Anam: Music to Move the Soul Apollo5

• Fraser Wilson: Anam:
• 1 Wilson: Anam 04:05
• Rebecca Tavener: O Rubor Sanguinis
• 2 Tavener: O Rubor Sanguinis 01:56
• James MacMillan (b. 1959): Os Mutorum:
• 3 MacMillan: Os Mutorum 04:22
• Philippe Verdelot: Donna, se fiera stella:
• 4 Verdelot: Donna, se fiera stella 02:39
• Cipriano de Rore (1516 - 1565): Hor che l'aria e la terra:
• 5 Rore: Hor che l'aria e la terra 03:37
• Lucy Walker: My Heart, My God, Is Steadfast:
• 6 Walker: My Heart, My God, Is Steadfast 01:59
• C.H.H. Parry (1848 - 1918): My Soul, There Is a Country:
• 7 Parry: My Soul, There Is a Country 03:30
• Francis Pott (b. 1957): When Music Sounds:
• 8 Pott: When Music Sounds 04:39
• Paul Smith (1906 - 1985): A Study (A Soul):
• 9 Smith: A Study (A Soul) 03:22
• Traditional: Ca' the Yowes (Arr. by Adrian Peacock):
• 10 Traditional: Ca' the Yowes (Arr. by Adrian Peacock) 03:57
• Paul Mealor (b. 1975): Beneath Thy Compassion:
• 11 Mealor: Beneath Thy Compassion 02:53
• Henrik Dahlgren (b. 1991): Without Knowing:
• 12 Dahlgren: Without Knowing 03:23
• Traditional: Black is the Colour (Arr. by Blake Morgan):
• 13 Traditional: Black is the Colour (Arr. by Blake Morgan) 04:39
• Michael McGlynn (b. 1964): Am gaeth i m-muir:
• 14 McGlynn: Am gaeth i m-muir 02:40
• Tom Petty (1950 - 2017): Wildflowers (Arr. by Penelope Appleyard):
• 15 Petty: Wildflowers (Arr. by Penelope Appleyard) 03:21
• Teena Lyle: The Eternal Rose (An Rós Síoraí):
• 16 Lyle: The Eternal Rose (An Rós Síoraí) 04:08
• Mairi Campbell (b. 1965): Auld Lang Syne (Arr. by Christopher Moore):
• 17 Campbell: Auld Lang Syne (Arr. by Christopher Moore) 03:34
• Total Runtime 58:44

Info for Anam: Music to Move the Soul

Marking the fifteenth anniversary of the British vocal group, APOLLO5 present their seventh studio album: Anam, a collection of Music to Move the Soul comprised of world premieres and musical storytelling. With ‘anam’ meaning ‘soul’ in Gaelic, a strong Celtic theme underpins the album, which features new arrangements of folk songs, pagan texts, poetry by Robert Burns, brand new commissions inspired by Scottish and Irish musical traditions, and even traditional instruments. Other strands include Italian Renaissance madrigals, new settings of Romantic English poetry, and recordings of pieces by much-loved British composers Charles Hubert Parry and James MacMillan. There is a strong presence of women composers across the disc, with new pieces and arrangements by Lucy Walker, Teena Lyle, Rebecca Tavener and APOLLO5 soprano Penelope Appleyard, and the poetry of Christina Rosetti is also represented. Anam features more instrumentation than ever before on an APOLLO5 album, with guest appearances from clàrsach player Ruth Wall, uilleann pipe player Rita Farrell, and percussionist Teena Lyle. Together, the album’s seventeen tracks explore how the rich bardic tradition of storytelling and a connection to homeland, heritage and nature can inspire music and poetry that resonates timelessly with powerful imagery and emotional depth. Anam blends tradition with innovation in a journey across centuries and cultures.

Apollo5
Clare Stewart, mezzo-soprano
Penny Appleyard, soprano
Oscar Golden-Lee, tenor
Gus Perkins Ray, bass-baritone
Joseph Taylor, tenor

APOLLO5
is one of Britain’s most dynamic small vocal ensembles, renowned for its ability to connect intimately with audiences while producing a rich, vibrant and versatile sound. Formed in London in 2011 and part of The VOCES8 Foundation, the critically acclaimed a cappella quintet brings together a soprano, mezzo‑soprano, two tenors and a bass, and draws on more than five centuries of music in programmes that move effortlessly between Renaissance and classical repertoire, folk traditions, jazz and pop.

Touring regularly across Europe and North America, APOLLO5 has appeared at leading venues including Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Sinfonia Smith Square, the Barbican Centre, Oper Frankfurt, and Philharmonie Luxembourg. Recent highlights include performances at the Three Choirs Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival and York Early Music Festival, alongside North American tours taking in Memphis, Albuquerque (for SWACDA) and Honolulu. The ensemble’s distinctive sound and programming have made them frequent guests on BBC Radio 3’s In Tune, and the group also receive airplay on Classic FM, Magic Classical and NTS Radio. APOLLO5 occasionally appears alongside VOCES8 in concerts and media performances, with both groups forming the core of The VOCES8 Foundation Choir.

The group’s growing discography reflects both its stylistic range and its commitment to storytelling through sound. APOLLO5 has released eight solo studio albums. Their most recent release, Crossings (2026), is a musical meditation on the ancient Via Francigena pilgrimage route. Other albums include Anam (2025), a Gaelic-inspired collection, and Haven (2023), which explores music by troubled, displaced and persecuted composers and features William Byrd’s complete Mass for Five Voices. Where All Roses Go (2021) and O Radiant Dawn (2019) both reached the top five of the UK Classical Charts, while the winter album A Deep But Dazzling Darkness (2021) was picked as one of The Observer’s best classical Christmas albums of the year. Invocations (2023), a collaboration with composer‑arranger Fraser Wilson, showcases the ensemble’s flair for contemporary writing and bespoke arrangements. Draw Near, released in 2026 and a collaboration with American composer Alexander Pierce Hill, presents a new five‑part setting of the Greek Orthodox liturgy.

During the COVID‑19 pandemic APOLLO5 played a central role in LIVE From London, The VOCES8 Foundation’s award‑winning digital festival series, helping to launch a platform that has since delivered more than ten online seasons and broadcast over 100 concerts, selling over 250,000 tickets in more than 183 territories and raising over £1.5 million to support over 500 arts professionals on and off screen. The ensemble continues to feature prominently in LIVE From London broadcasts and recordings, reaching global audiences through beautifully filmed performances.

Education and outreach sit at the heart of APOLLO5’s work. As part of The VOCES8 Foundation, the ensemble collaborates with CEO Paul Smith and affiliated groups to deliver transformative workshops, masterclasses and concerts to over 40,000 participants each year across the UK, Europe and the USA. In France, APOLLO5 has worked with thousands of singers through Association Sing’In projects, performing in unique spaces from football stadiums and circuses to royal abbeys. Much of their UK education activity is based at the VOCES8 Centre at St Anne & St Agnes Church in central London, where they lead children’s concerts, residencies and long‑term projects that champion ‘music education for all’.

“Immaculately sung one-to-a-part. Everything here is faultless, from the perfectly balanced pace and imaginative choice of repertoire to Apollo5’s exceptional cohesion and effortless style.” — BBC Music Magazine

This album contains no booklet.