Revelation by ANÚNA

Anúna: Revelation | Album Reviews

Siobhan Long, IRISH TIMES

Fri, Jul 17, 2015

Nine years on from their last CD release, and close to three decades since their founder, Michael McGlynn, first convened this choral group, Anúna exists, as Sliabh Luachra does, as much a state of mind as an entity.
The group’s membership ebbs and flows, but McGlynn’s steely focus is ever-present.

Revelation glories in a rich coalition of original material composed by McGlynn, alongside a beautiful early Christian text, Sanctus Santua, and, somehow fittingly, two divinely poised Japanese pieces whose sinuous lines allow the full choral potential of the group to shimmer

The opener, Mononoke Hime, reveals the deeper warp and weft of the ensemble. McGlynn’s writing has grown in confidence and subtlety, and the decision to use harmonica on Elegy (with text from the Book of Ecclesiasticus) adds to the richness of Anúna’s sound. anuna.ie
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Irish Music Magazine : April 2016

It’s hard to think that it’s close to 30 years since Anúna first hit the scene. They brought an awareness of our heritage, using the oldest and most flexible of instruments, the human voice. It’s a tribute to Michael McGlynn that he has managed to keep the 17 members of the group together.

It has taken a combination of scholarship, razor–keen ears, and leadership qualities to realise the dream of a group that can tackle anything from renaissance polyphony to modern folksong – and there are two numbers in Japanese this time. If they have few competitors and imitators, that is proof of just how difficult is the task they have achieved.

The group has its own teaching method, and last November they launched a training choir with a summer course planned for Dublin in the summer. We have here an assortment of the many strands which make up our musical landscape from Love’s Old Sweet Song to Fill, Fill, a Rún Ó and there’s a great version of The Maid of Coolmore.

In this year when pre–cooked patriotism is much in evidence, this example of thoughtful craftsmanship should be very welcome.

John Brophy

"...thrilling, life-affirming..."
"...enchanting sonic tapestry..."
"...a place where the heavens meet the horizon..."

Falling into no category easily, Anúna remain at the fringe of contemporary music after over a quarter of a century of life. Timeless, ancient and simultaneously relevant to this world.

anuna.ie