Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man voted to highest ever Classic FM Hall of Fame spot in its 25th anniversary year.

In its 25th anniversary year, Sir Karl Jenkins’ great choral work The Armed Man: A Mass For Peace has been voted to No.2, its highest ever spot in the Classic FM Hall of Fame.

The Armed Man received its premiere in April 2000, performed by the National Youth Choir of Great Britain at the Royal Albert Hall, with Julian Lloyd Webber as cello soloist for the much-loved ‘Benedictus’. This concert also marked the beginning of Classic FM Live, which began 25 years ago this year.

Sir Karl told Classic FM: “With 2025 marking the 25th anniversary of The Armed Man, I look back with great fondness to the premiere in 2000 at the first ever Classic FM Live concert, and I’m delighted that this piece has found resonance globally with so many of you over the years.” 

The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace was commissioned by the Royal Armouries to mark the transition from one millennium to another. It reflects on the passing of ‘the most war-torn and destructive century in human history’ and looks forward in hope to a more peaceful future. The Armed Man is dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo conflict, whose tragedy was unfolding as it was being composed.

A 25th anniversary edition of the original recording has been released by Decca, and is available on vinyl and on CD.

National Youth Choir (18-25 Years) took a moment, ahead of their sell-out homecoming concert at Sinfonia Smith Square last week, to sing The Armed Man a special rendition of our infamous 'happy birthday'.

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