A NEW CHORAL VOICE FOR IRELAND
Country: Ireland
Traditional singing in Ireland has been at the core of its rich musical and literary culture for a thousand years. Known as sean nós (the “old style”), this form of solo singing has developed from the land itself, created by generations of people that worked and lived within this evocative landscape through a thousand years of Ireland's rich and turbulent history.
As there is no tradition of part-singing in Ireland, Michael McGlynn, founder of Ireland's National Choir ANÚNA, has developed a form of choral music which ties together contemporary choral and vocal practices with the philosophies and concepts that are embedded in the song traditional of his homeland.
This presentation will explore the sound world that has become synonymous with ANÚNA. The session will focus on both the creation of a new choral language and performance practices. Participants will also be given a “beginners guide” to the pronunciation and performance of the Irish language in the context of choral performance.
Born in Dublin, Ireland, Michael McGlynn’s love of traditional song and the literary culture of his homeland led him to create the choral ensemble ANÚNA, Ireland's National Choir in 1987 as both a vehicle for his compositions and a new choral voice for Ireland.
In 2017 Michael was the recipient of the University College Dublin Alumni Award in the Arts/Humanities and was visiting Eminent Scholar at the Music Department of Florida Atlantic University (2011-2013). His choral work has been commissioned, recorded and performed by ensembles that include the BBC Singers, Rajaton, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Grammy-winning ensembles Conspirare, the Kansas City and Phoenix Chorales.
Michael has produced and recorded seventeen albums for ANÚNA. ANÚNA (1993), Celtic Origins (2007) and Christmas Memories (2008) have all featured in the US Billboard Charts. Deep Dead Blue (1999) was nominated for a Classical Brit Award and went top five in the UK Classical Charts.