Search - Anuna :: Cynara

Anuna Raises the Bar for Modern Choral Music....

Magick Girl | NY, NY United States | 10/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Cynara" is the latest US-available offering from the Dublin-based group, Anuna, and unlike its predecessors (where an Irish flavour permeats most every track), inches closer to the "contemporary choral" side of the musical spectrum. Not that there aren't any Irish tracks to be found here-10 of the 15 tracks derive from ancient Irish texts from as far back as the 6th century, and,as on other Anuna CD's, feature the innovative compositions and arrangements of compose/director Michael McGlynn. The remaining 5 are most interesting, and are my personal favourites:
*Riu, Riu-A 16th century Castillian anthem
*I Dreamt that I Dwelt in Marble Halls-a marvelous ballad
*Pie Jesu-An original "McGlynn" that rivals Mozart's
"Ave Verum Corpus" in its tenderness and sheer
musicality.
*Ocean-a meditative piece evocative of its title
***Cynara-the title track--from a poem by Ernest Dowson-- a tragic story of the folly of a fickle heart and
the regrets that ensue.....(It's a great arangement!)As mentioned previously, this is the latest offering by Anuna that's available in the US. Two new CD's are currently available in Ireland only--since the group's label, Danu, is distributed by Universal, I can only hope that these titles will be picked up by Amazon.com someday soon :-) There is a website address located inside the CD jacket that will lead you to more Anuna music!Enjoy!"

An excellent continuation from a fantastic choral group

Nathan Hall | south of Buffalo, NY United States | 01/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I purchased Cynara after buying almost all the previous Anuna albums. It is one of the best of their recordings so far in sound quality and instrumentation, and the re-arrangement of Christus 2000 is especially powerful. The album "Omnis", because of its lush vocals, and the specially ordered orchestrated "Behind the Closed Eye" are my personal Anuna favorites, but this album shows just how beautiful the group sounds. They can perform in many different styles, songs written or arranged by the leader M. McGlynn, ranging in period from the 12th century all the way to the twenty-first."

Cynara/Anuna

George T. Goebel | Baltimore, MD USA | 02/12/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If there is music in heaven, this is what it must sound like. The only reason why the Cynara album gets 4 stars is because their earlier release "Invocation" is Anuna's Pet Sounds/Sargent Pepper disc, so naturally that one gets 5 stars.I own all of the discs by this group with the exception of Winter Songs (which is on order)and they are all gorgeous. This incredible Irish vocal group sounds like no other that I know of. Their choice of material and ethereal vocal colors set them apart from all of the other vocal groups, Cambridge Singers, Canticleer etc. Christus 2000 is haunting and Ocean will take you to another place in time. Cynara is a welcome addition to Anuna's stunning catalog of works."