Michael McGlynn
Encyclopedia
Michael McGlynn is an Irish composer, producer, director and founder of Anúna
, Ireland's National Choir.
. He was a student of Music and English at University College Dublin
and Trinity College
where he studied for an M.Litt degree. He was a member of the professional choral ensemble the RTÉ Chamber Choir and in 1987 he founded the Irish choral group Anúna
. Anúna have released fourteen albums, almost exclusively featuring his arrangements and original works. "Deep Dead Blue" was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2000 and went top 5 in the UK Classical Charts. "Anúna : Celtic Origins" was the biggest selling World Music CD in the USA in August 2007 according to Nielsen Soundscan
http://www.elevationgrp.com/anuna/media_07.html, and remains in the top twenty albums of the Billboard World Music Charts in early 2008. Although best known as a writer of choral music, Michael has written orchestral and instrumental work. 2007 saw the premiere of the cantata "St. Francis" commissioned by RTÉ
, the Irish National broadcaster, which is a setting of texts associated with Francis of Assisi
for tenor, choir and symphony orchestra. "Behind the Closed Eye", written for the Ulster Orchestra
, Northern Ireland's premiere orchestra, has been successful as a CD release.
Michael has written music for theatre, including the Adrian Noble
/Cusack family production of Anton Chekhov
's "Three Sisters
" at the Gate Theatre
, Dublin, and the Royal Court
, London. He is also a vocal and choral clinician, working recently in the University of Miami
(U.S.A.), Sumida Hall (Japan) and Festival 500
in Newfoundland (Canada). He will be an Eminent Scholar at Florida Atlantic University
for the 2011-2012 academic year. Michael's music has been recorded and performed by such internationally recognised vocal ensembles as Rajaton
, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, The Dale Warland Singers, The Phoenix Chorale
[formerly the Phoenix Bach Choir], Conspirare
, the BBC Singers
and Chanticleer
.
McGlynn also created new compositions that could be perceived as arrangements of Irish songs but were, in fact, new melodies composed to traditional texts. He has stated that "People just assume that I have just found a “living” version. In fact I have done what has made solo traditional music so viable: I have created a new version. I take the songs and reinterpret them in a new way. My priority is always to create a choral version that works." His most successful choral work in this genre is "Dúlamán
", a setting of the traditional Irish poem of the same name. This work has been performed and recorded extensively by professional choral groups such as Chanticleer and Cantus. It features another characteristic aspect of his musical language in its use of multiple alternating rhythms.
Karen Marrolli for her 2010 thesis on McGlynn writes "Throughout all of McGlynn’s work, while there are a good amount of compositional thumbprints and overarching characteristics, there also is a great deal of variety. This is an incredibly refreshing aspect to McGlynn’s choral writing. Various constant influences are present in his music and give his canon a sense of identity; however, he does not simply reconstruct successful pieces over and over again in an attempt to rest on his laurels. His body of work displays a great range of techniques and musical ideas and continues to develop and mature. Further study of some of his more recently recorded works, such as “O Maria” and the brilliant work “Victimae” (both released on the 2009 Anúna CD Sanctus) would reveal how his musical influences factor into his compositional efforts in ever-evolving ways. This continuous growth bodes well for the longevity of this composer as he takes his place among the important composers of our time.
+ Both albums amalgamated into a single remastered release in 2003.
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
, Ireland's National Choir.
Career
McGlynn was born in Dublin, and attended Coláiste na Rinne and Blackrock CollegeBlackrock College
Blackrock College is a Catholic voluntary secondary school for boys aged 14–18, located in Williamstown, Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland. The College was founded by French missionaries in 1860, to act as a school and civil service training centre. Set in of grounds, it has an illustrious...
. He was a student of Music and English at University College Dublin
University College Dublin
University College Dublin ) - formally known as University College Dublin - National University of Ireland, Dublin is the Republic of Ireland's largest, and Ireland's second largest, university, with over 1,300 faculty and 17,000 students...
and Trinity College
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
where he studied for an M.Litt degree. He was a member of the professional choral ensemble the RTÉ Chamber Choir and in 1987 he founded the Irish choral group Anúna
Anúna
Anúna is an Irish choral group. In 1987 Dublin composer Michael McGlynn founded An Uaithne, a name which describes the three ancient types of Celtic music, Suantraí , Geantraí and Goltraí . One of the group's stated aims is to explore and redefine this music...
