Download Album Cover*

Animo Two

ANIMO
Sarah Waycott flute
Yanna Zissiadou piano

Anne Boyd composer
Geoff Eales composer
Edmund Jolliffe composer
Joseph Howard composer
Tara Guram composer
Lukas Piel composer
Helen Walker composer
William Lloyd Webber composer

Release Date: December 2, 2022
Catalog #: RR8079
Format: Digital
21st Century
Chamber
Flute
Piano

The outstanding vigor of flutist Sarah Waycott and pianist Yanna Zissiadou is on full display on ANIMO TWO, an arresting album of new music for the ANIMO flute and piano duo. The richness of musical color created here with two solo instruments is a mesmerizing testament to ANIMO’s skill both as individual performers as well as their chemistry in dialogue. Zissiadou and Waycott truly have the Midas touch when it comes to commissioning new pieces for their rare setup, yielding an album that meanders between empathetic tenderness and unfettered exuberance. A delight.

Listen

Hear the full album on YouTube

Stream/Buy

Choose your platform

Buy Album: Amazon (digital download) Qobuz (24-bit download)

Track Listing & Credits

# Title Composer Performer
01 Cloudy Mountain Anne Boyd ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 8:23
02 The Journey of Alan Kurdi Lukas Piel ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 7:05
03 The Red Birds: Sky Dancer Edmund Jolliffe ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 3:56
04 The Red Birds: The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker Edmund Jolliffe ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 3:09
05 The Red Birds: The Cuckoo Edmund Jolliffe ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 5:06
06 Suite for Alto Flute and Piano: Worlds Apart Helen Walker ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, alto flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:23
07 Suite for Alto Flute and Piano: There's Still Hope Helen Walker ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, alto flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:08
08 Suite for Alto Flute and Piano: While the River Flows Helen Walker ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, alto flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:25
09 Two Pieces for Piccolo and Piano: Get Gone Helen Walker ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, piccolo; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:02
10 Two Pieces for Piccolo and Piano: Wildflower Helen Walker ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, piccolo; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:41
11 Ex Arcadia Joseph Howard ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute, alto flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 6:22
12 Requiem Tara Guram ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 9:14
13 The Last Kiss Geoff Eales ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 5:45
14 The Gardens at Eastwell William Lloyd Webber ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:20
15 Mulberry Cottage William Lloyd Webber ANIMO | Sarah Waycott, flute; Yanna Zissiadou, piano 2:13

Tracks 1, 6-10, 14-15
Recorded January-February, 2021 at Eden’s Hill Home Studio, UK
Recording Engineer & Editing Adam Bertenshaw
Editing & Mixing Sansom Studios

Tracks 2, 11-12
Recorded January-February & August, 2020 at Eden’s Hill Home Studio, UK
Recording Engineer & Mixing Adam Bertenshaw

Tracks 3-5, 13
Recorded January-February, 2021 at Eden’s Hill Home Studio, UK
Recording Engineer Adam Bertenshaw
Editing & Mixing Sansom Studios

Mastering Ethan Fields, Melanie Montgomery

Executive Producer Bob Lord

A&R Director Brandon MacNeil
A&R Danielle Sullivan

VP of Production Jan Košulič
Audio Director Lucas Paquette

VP, Design & Marketing Brett Picknell
Art Director Ryan Harrison
Design Edward A. Fleming, Morgan Hauber
Publicity Patrick Niland, Aidan Curran

Artist Information

ANIMO

Ensemble

The ANIMO flute and piano duo is the creation of flautist Sarah Waycott and pianist Yanna Zissiadou. Both experienced performers and educators, they came together in 2018 to form an idea for a contemporary music duo that will break through the “Classical Music” norms and perform music that is soulful and accessible by all, regardless of its origins, style, and medium.

Learn More

Notes

ANIMO two is an amalgamation of the first five ‘new music project’ compositions, with works by Tara Guram, Joseph Howard, Edward Jolliffe, Lukas Piel, and Helen Walker alongside ANIMO’S core repertoire, all chosen for being soulful, challenging, and accessible to all.

This is also the first time that ANIMO experimented with audio effects during the mixing of this album which has opened up new pathways for further experimentation for all subsequent albums as the ‘new music project’ continues.

Anne Boyd (1946-) is a distinguished Australian composer and an influential figure in music education. Cloudy Mountain is part of a trilogy firmly rooted and influenced by East-Asian music traditions. Animo fell in love with Anne Boyd’s music ever since performing Bali Moods at their Launch.

– ANIMO

Lukas Piel is a sound designer and composer of film and games music. Responding to Animo’s brief, Lukas’s created an emotive score and soundscape that tells the story of Alan Kurdi through the voices of their two instruments against the most dramatic and captivating soundscape. The score is simple yet haunting.

– ANIMO

Edmund Jolliffe is a prolific multimedia award-winning composer. The Red Birds was inspired by the RSPB’s list of endangered British birds portraying the distinctive character of each bird. The Sky Dancer is inspired by the mating flight of the male Hen Harrier. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is frantic and vivid, just like the woodpecker’s flight from tree to tree. The Cuckoo (is a pretty bird) has an unexpected ending whereby the flute’s folk melody gets crashed by the piano as the two instruments play in hugely contrasting dynamics.

– ANIMO

Helen Walker is a mutli-faceted composer, performer and singer-songwriter. Helen’s pieces are influenced by folk, pop, jazz and classical idioms making them distinctively different from any other pieces in Animo’s repertoire. Writing for alto and piccolo were a conscious choice for Helen who wanted a “different” sound for these pieces. The titles of each are indicative of their mood and colour.

– ANIMO

Joseph Howard composed Ex Arcadia for Animo’s launch in 2019. Based on Animo’s brief, Joe created an intricate dramatic two-movement composition which incorporates a live performance against a triggered, multi-layered, electronically manipulated pre-recorded soundscape. Both flute and piano are equal partners and Joe showcases the sound of two flutes. The piece was performance at Animo’s launch in Gloucester Blackfriars in October 2019.

– ANIMO

A PARMA artist, Tara Guram’s composition style is idiomatic and unique but above all, instinctive and heartfelt. Requiem (for my dead mother) was entrusted to Animo and was the result of many months of discussions until the final work was completed in August 2021.

– ANIMO

Quite a few of Animo’s core repertoire pieces have their roots in Jazz. Geoff Eales is a celebrated Welsh composer and arranger, pianist, music director and improviser and one of Animo’s favourite composers. The Last Kiss is based on a Waltz beat. The composer allows both instruments the freedom to stray from the beat but without disrupting its flow. Its simplicity is its beauty.

– ANIMO

William Lloyd-Webber (1914-1982), was a celebrated organist and critically acclaimed composer. His music is quintessentially romantic. As a man he didn’t waste words and as a composer he asked “Why write six pages when six bars will do?” These two short pieces are the perfect example of how to encapsulate the essence of the British countryside in soulful, unassuming and timeless music.

– ANIMO