Adiemus

A project led by British composer and multi-instrumentalist Karl Jenkins (born in Wales in 1944), Adiemus was born in 1994. What started out as a commission for a Delta Airlines advertising theme turned into a perennial act of new age choral and orchestral music. A seminal piece released as a single in 1995, "Adiemus" was followed by the album Songs of Sanctuary, blending Celtic and African idioms. On subsequent recordings, Karl Jenkins is joined by singers Miriam Stockley and Mary Carewe, and leading a string orchestra, choir and percussion group, he follows up the success of the first album with Adiemus II: Cantata Mundi (1996), Adiemus III: Dances of Time (remix album, 1997), Adiemus IV: The Eternal Knot (2001), Adiemus Live (2002) and Adiemus Vocalise (2004). Each album has its own musical homogeneity, tracing different eras from Gregorian chant through the Middle Ages and Baroque to the contemporary period. Testifying to its success and regular returns to the classical music charts, several compilations have also been released, including The Journey: The Best of Adiemus (2000), New, Best & Live (2002), The Essential Adiemus (2003), The Essential Collection (2006) and Adiemus - The Collection (2013).