The Nova Voce Newsletter (NVN) recently sat down for an imaginary interview with Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins, to discuss his TTBB composition ‘Praise’, which Nova Voce will be singing in its Spring concerts. Here is an edited version of our conversation:
NVN: Hello Sir Karl. It’s a pleasure to speak with you.
KJ: Adus ava patus!
NVN: Uh … excuse me?
KJ: A mayaka maya akala
NVN: Er, is that Latin you’re speaking, or maybe Greek? I’m sorry I’m not a Classics scholar …
KJ: Nope.
NVN: Oh. How about Maori then?
KJ: Negative.
NVN: Klingon?
KJ: I’m not a Trekkie, sorry.
NVN: Ok final guess – Orkian?
KJ: Huh?
NVN: You know, Orkian – Nanoo Nanoo – like Mork from Ork?
KJ: Hehe. Look I wasn’t speaking any kind of language at all. That was just a bunch of fun, phonetic words I made up.
NVN: Well, those words sound a lot like the lyrics in your 1997 composition ‘Praise’ – which Nova Voce will be singing in 2025. I gotta say – the lyrics are pretty weird.
KJ: Thanks for the compliment!
NVN: So why did you write a song with a bunch of words that – while they might sound nice to the ear – have no specific meaning?
KJ: Well, that’s the whole point – I didn’t want them to have any particular meaning. Think of them as instrumental sounds, designed to remove the distraction of words from the music. I guess the meaning can be whatever the singers, and the audience, take it to be.
NVN: But the song is called ‘Praise’ – so that sounds kind of religious, or worshipful, in meaning.
KJ: I wrote that song for a set of praise concerts the BBC was producing, but I didn’t want the song to represent any known religion. I wanted it to be accessible to anyone no matter what their faith, or lack thereof. So the choir that’s singing the piece, or the people hearing it, can take it as praising any kind of entity they want.
NVN: Our co-conductor, Bill Perrot, chose this song for our choir this season. He says it’s quite rare in the world of choral music for songs to be written like this, with made-up nonsense lyrics with no language, and with no meaning. Bill says the song demonstrates “the universality of music.”
KJ: Perceptive guy, your Bill.
NVN: Yeah, we’re lucky to have him.
KJ: Well, good luck with learning the song. I hope your choir succeeds in mastering the phonetic pronunciations of ‘Praise’. My one piece of advice – try to enjoy yourselves. Singing is supposed to be fun!
NVN: Well Sir Karl, thanks for trying to help me understand how to approach the song. Or, as the great Canadian columnist Allan Fotheringham used to say, thanks for muddifying the fuzzification!
KJ: Any time. Amaradus pasava, lapusamala malara!
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