Les Flandriens
Flemish Radio Choir & Bart Van Reyn, Philippe Souvagie (baritone solo) (2020)
The Flemish Radio Choir has always held a special place for compositions by Flemish composers. In 2020, they selected 13 compositions to put together a CD with exclusively works from homegrown composers. This included my piece De Waterlelie, for SATB a cappella choir and baritone solo (sung on this CD by Philippe Souvagie).
Maalaulu
Marjukka Tepponen (soprano), ANÚNA, Isaac Cates & Ordained (2021)
Maalaulu (Earth Song), composed by Michael McGlynn, is a hymn to the Earth, the cycle of the natural world renewing and replenishing itself. Finnish soprano Marjukka Tepponen opens the work singing unaccompanied. This represents the individual within the landscape. She sings an old Finnish text about the hidden beauty within the simple things around us, so often neglected.
The songs then travels to Ireland through the voices of ANÚNA resonating within their landscape to, connecting Finland and Ireland.
We then travel across the world to Kansas City. Isaac Cates and Ordained portray the community within the world where there is hope for the future.
Fingerprints #4
Desguin Quartet & Scarbo Saxophone Quartet (2022)
In an initative by Radio Klara, VRT Music, Flanders Arts Institute, ComAV, and Sabam for Culture, this CD gathered 21 “radio-friendly” compositions from Flemish composers for string and saxophone quartet. The Fingerprints series aims to present the DNA of living Flemish composers, each CD with its own theme/instrumentation.
My piece, Saifu, for string quartet was selected as the first track and recorded by the Desguin Quartet at VRT Studio Toots.
Suoni Celesti
The Gent Singers, Koriolis, Arabesk, Ataneres Ensemble, Lucas Cortoos (baritone solo) (2023)
Suoni Celesti (heavenly sounds) features a collection of vocal and instrumental compositions by Flemish composer Stefaan Vanheertum. The composer takes inspiration from poets such as Rainer Maria Rilke, Peter Verhelst, Nadine Anne Hura, Edgar Allen Poe and Emily Dickinson and explores both liturgical and secular worlds.
Victimae
M’ANAM, solo Þórhallur Auður Helgason (2023)
M’ANAM & soloist Þórhallur Auður Helgason bring an updated version of Michael McGlynn’s arrangement of this 11th Century Catholic sequence. Victimae forms part of the essence of M'ANAM; timeless, obscure and enigmatic. The song can be accessed on Bandcamp, Spotify, and other streaming services.
Sheet music michaelmcglynn.com.
Mo Ghille Mear (My Spirited Lad)
M’ANAM, solo Cian O Donnell, Noel Eccles (percussion), Massimo Orlandini (Uileann Pipes) (2024)
Composer Michael McGlynn says: “I wanted to return to this classic song with M’ANAM which I recorded 30 years ago with Sting and the Chieftains for “The Long Black Veil” album. The original arrangement was created to complement Sting’s relaxed delivery of the piece, and iconic it is too! But Cian adds so much to this performance that comes from his insight into the Irish language.”
L’è e Mez d’la Sira
ANÚNA, solos Massimo Orlandini & Pauline Langlois de Swarte (2024)
In December 2023, I got to go on tour with ANÚNA throughout the Netherlands and Belgium. While there, we recorded the single L’è e Mez d’la Sira. This gentle and passionate folksong is arranged by Massimo Orlandini and comes from the Frignano region of Italy. It is based on the singing of Frignano legends I Viulan. This track was released for free to download, but any donations or purchases through Bandcamp will go towards the ANÚNA Education Programme.
Día tras Día
Amaranthe Oudenaarde, cond. Johannes Dewilde (2024)