Diamond Music

Diamond Music is a 1996 album by Welsh composer Karl Jenkins.

Perhaps one of Jenkins most recognised works is the first movement of the "Palladio" suite, inspired by 16th-century architect Andrea Palladio and in the style of a concerto grosso. This piece, in varying arrangements, has served as the music for DeBeers television advertisements since the company's "Shadows and Light" campaign in the mid-1990s. For this reason, the album is titled Diamond Music and the cover art features shadowed figures and photographs of diamonds much like the imagery used in the ad campaign.

Jenkin's compositions in this album encompass a broad polystylistic range, contrasting delicate pieces written for string quartet with the broad sound of a string orchestra. "String Quartet No. 2" includes movements in the Baroque style of Antonio Vivaldi ("The Fifth Season") as well as a tango, waltz, hoedown, and others. The four "Adiemus Variations" are reworkings of Jenkins' own piece "Adiemus" from Adiemus: Songs of Sanctuary. Additionally, the second movement of "Palladio" served as the theme for "Cantus Insolitus" also heard on Songs of Sanctuary.