Five Cadences / Horae

Last April, composer and electro-acousticist Sarah Davachi recorded Five Cadences in her personal studio in Los Angeles. The instrumentation is frugal: a Mellotron and a tape recorder, whose reverb effects she exploited. This six-track EP also includes an excerpt from a harmonium improvisation, recorded live on stage. This is certainly an interesting exercise in terms of frequency superimpositions and textural exploration. The modulations are extremely tenuous, sometimes inspired by classical tonalities, but nevertheless let richer characteristics emerge than it seems at first blush. Five Cadences was released barely a month after Horae (March 20), which exploited sounds with very different textures but also acted on long, not very pronounced curves. Inspired by Greek goddesses at the gates of Olympus, divinities embodying the beacons of time, this work consisting of a triad and two other pieces offers a play of textures and colours, bumblebees with surprisingly benevolent harmonies despite the apparent austerity. A doctoral student at UCLA, Sarah Davachi received a master’s degree from Mills College in Oakland, famous for its propensity for contemporary music in the classical tradition and other avant-garde music since the 1940s. Her work is already rich and diverse, Sarah Davachi deserves the attention of all lovers of ambient and electroacoustic music.