. Anúna have released fourteen albums, almost exclusively featuring his arrangements and original works. "Deep Dead Blue" was nominated for a Classical Brit Award in 2000 and went top 5 in the UK Classical Charts. "Anúna : Celtic Origins" was the biggest selling World Music CD in the USA in August 2007 according to Nielsen Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
http://www.elevationgrp.com/anuna/media_07.html, and remains in the top twenty albums of the Billboard World Music Charts in early 2008. Although best known as a writer of choral music, Michael has written orchestral and instrumental work. 2007 saw the premiere of the cantata "St. Francis" commissioned by RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, the Irish National broadcaster, which is a setting of texts associated with Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher. He founded the men's Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare, and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis. St...
for tenor, choir and symphony orchestra. "Behind the Closed Eye", written for the Ulster Orchestra
Ulster Orchestra
The Ulster Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Belfast, the only full-time professional orchestra in Northern Ireland. The orchestra plays the majority of its concerts in Belfast's Ulster Hall and Waterfront Hall...
, Northern Ireland's premiere orchestra, has been successful as a CD release.
Michael has written music for theatre, including the Adrian Noble
Adrian Noble
Adrian Keith Noble is a theatre director, and was also the artistic director and chief executive of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1990 to 2003.-Education and career:...
/Cusack family production of Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's "Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
" at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
, Dublin, and the Royal Court
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...
, London. He is also a vocal and choral clinician, working recently in the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
(U.S.A.), Sumida Hall (Japan) and Festival 500
Festival 500
Festival 500:Sharing the Voices is an international biennial non-competitive choral music festival held in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.-History:...
in Newfoundland (Canada). He will be an Eminent Scholar at Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, also referred to as FAU or Florida Atlantic, is a public, coeducational, research university located in , United States. The university has six satellite campuses located in the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Davie, Fort Lauderdale, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, and in Fort...
for the 2011-2012 academic year. Michael's music has been recorded and performed by such internationally recognised vocal ensembles as Rajaton
Rajaton
Rajaton is a Finnish a cappella ensemble, founded in Helsinki in 1997. The Finnish word rajaton means "boundless", to indicate the breadth of their repertoire, from sacred classical to near Europop...
, the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, The Dale Warland Singers, The Phoenix Chorale
Phoenix Chorale
The Phoenix Chorale is a professional chamber choir based out of Phoenix, Arizona, United States.The ensemble formed in 1958 as the Bach and Madrigal Society...
[formerly the Phoenix Bach Choir], Conspirare
Conspirare
Conspirare is a choral ensemble based out of Austin, Texas. They were formed in 1991 by conductor and musical director Craig Hella Johnson as New Texas Festival but did not begin to regularly perform until 1999...
, the BBC Singers
BBC Singers
The BBC Singers are the professional chamber choir of the BBC. As one of six BBC Performing Groups, the 24-voiced choir has been in existence for more than 80 years. The BBC Singers have commissioned and premiered works by the leading composers of the past century, including Benjamin Britten, Sir...
and Chanticleer
Chanticleer (ensemble)
Based in San Francisco, California, Chanticleer is a full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States. Over the last three decades, it has developed a major reputation for its interpretations of Renaissance music, but it also performs a wide repertoire of jazz, gospel, and other venturesome...
.
Musical Language
His harmonic language combines elements of traditional Irish music such as modal melodic lines and ornamentation, fixed and shifting drones and liberal use of jazz-tinged chordal clusters and sonorities. These features can be heard in his contribution to the Chanticleer commissioned "And on Earth Peace : A Chanticleer Mass". Michael contributed the "Agnus Dei" to this multi-composer work http://www.gramophone.co.uk/interviews_detail.asp?id=2810&f=2808. McGlynn says "One of the misapprehensions about my music is that I am not actually concerned with saving Irish traditional music; I am not a traditionalist. The only exposure I had [to traditional Irish song] was during my year at Coláiste na Rinne in Dún Garbhán. The songs that I set are not from a specific collection; they are more impressions of the songs I remembered."McGlynn also created new compositions that could be perceived as arrangements of Irish songs but were, in fact, new melodies composed to traditional texts. He has stated that "People just assume that I have just found a “living” version. In fact I have done what has made solo traditional music so viable: I have created a new version. I take the songs and reinterpret them in a new way. My priority is always to create a choral version that works." His most successful choral work in this genre is "Dúlamán
Dúlamán
Dúlamán is the third studio album by Irish folk group Clannad. It was released in 1976. It is named for its first track, a rendition of the Irish folk song, Dúlamán.-Track listing:# "Dúlamán" – 4:34# "Cumha Eoghain Rua Uí Néill" – 4:09...
", a setting of the traditional Irish poem of the same name. This work has been performed and recorded extensively by professional choral groups such as Chanticleer and Cantus. It features another characteristic aspect of his musical language in its use of multiple alternating rhythms.
