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.
Ardaigh Cuan
Anúna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'N aice'n tsléibh'úd 'tá 'bhfad uaim
Ba annamh liom gan dul ar cuairt
Go gleann na gcuach Dé Domhnaigh
Agus och och Éire 'lig is ó
Ar mo lon dubh is ó
'Sé mo chroí tá trom agus brónach
Nach tuirseach mise anseo liom féin
Nach n-airím guth coiligh, lon dubh nó traon
Gealbhan, smólach, naoscach féin
'S chan aithním féin an Domhnach
The lyrics of Anuna's song Ardaigh Cuan describe a deep sense of longing for home and the despair that comes with being away from it. The opening lines describe the beautiful view of Ardaidh Cuain from a distance, but the singer cannot get close to it as it is far away on the other side of the mountain. The singer then talks about how rare it is for them to not visit Gleann na gcuach, a beautiful valley, on Sundays. The chorus follows where the singer is desperate to return to Éire, and the weight of their sadness is bearing heavy on their heart.
The second verse changes to the singer's inner turmoil as they talk about their weariness of being in the current place and surroundings they are in. The absence of the sounds of the countryside they yearn for, such as bird calls, is a strong reminder of how far they are from home. The singer does not recognize Sunday, which is a significant day for Christianity in Ireland, and this emphasizes their state of discontent. The lyrics of Ardaigh Cuan are reminiscent of the emotions experienced by individuals who have to stay away from their home country for an extended period.
Line by Line Meaning
Á mbeinn féin in Ardaidh Cuain
If only I were in the Ardaigh Cuain, near those far mountains
'N aice'n tsléibh'úd 'tá 'bhfad uaim
Close to those mountains so far away
Ba annamh liom gan dul ar cuairt
It was rare that I didn't go on a trip
Go gleann na gcuach Dé Domhnaigh
To the Valley of the Cuckoo on a Sunday morning
Agus och och Éire 'lig is ó
Oh Ireland, how I long for you
Ar mo lon dubh is ó
For my blackbird to sing to me
'Sé mo chroí tá trom agus brónach
As my heart is heavy and sad
Nach tuirseach mise anseo liom féin
Aren't I tired here alone
Nach n-airím guth coiligh, lon dubh nó traon
I don't hear the sound of a cock, a blackbird or a corncrake
Gealbhan, smólach, naoscach féin
The eagle, thrush and snipe themselves
'S chan aithním féin an Domhnach
And I don't even recognize Sunday
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: . TRADITIONAL, MICHAEL MCGLYNN, MICHAEL PHILIP MCGLYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DEDE-os7qs
Excellent my friend😊
@robertwilliams5520
Beautiful.
@RebeccaETripp
What a spectacular arrangement, and the video is just wonderful! For me, it beautifully contrasts the effortless wonder of Creation with the suffocating loneliness of modernity!
@philippegodelle697
Pure beauty as always with Michael ! how lucky we are !!!!
@luisfilipe1603
Le pouvoir des mots, la force des images. 🕊️
Nothing more to say, for beauty in its purest essence is difficult to write. 🕊️🇵🇹🇮🇪
@meganhenderson1715
Wow. That's electric. You nailed the feelings and emotions in this song! Wonderful 👍🏻 👍🏻 👍🏻 ❤
@markchristopher4165
Wow!
@deborahbarrett2385
Those glissando chord changes are terrific!