Anuna
Mesa Mesa Arts Center - Ikeda Theater Ticket price: $45.00-$45.00 |
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Tucson Fox Theater |
"My original, and probably naive, concept was to create something that would make the general Irish public aware of the beauty of choral music by introducing it to them in a way that they could understand,” said Anúna composer, manager and member Michael McGlynn. “In order to do this I researched for many years the fragments of medieval Irish music that existed and introduced these to the audience in dramatic arrangements. I also arranged a number of traditional songs, but in an unusual way, utilizing contemporary vocal techniques that the Irish audience would not have been very familiar with." Michael had already established himself as a composer by the time he focused himself on developing Anúna’s potential. "My own compositions won just about every compositional prize that
I entered in the early nineties, but were receiving no The development of Anúna was slow but sure. By 1991 the choir had gone from singing European and Irish music by contemporary Irish composers to performing Michael's arrangements and original works almost exclusively. Michael's twin brother John joined Anúna during this time.
During this time of experimentation, Anúna gave a performance in Dublin's Project Arts Centre in November 1991 that redefined the group. "This performance was the turning point for Anúna,”
Michael said. “I had created a very varied and interesting program
of music, but Even in these early days the essential image of the group was apparent: crystalline voices, costumes, candles and ritualistic movement created such a unique atmosphere that the audiences were not simply at a concert, but felt actively involved in an "event". This was moderated by a style of informal and relaxed presentation by Michael. Anúna's concerts became a "must see" and the group developed an expanding fan base.
"I have to admit that I was very flattered to receive so much attention from people that I admired in the industry,” Michael said. “In retrospect I realize that the actual product, for want of a better word, was very attractive in a jaded musical environment, but at the time I had little realization of this. The association with Bill Whelan led to our involvement with John McColgan and Moya Doherty and Riverdance at the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest and thus to a deal with Paul McGuinness' label Celtic Heartbeat/Atlantic. “Anúna had bridged a gap between serious music and popular
music by simply being utterly original. We predated the mainly awful Despite being part of one of the biggest entertainment phenomena in the world from 1994 to 1996, Michael recorded four albums - Invocation [winner of a National Entertainment Award for classical music in Ireland in 1994], Deep Dead Blue [nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2000] and two versions of Omnis. Behind the Closed Eye, released in 1997, was Anúna's first orchestral collaboration. Behind the Closed Eye, made up entirely of Michael's original pieces, features the Ulster Orchestra, led and directed by Lesley Hatfield. The record is beautiful by any standards and explores a whole new facet of Anúna. Anúna signed to the Gimell/Universal label in 1998 and released Deep Dead Blue in the UK.
At the end of 2000, Anúna released their seventh album, Cynara. This recording entered a new and more complex musical world than its predecessors, with the standout title track interweaving complex vocal harmonies with the trademark ethereal sound of the group. Anúna has toured with John or Michael as director throughout the
world since 1996, traveling to countries including Morocco, Japan, the
UK, Poland, Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Sweden,
Finland, Switzerland, Chile, Canada, Argentina, Italy and Belgium. Additionally, Anúna has been credited with single-handedly creating the entire "Celtic Soprano" genre of singing. Ex-members of Anúna have long graced the lead roles in all the major Celtic shows. The enormously successful show Celtic Woman is a direct descendant of the vocal sound developed by Anúna. A number of the soloists who have sung with Celtic Woman, including Méav Ní Mhaolchatha and Deirdre Shannon, list Anúna prominently on their resumes as they honed their talents with Anúna.
"I am immensely proud of the work we have done and the opportunities that Anúna has given me as a writer, despite many highs and lows along the path,” he says. “The opportunities that Anúna has offered -- and continues to offer -- young singers is immense. I am delighted that some of our group now comes from other countries with different musical backgrounds, but can integrate flawlessly into the harmonic weave. “Many singers who have left us have been provided with crucial skills, performance and industry experience which allowed them to exploit their gifts on the international stage. This is the most valuable facet that Anúna can offer a young performer, as we are the only performing group in Ireland offering anything similar to this.” |
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This site © 2005
Arizona
Irish Music Society
It is rare that something
original comes along in the music world. In Ireland, in particular, classical
music is a minority interest while rock and traditional groups have defined
Irish music for decades. It was from this barren ground that the world-renowned
vocal group Anúna was born.
performances
in Ireland,” he shared. “The harmonic language I use is emotional
and melodic, and therefore unfashionable among contemporary classical
music circles. Anúna provided the only musical outlet that I had
at the time as a composer."
"John joined Anúna
and brought a ‘rock’ sensibility to the ethos of the group,”
according the Michael. “This was exactly what was needed, though
it resulted in the loss of most of the original singers who were interested
in classical performances only. The new singers were a mixture of classically-trained
performers who specialized in early music and people with musical abilities
in non-classical fields. Some of the founding members of Anúna
remained, and still sing with us to this day, including Monica Donlon,
Garrath Patterson and our current Chorus Master Miriam Blennerhasett."
this
space was a theatrical space and I decided to use it as such. Suddenly
the singers were moving! Over the next number of performances this idea
was developed. However, the one important factor about this movement was
that it must have a reason for being. I really didn't want singers wandering
aimlessly around as if they were looking for an exit."
After many attempts at
recording an album in a studio, Michael contacted Brian Masterson at Windmill
Lane Studios in Dublin. Together they recorded the debut album simply
titled ANÚNA with a single stereo microphone in a small Dublin
church in five hours. Combined together, the album and show proved an
irresistible package to Bill Whelan, U2’s manager Paul McGuinness
and their Celtic Heartbeat label.
musical
genre today called "classical-crossover" by many years. Having
no commercial or music industry experience, I was pretty lucky to survive
this period as the temptations to become part of the musical establishment
which had little true idea of what Anúna was all about, were sometimes
very great. I extricated Anúna's presence from Riverdance in 1996
just in time."
"I was very pleased,
I must admit,” Michael said. “Deep Dead Blue went top 5 on
the UK Specialist Classical charts and was nominated for a Classical Brit
award in 2000. On top of this we were invited to give the first-ever Irish
Prom at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the BBC Prom Series, the most
important classical music festival in the world. This is undoubtedly the
highlight of our performance career to date."
How
does Michael view the place of Anúna in the musical firmament in
2006?
