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Sensation

by ANÚNA

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  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Contains a PDF download with liner notes and rare images of the group.
    Purchasable with gift card

      €7 EUR  or more

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Review from Hot Press April 2006:

    "Vocal group Anúna's first release of new material in six years is a major leap forward from their last few offerings, throwing into high relief the progress that founder and group leader Michael McGlynn has made as a composer. The opening track O Ignis Spiritus brings a text by medieval mystic Hildegard von Bingen to glorious life, with Ken Edge's saxophone matching the reedy timbre of soloist Miriam Blennerhassett's wonderfully rich voice.
    The dreamy title track (McGlynn's setting of the Rimbaud poem of that name) is another highlight, with the gravel-voiced Gilles Servat speaking the verses over the ensemble's multi-layered harmonies. Bringing the CD to an electrifying close is the shimmering, densely textured O Maria, which deserves to become part of the standard repertoire for choral groups everywhere. NINE out of TEN”

    Review from The Irish Times May 2006:

    "Choral music is a hard sell, its spaciousness challenging our sound-clogged sensibilities to accommodate silence as readily as sound. Michael McGlynn and his 30-strong acolytes in Anúna have had an uphill battle to lure listeners into their somnolent soundscapes, but their 10th recording might just mark their crossover into mainstream. Sensation is an agile leap into the unknown, populated entirely by McGlynn's original compositions...air and light penetrate Anúna's deep harmonies with almost aquatic ease. Soloist Sharon Carty's luminous rendition of Lux Aeterna is a particular treat, as is Anúna's more languid mood generally. A welcome loosening of the ties that once bound them to the past."

    Includes unlimited streaming of Sensation via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ... more
    ships out within 4 days
    edition of 10 
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      €10 EUR or more 

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 20 ANÚNA releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Otherworld, Christmas from Ireland, Evocation, ANÚNA Selected II, When the War is Over, ANÚNA : Collection, Transcendence, Selected 1987-2017, and 12 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      €88.40 EUR or more (35% OFF)

     

1.
2.
Brezairola 03:32
3.
Sensation 05:02
4.
Silver River 03:09
5.
6.
Lux Aeterna 03:40
7.
8.
9.
10.
Tenebrae IV 02:39
11.
O Maria 06:07 video

about

"Sensation" is a moody and esoteric musical collection written by composer Michael McGlynn. ANÚNA have long skirted the edge of contemporary choral and world music, but this disc firmly establishes them as a uniquely powerful instrument.

Reviewed by Stephen Eddins for All Music Guide :

"Sensation, the 10th album by Irish choral ensemble Anúna, brings together a wide assortment of music, all of it arranged or composed by its conductor, Michael McGlynn. While McGlynn's treatments may rankle purists, who, for instance, only want to hear Hildegard von Bingen performed by unaccompanied women's voices, when taken on its own terms, his cross-pollination of musical styles is never less than intriguing and is most often beguiling.

McGlynn's sophistication as a composer accounts for much of the album's appeal. The title track, featuring a speaker reciting an idyllic Rimbaud poem, accompanied by violin, harp, and women's chorus singing a sensual, impressionistic setting of the same text, vividly captures the serenity and eroticism of Rimbaud's imagery. McGlynn's setting of the medieval text "Maid in the Moor Lay" is disarming in its folk-like simplicity and purity. His "O Maria" is harmonically and texturally complex, but never sounds "difficult," and conveys an otherworldly and enveloping serenity. Other pieces, such as "Silver River" and "Shining Water", bring a new age sensibility to the Irish folk tradition.

The other factor in making this album so sensually appealing and rewarding is the extraordinary technical prowess and secure musicianship of the singers. The ease and precision and musicality of their performances of extremely demanding music puts them in the ranks of the very finest chamber choirs. It would be a pleasure to hear them bring their formidable strength to the broader repertoire of exceptional (and exceptionally difficult to perform) choral music that is being written today."

credits

released March 28, 2006

Produced by Brian Masterson & Michael McGlynn

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

ANÚNA

"...thrilling, life-affirming..."
"...enchanting sonic tapestry..."
"...a place where the heavens meet the horizon..."

Falling into no category easily, Anúna remain at the fringe of contemporary music after over a quarter of a century of life. Timeless, ancient and simultaneously relevant to this world.
... more

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