Anuna 2002

There are times when listening to Anuna that one imagines having stepped into a timewarp, that magic combination of wispy solo vocal and earthy choral work capable of turning hearts of stone into pure putty. So it is with this album, a new recording of their debut, issued in celebration of 15 years together, and replete with extra tracks.

The group’s leader, Michael McGlynn, has a peculiar talent for blending disparate voices, but it works beautifully, not alone with the choral pieces such as ‘Cormac Scripsit’, but also with the differing timbres of the female leads. The key to everything is of course the group’s total empathy with their material, guitar, violin and percussion accentuating the power of tracks like ‘The Raid’, a 900-year-old piece, to devastating effect.

With Anuna, the worlds of choral, classical and traditional music intersect with ease, a place where heaven meets the horizon in perfect coalescence