Monadnock Chorus will present its winter concert, “The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace” by Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins, on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 13 and 14, at 4 p.m. at the Peterborough Town House.
Premiered in 2000, the work is both a reflection on the devastation of war and a call for peace. Chorus leaders note that, 25 years after its debut, the themes remain resonant. Dr. Sandra Howard, the chorus’s new artistic director, will conduct the 80-voice ensemble, vocal soloists, a muezzin, and a professional chamber group.
Prior to each performance, music historian Dr. Joseph Darby will offer a lecture providing historical context for Jenkins’ composition, which was commissioned by the Royal Armouries Museum and dedicated to victims of the Kosovo war in 1998-99. The Mass incorporates the 15th-century tune “L’homme armé,” along with texts drawn from a range of sources including the Catholic Mass, Rudyard Kipling, the Mahabharata, and Hiroshima poet Toge Sankichi.
Tickets are $25 for adults, with free admission for students, and are available at MonadnockChorus.org or at the door.