Karen Marrolli for her 2010 thesis on McGlynn writes "Throughout all of McGlynn’s work, while there are a good amount of compositional thumbprints and overarching characteristics, there also is a great deal of variety. This is an incredibly refreshing aspect to McGlynn’s choral writing. Various constant influences are present in his music and give his canon a sense of identity; however, he does not simply reconstruct successful pieces over and over again in an attempt to rest on his laurels. His body of work displays a great range of techniques and musical ideas and continues to develop and mature. Further study of some of his more recently recorded works, such as “O Maria” and the brilliant work “Victimae” (both released on the 2009 Anúna CD Sanctus) would reveal how his musical influences factor into his compositional efforts in ever-evolving ways. This continuous growth bodes well for the longevity of this composer as he takes his place among the important composers of our time.
Selected Works
A selection of McGlynn's original works :- Invocation (Tenor & mixed-chorus)
- Four Tenebrae Responsories (Tenebrae I, II, III & IV. For mixed chorus)
- Sensation (Speaker, mixed chorus & concert harp)
- Celtic Mass (For mixed-chorus, solo vocalists, violin, orgam, percussion & harp. Includes settings of "Kyrie", "Gloria" "Incantations", Responsorial "Codhlaím go Suan", "Credo", Pater Noster", Sanctus" "Agnus Dei", "Ave Maria")
- Silver River (Oboe & vibraphone. Also version for mixed chorus, clarinet and string orchestra)
- Four Poems on texts by Rimbaud (Soprano/Piano)
- Wind on Sea (Mixed Voice Choir & Violin)
- Quis est Deus (Mixed-voice choir)
- O Ignis Spiritus (Saxophone, mixed voice choir & mezzo-soprano solo)
- Agnus Dei (Tenor solo & mixed-voice choir, from "And on Earth Peace, a Chanticleer Mass")
- Behind the Closed Eye (Symphony orchestra and SATB Choir. This work includes works for choir, orchestra and both forces combined. Titles include "May", "Twilight", "The Coming of Winter", "August" "Midnight" "The Great Wood", "Annaghdown", "Behind the Closed Eye", "Ceann Dubh Dílis", "Aisling", "Where All Roses Go" & "1901")
- Visions (Three movements, for soprano saxophone & piano)
- O Maria (Mixed-voice choir)
- Brezairola (Tenor solo & mixed-voice choir)
- Dúlamán (Male voice choir)
- The Sea (Alto flute, flute and mixed-voice choir)
- Lux Aeterna / The Road of Passage (Soprano solo, mixed voice choir)
- The Rising of the Sun (Solo voice, mixed-voice choir & symphony orchestra)
- Geantraí (Mixed-voice choir)
- Pie Jesu (Symphony Orchestra & mixed-voice choir)
- Maid in the Moor (Women's chorus)
- Cúnnla (Women's chorus)
- Dormi Jesu (Mixed-voice choir)
- My Songs Shall Rise (Mixed-voice choir)
- When the War is Over (Mixed-voice choir)
- Victimae (Male-voice choir)
Anúna Releases
Anúna's CD and DVD release feature McGlynn's work almost exclusively. This is a selected list of their main releases :- 1993 - ANÚNA (re-recorded 2005)
- 1994 - Invocation (re-recorded 2002)
- 1995 - Omnis (Irish edition)+
- 1996 - Omnis (entirely re-recorded international version of the 1995 release)+
- 1996 - Deep Dead Blue (remaster 2004)
- 1997 - Behind the Closed Eye (remaster 2003)
- 2000 - Cynara
- 2006 - SensationSensation (album)Sensation, an album by Anúna, was released in 2006 on the Danú label. All music featured on the disc is original, written by the Irish composer Michael McGlynn.-Track listing:# "O Ignis Spiritus" – 5.59# "Brezairola" – 3:32# "Sensation" – 5.03...
- 2007 - Celtic Origins [CD and DVD]
- 2008 - Christmas Memories [CD and DVD]
- 2009 - Invocations of Ireland [DVD]
- 2009 - Sanctus
- 2010 - Christmas with Anúna
+ Both albums amalgamated into a single remastered release in 2003.
Other Releases
- "And on Earth Peace : A Chanticleer Mass" Chanticleer, featuring the "Agnus Dei"
- "Wondrous Love" Chanticleer, featuring "Dúlamán"
- "Out of Bounds" Rajaton, featuring "The Wild Song"
- "Boundless" Rajaton, featuring "Summer Song"
- "Silver River" Matthew Manning, includes "Silver River", "Aisling", "Nightfall", "Where All Roses Go"
- "Let Your Voice be Heard" Cantus, featuring "Dúlamán"
- "Carmina Celtica" Canty, featuring "Lorica"
- "Turn Darkness into Light" Consono, featuring "Incantations"
- "Kantika Sakra" Kantika Korala, featuring "Sanctus : Sanctua"