Track Listing

1. Blue Bird
2. Cormacus Scripsit
3. Wild Song
4. Si�il, A R�
5. Wind on Sea
6. Rising of the Sun
7. Flower of Maherally
8. D�lam�
9. Kyrie
10. Deep Dead Blue
11. Blackthorn
12. Behind the Closed Eye
13. August
14. Christus Resurgens
15. Victimae
16. Pie Jesu
17. Hymn to the Virgin
18. Cynara
19. War Is Over [*]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79366 in Music
• Released on: 2005-03-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Dimensions: .22 pounds

Customer Reviews

Essential Listening
At last, a great compilation of some of the finest choral music to come out of Ireland in the last few years.

Tied in to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the formation of ANUNA, this album presents highlights from Michael McGlynn's stunning canon of contemporary vocal and instrumental pieces. Illustrating the evocative styles of chant through to the beauty of poetry, McGlynn's prowess in this field is extraordinary.

ANUNA, having established themselves with the 'Riverdance' phenomenon, soon went their own seperate ways - thankfully! - and really got things moving, not just in their native Ireland, but worldwide, collaborating with artists such as Elvis Costello, Secret Garden and the late Jeff Buckley.

Here then, is the fruit of their labour, and an illustration of the tireless effort by Michael to push the boundaries of medieval and associated art musics even wider.

Devotional settings, such as the 'Pie Jesu' and 'Pater Noster' sit side beside such sublime vocalises as 'Behind The Closed Eye' and 'Wind On Sea'. The poetry of Frances Ledwidge is visible in the haunting 'August' coupled with WB Yeats' 'Innisfree' (my personal favourite), with more traditional love songs such as 'The Flower of Maherally' and Charles Villiers Stanford's 'The Blue Bird'.

Unfortunately, there is never room to include all of your favourites, one particular is the beautiful 'Cynara', which I felt could have replaced one of the chosen tracks - although choosing which one to discard is quite a problem, and must have been equally deliberated at the point of the album's conception!

'Essential ANUNA' tries to capture the spirit of attending one of their performances, but nothing can ever beat that experience - it comes pretty close, though.

Anuna - a pure breath of Ireland
Having seen and heard the charming and haunting Anuna recently at The Anvil Theatre, Basingstoke, I can thoroughly recommend this lovely breath of Ireland. The language of their songs and the beauty and purity of their ethereal voices transcend all; to hear them singing live is an absolute must. This CD captures the essence of Anuna from the haunting melodies of 'Siuil, a Ruin' and the 'Blue Bird' to the gaiety of 'Fionghuala' and 'The Rising of the Sun' but if I have to choose a favourite song from this album, its got to be 'The Flower of Maherally', this love song haunted me from the minute I first heard it and I love it still.