Adiemus

Adiemus is a musical project created by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins, best known for blending orchestral and choral arrangements with invented, wordless vocal syllables rather than lyrics in any existing language. The concept grew out of a 1994 Delta Air Lines advertisement Jenkins scored, whose choral theme became the basis for the album «Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary», released the same year and driven by the title track «Adiemus».

The music sits at the crossing point of classical, world music, and ambient pop, using massed voices as a purely textural, almost instrumental element over lush orchestration — an approach that helped popularize what came to be called the "adiemus" or invented-language choral style in film and television music. The project's commercial success led to a series of further «Adiemus» albums through the late 1990s and 2000s, including material such as «Cantus Insolitus», «Song Of Tears», «Cantus Inaequalis» and «Elegia», expanding the sound with additional choral and orchestral pieces.

Karl Jenkins wrote and produced the Adiemus catalogue himself, drawing on his background in jazz, rock, and advertising music before turning to concert composition; the project's crossover appeal brought his work to a wide international audience and paved the way for his later acclaimed works such as «The Armed Man». Adiemus remains recognized as a distinctive entry in the "vocal world music" genre of the 1990s.