Erik Lundborg - Music from the Association for the Promotion of New Music (Apnm), vol. 3 (2023)

The third volume of releases from the APNM (Association for the Promotion of New Music) focuses on works that incorporate the electronic medium. Techniques ranging from analog synthesis, manipulation of pre-recorded material, strictly computer generated material, and integration with live performance shape the works in this set. The APNM was founded in 1975 by Jacques-Louis Monod to provide a community for composers with a shared aesthetic sensibility. The organization presents concerts, promotion, and publishing services to its member composers.

Erik Lundborg’s haunting Miss Anderson opens the program. Assembling material from a synclavier improvisation in 1987 by the composer, the work is expansive and atmospheric. A dense series of sustained harmonies morphs as internal voices are added, removed, and shifted, creating a seven minute chorale. Registral and timbral changes mark structural areas, notably the introduction of airy, gong-like songs near the five and half minute mark that lend the final ninety seconds of the work a disembodied character.

Ionel Petroi’s Huit Danses Surprise features sounds from the DX7 synthesizer, processed with rapid frequency modulations. Quick, narrow oscillations of pitch in the introduction are reminiscent of the theremin, creating concentrated energy within each new pitch entrance. A more diverse textural landscape follows, with rhythmic articulations framing a series of contrasting gestures, and a sectional form carving out space to explore various timbral variations. The closing passage of the piece returns to the sound world of the introduction, albeit in intensified form.