"...his cross-pollination of musical styles is never less than intriguing and is most often beguiling"
[Review of the Agnus Dei from "And on Earth Peace : A Chanticleer Mass"] "...McGlynn's gorgeous setting of the Agnus Dei dramatically begins with a solo voice intoning a Celtic-inflected melody over a cluster of shifting drones before gradually morphing into a richly chromatic but more harmonically conventional Latin version, over which he floats a ravishingly simple repeating melody".
All Music Guide
"...McGlynn evokes a panoply of angelic voices that cascades down...These works are breathtaking."
The Oregonian
Michael
McGlynn is founder and director of the world-renowned choral group Anúna which he created in 1987. Anúna have released ten 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.
His harmonic language combines elements of the traditional heritage of his homeland and the modality and energy of medieval music with a particular contemporary musical language. Among his best-know music is "Dúlamán", which is a staple of the US choral repertoire. Michael's music has been recorded and performed by such vocal ensembles as Rajaton, The Dale Warland Singers, The BBC Singers, The National Youth Choir of Great Britain, Conspirare and Chanticleer. 2007 saw the performance and recording of Chanticleer's And on Earth Peace : A Chanticleer Mass. Michael contributed the "Agnus Dei" to this multi-composer work and you can read reviews and articles on about his movement here.
2007 saw the premiere of his cantata "St. Francis", commissioned by the Irish National broadcaster RTÉ, which is a setting of texts associated with St. Francis for tenor, choir and symphony orchestra. "Behind the Closed Eye", written for The Ulster Orchestra, Northern Ireland's premiere orchestra, has been successfully released as a CD. Michael has written music for theatre, including the historic Adrian Noble/Cusack family
production of Chekov’s "Three Sisters" at the Gate Theatre
Dublin.
He is also a vocal and choral clinician.
