The majority of singers come from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland with many of its members also drawn from all over the world. Their repertoire is written or arranged for the group by McGlynn, and includes reconstructions of Early and Medieval music from Ireland and beyond presented in a candle-lit, costumed ambiance that allows the group to connect with a very wide variety of audience despite the eclectic nature of the music they sing.
Anúna perform between twelve and fourteen singers, unconducted, in any performance. They are equally at home in an amplified theatrical setting or an unamplified concert hall.
Anúna created the vocal ambiance of Riverdance (1994-1996), achieved a Top 10 placing on the U.K. Singles Charts while remaining at Number 1 on the Irish singles charts for eighteen weeks. In 2012 they appeared as the "Voices of Hell" on the video game Diablo 3 [Blizzard] gaining a Game Audio Network Guild nomination for the Best Original Choral Performance in February 2013. In February 2018 the group won the Outstanding Ensemble category of the Annual Game Music Awards for their contributions to the soundtrack of the hugely successful video game Xenoblade Chronicles II. In February 2017 the group participated in an extraordinary collaboration with Noh Theatre entitled "Takahime", a Japanese adaptation of W.B. Yeats' play "At the Hawk's Well". The performance was directed by Gensho Umewaka (Japanese National Treasure) and Michael McGlynn, who also composed an original score.
While curating the Meltdown Festival at London's South Bank, Elvis Costello invited Anúna to perform as featured guests and in 2011 they featured on DVD and CD with the pioneering Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles. A number of Anúna singers have gone on to carve very successful careers as solo artists including singer-songwriter Hozier [2007 - 2012] and six of the lead soloists in the phenomenally successful Celtic Woman including Lynn Hilary and Éabha McMahon.
In complete contrast, as a classical choral ensemble Anúna have appeared at the World Sacred Music Festival in Morocco and at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall, London. They have sung at many major classical venues including the Concertgebouw (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) the National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, De Doelen Rotterdam, Hyogo Performing Arts Center and Orchard Hall in Tokyo, New York Town Hall and Minneapolis Symphony Hall.
They have collaborated with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland on two major concerts of McGlynn's compositions at Dublin's National Concert Hall (2009 & 2010).
Anúna have an active and highly successful Education & Outreach programme that has been responsible for workshops across China, Japan, Spain, Belgium, Israel, Sweden, Canada, Poland, the UK and The Netherlands. In 2012 they presented at the Shanghai Conservatory. In 2015 the group presented an interest Session as part of the American Choral Directors Association National Conference at Salt Lake, Utah, USA. In 2019 their sixth highly successful annual ANÚNA International Summer School in Dublin, which attracts professional and amateur choral musicians from all over the world, will take place in Dublin preceded by the first ANÚNA Winter School in February in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Anúna have released eighteen albums since 1991 and have been featured artists on three Grammy Award-winning albums. Invocation (1994) won a National Entertainment Award for Classical music, while Deep Dead Blue (1996) was nominated for a Classical Brit Award. Celtic Origins (2007), also an award-winning PBS show and DVD, became the number one selling CD on the US World Music Charts that August while September 2011 saw their album Christmas Memories reaching the Hot 100 of the Billboard Album Chart. In 2008 the choir released Invocations of Ireland, McGlynn's self-made film, an evocative depiction of the Irish landscape and its relationship to his music. This has been broadcast extensively in Australia/New Zealand, with the DVD being released on Australia's DV1 and Columbia Music Entertainment in Japan.
They have been signed to some of the world's major record labels including Decca, Universal Classics, Polygram, E1 and Philips. Michael McGlynn's sheet music is available from www.michaelmcglynn.com.
August
Anúna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
White over yellow harvest's song
Upon her dewy rainbow way
She shall be beautiful and strong
The lidless eye of noon shall spray
Tan on her ankles in the hay
Shall kiss her brown the whole day long
I'll know her in the windows tall
Above the crickets of the hay
I'll know her when her odd eyes fall
One May-blue, one November-gray
I'll watch her down the red barn wall
Take down her rusty scythe and call
And I will follow her away
I will follow her away
The song "August," performed by the Irish chamber choir Anúna, is a tribute to the beauty and strength of a woman who is working in a harvest field. The lyrics describe her arrival at dawn, walking on a rainbow path covered in dew. Her appearance is striking, with white clothing contrasting against the yellow of the harvest. The harsh midday sun shines down on her, leaving tanned marks on her ankles as she works in the hay. The singer of the song sees her from afar, watching her movements and observing her unique appearance. He describes her eyes, one blue like May and the other grey like November, which is an unusual and intriguing feature. He waits for her to finish her work, watching as she takes down her scythe before following her away.
While the song may appear to be a simple and romantic ode to a beautiful woman, it also captures the essence of the difficult and laborious work of harvesting crops. The woman is portrayed as both beautiful and strong, reflecting the hard work and resilience required to work in agriculture. The song also pays tribute to the beauty of the Irish countryside, with references to the rainbow, dew, hay, and red barn walls. The lyrics are written in a poetic style, using vivid imagery and seasonal references to create a portrait of a rural lifestyle that is rapidly disappearing.
Overall, "August" is a beautiful and evocative song that celebrates the beauty of both nature and the human spirit.
Line by Line Meaning
She'll come at dusky first of day
The woman will arrive very early in the morning at dawn.
White over yellow harvest's song
The harvest is finished, and the colors of the field are yellow and white, signaling the end of summer.
Upon her dewy rainbow way
The woman will arrive marching, with the rainbow decorating her path by the moisture on the ground.
She shall be beautiful and strong
The woman will be stunning and powerful.
The lidless eye of noon shall spray
The sun will be high, shining down and exposing the woman's bare ankles in the hay.
Tan on her ankles in the hay
The woman's ankles will be tanned by the sun while working in the hay.
Shall kiss her brown the whole day long
The sun will continue to tan the woman's skin throughout the long day.
I'll know her in the windows tall
The artist will see the woman through the tall windows of a building.
Above the crickets of the hay
The woman will be above the rustling of the hay and the sound of the crickets.
I'll know her when her odd eyes fall
The artist will recognize the woman when he sees her two different colored eyes.
One May-blue, one November-gray
The woman has one eye that is blue like May and the other is gray like November.
I'll watch her down the red barn wall
The artist will admire the woman as she walks down the wall of a red barn.
Take down her rusty scythe and call
The woman will take her old, rusty scythe and call out, possibly a signal to begin work.
And I will follow her away
The singer will follow the woman, leaving with her as she goes.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: . TRADITIONAL, AUTHOR UNKNOWN COMPOSER, COMPOSER AUTHOR UNKNOWN, MICHAEL MCGLYNN, MICHAEL PHILIP MCGLYNN
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