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.
Tenebrae IV
Anúna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ní fil indiu acht 'na chrú fó chré
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
Ná len ná len in domun cé
Ná car ná car sel bec a ré
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
The lyrics of Anuna's song Tenebrae IV are in Irish Gaelic and Latin, and they are steeped in religious and spiritual themes. The first verse ("Baí sunn indé ba gel a gné / Ní fil indiu acht 'na chrú fó chré") speaks about a bright and radiant presence that was present in the past but is now confined within the heart. This could be interpreted as a reference to a divine presence or the fading of a once-great spiritual power.
The second verse ("O vos omnes qui transitis per viam") translates from Latin to mean "Oh, all who walk by the way." This is a reference to a well-known verse from the Bible (Lamentations 1:12) that expresses sorrow and pity for the suffering of others. The repetition of this verse in the song emphasizes the idea that everyone experiences hardship and struggle in life, and we are all united in this shared human experience.
The third verse ("Ná len ná len in domun cé / Ná car ná car sel bec a ré") is another set of Gaelic lyrics, and it speaks about a lack of wealth or possessions in this world. This suggests that the true value and richness of life are not tied to material things but rather to spiritual and emotional fulfillment. The final verse repeats the Latin phrase from the second verse, further emphasizing the message that we are all united in the experience of human suffering.
Line by Line Meaning
Baí sunn indé ba gel a gné
Here sat yesterday, pale and wretched
Ní fil indiu acht 'na chrú fó chré
Today there is nothing but a body under the earth
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O all you who pass by the way
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O all you who pass by the way
Ná len ná len in domun cé
There is neither height nor depth in the world
Ná car ná car sel bec a ré
There is neither small nor great in the kingdom
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O all you who pass by the way
O vos omnes qui transitis per viam
O all you who pass by the way
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MICHAEL PHILIP MCGLYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind