Poesias

On her Act debut album, Poesias (meaning ‘poems’ in Switzerland’s fourth national language, Romansh), the Swiss-born vocalist’s voice functions as one of three instruments acting as equal partners, her singing closely intermeshed with Moritz Stahl’s tenor saxophone and Philipp Schiepek’s guitar.

The trio first met in Fiona Grond’s adoptive city of Munich, where the local scene has been steadily gaining profile and visibility for a few years now; this trio counts as a significant new discovery on the Munich scene.

Grond, Stahl and Schiepek form a trio which interacts naturally and organically. The depths of concentration which they find are as unusual and original as their voice- saxophone-guitar ensemble. The music which they explore also covers a wide musical field - from Fiona Grond’s own compositions to a piece by the duo of Sidsel Endresen and Bugge Wesseltoft, which, she explains was especially influential for her, to arrangements of folklore from the Graubünden region, and the ‘Sarabande’ from Johann Sebastian Bach’s B minor Partita for solo violin.

 This remarkable recording is particularly touching and affecting for its depth, warmth and transparency, and for its glorious sound. This is almost spiritual music, and listeners who allow themselves to enter this magical world will find that spaces open up that they will be keen to explore again and again.