Tag: michael mcglynn
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The Natural Voice
Once upon a time I could open my mouth and just sing. It really was that simple. A child singing, completely relaxed, no pressure to do more than savour the experience. Living in a house full of music was taken for granted as it flowed through a day filled with Frank Sinatra, piano practice, three-part…
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Riverdance
I recently stumbled on a performance of the original Riverdance on YouTube. This video comes from the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest. It’s interesting to read retrospective assessments of this six-minute segment, and it turns out that it is twenty eight years old in 2022. Anúna and my part in Riverdance consisted of creating an atmospheric…
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Meeting with the Remarkable Mr. Mawby
Michael McGlynn & Colin Mawby March 2016, London Sometimes you can be lucky as an artist and meet someone very special early in your career whose influence remains with you throughout your life. Colin Mawby and I first crossed paths in 1988 when I auditioned for the RTÉ Chamber Choir, a sixteen voice choir that…
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An Interview with Michael McGlynn by Naoki Hayashida
In advance of visits to Japan this Autumn, and the release of the album “Illumination” there, journalist, writer and broadcaster Naoki Hayashida interviews Composer and Artistic Director of Anúna Michael McGlynn. Please tell me about ANÚNA at its foundation, just come together in 1987, for example, the concept and atmosphere of the members. First it…
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Flowers, Sunshine and Shadows
The waves were magnificent and the sun was flashing through dark clouds. I had just sprung, alive, from wild, grey green water after an icy January swim. January is not the coldest month to swim in the Irish sea, but it can be the most beautiful, and this day was perfect. One of my fellow…
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The Beginning – An Uaithne to Anúna
Twenty five years of clutter. A quarter of a century of analogue VHS cassettes, silently gathering dust and deliberately avoided. I knew that hidden in the decades of material were things that I simply didn’t need to remember, but there were also things I had forgotten that maybe should be rediscovered. The cassettes were deteriorating too,…
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On Choral Music in Worship
I was brought up as a Roman Catholic. My parents endeavoured to give me every opportunity to be exposed to a vast range of music, strongly encouraging our explorations, be they rock or classical music. In school the main exposure to singing was musical drama in the form of Gilbert and Sullivan with a few…
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Obsessed with Early Music at Canticum Gaudium, Poznań
I am still buzzing. I have just returned from Poland, having been invited to adjudicate at the first International Early Music Vocal Competition and give a workshop in Poznań at Canticum Gaudium. The competition was created under the auspices of one of the most famous and renowned European choirs, the Poznań Boys’ Choir. Usually when I give workshops…
Michael McGlynn - Pictures & Visions 