I described VOICES as “a piece of music as a place to think”, and VOICES 2 develops this principle. In a sense this second record is a space to look at the questions raised by the first record.
Building on the musical material of the first record, VOICES 2 extends the musical language into a purely instrumental and abstract direction. Where the first part of the project is very focussed on the text of The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights, the 2nd part opens up a musical space to let these words and ideas sink in.
Mercy, the last track on the first record becomes in this new configuration not the end, but the mid-point of the project and, as the music progresses, the DNA of Mercy increasingly permeates the entire musical landscape.
The music was in large part recorded as part of the original sessions and features the same dedicated band of players. Some additional recording had to be done during the months of lockdown; I will never forget recording the solo piano music in the vast spaces of the eerily deserted Studio 1 at Abbey Road.
– Max Richter
