Sarah Davachi – The Will of Tongues

There’s something cumulative about Sarah Davachi's The Will of Tongues. An expression of all previous work in more complex process, it's a sonorous exploration of unison and harmony. Adding to her already gorgeous catalogue of drone-adjacent minimalism, it expands in infinite directions, with assertive and confident movement. There’s solo pipe organ works; a series of textural interludes for woodwind, brass and strings; three choral works and longer pieces featuring strings, organ and loops.

An entrancing study of her 'unison canon', it grows across tone, textures, notes, voice and time that is more evidenced here than in previous work, mostly by the depth and detail of the album's construction. Through the opening organs, the vocal works and the interludes, we’re moving away from, towards or through harmony, unison and dissonance, a storying lift from silence into simple, decisive evocations of tune and texture. Expanded journeys of multifaceted unisons, like repeated gestures, movements conversations.

This is one iteration of many, all instruments appearing, disappearing, momentarily. It’s gorgeous to think it is still happening somewhere right now. A tuning to desire, an ever developing work manifest, hopefully, in physical space, where we come to unison again.

Listen to: The Rose Dialogues, Part I & II, Canto Solo, Songs of the Smile’s Fig: III. Follies