Michael McGlynn
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| Michael McGlynn | |
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 Michael McGlynn
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Michael Philip McGlynn |
| Born | May 11, 1964 |
| Origin | Dublin, Leinster, Ireland |
| Genre(s) | Classical, World Music |
| Occupation(s) | Composer |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Associated acts | Anúna |
| Website | [1] |
Michael McGlynn (born 1964 in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish composer.
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[edit] Career
In 1987 he founded the Irish choral group Anúna. Anúna have released nine 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 [2], 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 Chekov’s "Three Sisters" at the Gate Theatre, Dublin. As a solo vocalist he has worked with many artists including most notably Elvis Costello, Fretwork and the late Jeff Buckley. He is also a vocal and choral clinician, working most recently at Festival 500 in Newfoundland, Canada.
[edit] Musical Language
His harmonic language combines elements of traditional Irish music such as modal melodic lines and ornamentation, fixed and shifting drones and jazz-tinged chordal clusters. 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 [3]. His best-known choral work is "Dúlamán", a setting of the traditional Irish poem of the same name. This work has been performed and recorded extensively. It features another characteristic aspect of his musical language in its use of multiple alternating rhythms. 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, Conspirare, the BBC Singers and Chanticleer.
[edit] Selected Discography
- "Anúna" Anúna
- "Invocation" Anúna
- "Omnis" Anúna
- "Deep Dead Blue" Anúna
- "Behind the Closed Eye" Anúna and The Ulster Orchestra
- "Cynara" Anúna
- "Sensation" Anúna
- "And on Earth Peace : A Chanticleer Mass" Chanticleer, featuring "Agnus Dei"
- "Wondrous Love" Chanticleer, featuring "Dúlamán"
- "Out of Bounds" Rajaton, featuring "The Wild Song"
- "Boundless" Rajaton, featuring "Summer Song"
- "Silver River" Matthew Manning
