Sarah Davachi's Two-and-a-Half-Hour Minimalist Epic Rewards Deep Attention
The Canadian composer's latest release compiles recent commissions for choir, chamber ensemble, and pipe organ into a sprawling collection. It demands sustained focus on subtle timbral shifts, with a 46-minute centerpiece accounting for a third of the runtime. The material is grouped into series, including a three-part piece for Chamber Choir Ireland.
Davachi's compositional approach draws on pre-Baroque tuning systems and what she terms "late music," a deliberate inversion of the historical "early music" designation. The album's organ passages were recorded across five historical instruments in three countries, including Amsterdam's Orgelpark, a former church repurposed as a cultural venue. Her output is notably prolific, with releases appearing nearly annually across multiple platforms, contrasting with peers who space albums years apart.
The centerpiece commission originated from the Experimental Media Performing Arts Center in upstate New York, while the choral series was written for Chamber Choir Ireland with surrealist texts. Her 2020 live album approached three hours, and a 2024 release stretched to four and a half hours across four arrangements of one composition, establishing a consistent pattern of extended durations.
This release could deepen appreciation for minimalist composition among adventurous listeners, though its extreme length and austere textures may limit its reach to a niche audience. The album's use of deconsecrated church spaces and historical instruments could spark renewed interest in preserving such venues for artistic purposes. For devoted fans, it may serve as a definitive document of Davachi's recent commissions, while casual listeners might find the commitment required a barrier to entry, potentially reinforcing the perception of contemporary classical music as demanding rather than accessible.