ANÚNA ~ Collection

“ANÚNA : Collection” brings together fifteen of the most evocative pieces of music created for ANÚNA, Ireland's National Choir, by their Artistic Director/Composer Michael McGlynn. Included are two previously unreleased pieces, “The Lass of Aughrim” created for the 2011 TV series The Music of Ireland and the mystical “I Will Give My Love and Apple”.

“I created this compilation of new and older material that effectively brings us to the end of our three decade celebration” McGlynn says. “The choices are very specific and, I believe, illustrate the strong collaborative nature of my work with ANÚNA over its lifetime. At this point the group acts as a magnet for a certain type of artist, and we can hear that in the diversity of voices that collaborate to create what can effectively be dubbed as a unique vocal sound, something that ANÚNA isn’t really given credit for as much as it should be.”

This fifty minute disc has a personal slant for McGlynn. “In the early part of the 2000s I began to lose confidence in my own voice, and by 2015 when I wrote “Na Coille Cumhra” (The Fragrant Wood) I didn’t even have the confidence physically to sing a song that was written in memory of my father Andrew McGlynn.

After much reflection, last month I went into studio with my collaborator and co-producer Brian Masterson, and managed to elicit what I think is an acceptable effort to present the work as it was originally intended. The album features so many collaborators that have inspired me - vocalists Lucy Champion and Lynn Hilary continue to create a sonic ambience that inspires, Noel Eccles has provided stability and musical insight over the decades that we have worked together. My brother John McGlynn lends his voice to two key vocals on this recording and continues to channel so much that gave birth to ANÚNA in his own brilliant solo offerings”.