range of intonation and Purley resident Mary Carewe for additional vocals. The London Philharmonic Orchestra also performed.

The main idea was to create a modern song using classical forms, such as rondo and ternary. The voice is used as another instrument to make music and not to convey any message through lyrics. The song is a mix of African-tribal and Celtic-style melodies. The song was written in D minor.

Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot

Released in 2001, Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot is the fourth album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins as part of the Adiemus project. Inspired by Celtic history and mythology, this album served as the soundtrack to the S4C International documentary The Celts. In addition to rich string orchestrations and vocals borrowing from world musical styles common to Adiemus, Jenkins adds the accompaniment of ethnic instruments such as the Uilleann pipes and Carnyx.

Track listing

All tracks by Karl Jenkins

Personnel

Rondo

Rondo, and its French part-equivalent, rondeau, are words that have been used in music in a number of ways, most often in reference to a musical form, but also to a character type that is distinct from the form.

Form

The term and formal principle may have derived from the medieval poetic form, rondeau, which contains repetitions of a couplet separated by longer sections of poetry. (Arnold Schoenberg disputed this claim of origin in an essay in Style and Idea, noting that "if musical rondo form were really supposed to be modelled on the poetic form, it could only be so very superficially".)

In rondo form, a principal theme (sometimes called the "refrain") alternates with one or more contrasting themes, generally called "episodes," but also occasionally referred to as "digressions" or "couplets." Possible patterns in the Classical period include: ABA, ABACA, or ABACABA. These are sometimes designated "first rondo", "second rondo", and "third rondo", respectively. The first rondo is distinguished from the three-part song form principally by the fact that at least one of the themes is a song form in itself, but the difference in melodic and rhythmic content of the themes in the rondo form is usually greater than in the song form, and the accompanimental figuration in the parts of the rondo (unlike the song form) is usually contrasted. The number of themes can vary from piece to piece, and the recurring element is sometimes embellished and/or shortened in order to provide for variation.

Rondo (soft drink)

Rondo was a citrus-flavored soft drink available in limited U.S. markets in the late 1970s and early 1980s, one which was "blended from fine essences", and "lightly carbonated". It is mostly famous for its slogan - "Rondo---The Thirst Crusher" - as well as its commercials, featuring people crushing the cans in various ways. The cans featured bright yellow packaging for regular Rondo and green packaging for Diet Rondo.

Schweppes sells a similar drink in Australia under the name Solo.

The drink and its name were parodied in the 2006 film Idiocracy as "Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator".

Slogans

See also

References

Rondo (series)

The Rondo series is a children's fantasy novel trilogy written by Jennifer Rowe under the pen name Emily Rodda.

The Key to Rondo

The Key to Rondo is the first book of the Rondo trilogy.

Plot

After Leo's Great Aunt Bethany died, Leo received a family heirloom - an elaborate music box. There are four rules to the box: never wind the box while the music plays, never turn the key more than three times, never move the box before the music stops, and never close the lid until the music has stopped. Leo, being the predictable, responsible boy he was, never even considered breaking the rules. And if he hadn't, perhaps for the rest of his life, the music box would remain just that - a music box. Yet no one expected Mimi Langlander to enter the equation.

Shortly after Leo received the music box, his cousin Mimi, along with her beloved dog, came to visit. Mimi was sour, sarcastic and short-tempered; therefore it came as no surprise that she was friendless. Even her own family couldn't stand her, Leo included. Things were exacerbated when Mimi, disregarding the rules, winded the music box four times. Out stepped the evil Blue Queen, who introduced the kingdom of Rondo, the world inside the music box, to the Langlander cousins. The Blue Queen informed the cousins that for generations, Langlanders have traveled to Rondo using the Key of Rondo, which allows them entry to both worlds. The Blue Queen then attempted to lure the Langlanders into Rondo, and when they refused, stole Mimi's dog Mutt back into Rondo, leaving the 'Key', a ring, behind.