Welsh composer makes history as music tops worldwide chart

Welsh composer makes history as music tops worldwide chart18 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleLena-Zaharah MohammedBBC Wales Classic FM/Matt CrossickSir Karl Jenkins' The Armed Man takes top spot in Classic FM Hall of Fame 2026A piece of music by a Welsh composer highlighting the terror and tragedy of war has topped the world's largest annual classical music survey.The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace, by Welsh composer Sir Karl Jenkins, was voted the most popular work in the Classic FM Hall of Fame 2026.Nearly 90,000 public votes were cast in this year's chart, with the new number one revealed by presenter Dan Walker on Monday.Sir Karl, who was born and raised in Penclawdd, Swansea, said it was "gratifying" to be the first living composer to take the top spot.Speaking on BBC Radio Wales, he said: "It feels good to be alive and get the prize, rather than to be dead and pick it up. It is strange that that is the case."Dedicated to the victims of the Kosovo War, the 82-year-old's choral work from 2000 reflects on the devastation of conflict while expressing hope for peace."Against the backdrop of current world events, its message remains strikingly relevant, underscoring enduring themes of peace and hope for the future," said Classic FM.It is also the first choral work to claim the top spot since the poll began in 1996.The composer also had four other pieces in this year's chart - Adiemus (number 66), Palladio (82), Gloria (191) and Requiem (300).The Armed Man was originally commissioned in 1998 by various bodies as a mass to mark the millennium, said Sir Karl, adding that it had been performed "globally" 4,000 times since 2000."It's a narrative of conflict and war," he said. "It begins with peace and preparation for war and for conflict, the reflection after this, then hoping for a better future."But that, of course, never happened. And here we are 25 years later in the...