SAID THE SUN TO THE MOON

Tirill Mohn is back with her fourth solo album, a concept/thematic piece which provides twelve songs dedicated to the shift of the seasons, 'to the beauty of nature in all its phases and changes, and to the human heart that wanders along with it, moon after moon, lifetime after lifetime.' Commencing with 'Autumn', each season has three songs as she works through the year. This is a somewhat unsuual album in that all instruments are stringed, with no percussion. The music is layered, and while there are plenty of mandolins and guitars there are also violins, cellos and harps. It takes the listener on a journey, with wonderful vocals, harmonies and songs, and the darkness of reality seems so far away indeed.

Released in 2019, this album had been six long years since 'Um Himinjǫ'ur' and one can only hope that the next one comes around far more quickly, as this is a work of some importance. The delicacy and space between the instruments is huge, and one can imagine a small group of friends sat together in a room smiling at each other as they weave the spell. There is a na've charm to some of these, which sounds almost as if they have come out of the Sixties when the world was still innocent, and not from the far more bombastic and plastic world of the current day. It is sheer beauty, possibly something more and certainly nothing less.

I often like to play music at the end of the night, and in order to give my weary ears and brain a rest from playing music I have yet to to review, I often turn to old favourites such as 'Snow Goose' to see out the day. However, this album is such a delight that I have found myself turning to it time and again not because I need to play it more to be able to write some words, but just because I have been enjoying it so much and it relaxes me each time I hear it. Whether this music is described as progressive acoustic, New Age ambient, Celtic or alternative folk, all I know is that it is a delight from beginning to end. Her voice captures me, and combined with the music takes me to places I want to discover, and when playing this on headphones the rest of the world just disappears and I am entranced.