The inaugural presentation of Studio Sound features Suzanne Ciani and Sarah Davachi—two composers of different generations working with innovative music technologies. As part of Studio Sound, Davachi will perform Brass Chant live in MoMA’s Kravis Studio.
Sarah Davachi is a Canadian experimental composer and performer who creates immersive, layered drones using a wide range of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, including organs, strings, brass, and synthesizers. Continuing a lineage of minimalist composers such as Éliane Radigue, Tony Conrad, and La Monte Young, her works expand the human perception of sound through subtle variations of considered harmonic structures, exploring overtone complexity, intonation, and natural resonance.
At MoMA, Davachi will present performances of new electroacoustic works that challenge listeners’ temporal experience of sound. Brass Chant, a composition for brass trio with electronic drones, explores both harmony and texture, reducing them to fundamental forms that invoke particular spatial interactions. The piece uses a rhythmic hocketing effect to simulate the unique circular experience of sound-on-sound tape delay, while highlighting the stark beauty of the unison interval. The work will be performed by the artist and members of Contemporaneous.
There will be a first-come, first-served standby line beginning 30 minutes before the event.
Brass Chant (2023)
Sarah Davachi: electronics
Contemporaneous: brass trio
Daniel Linden: trombone
Rebecca Steinberg: trumpet
Patrick Jankowski: French horn