Lucien Goethals (1931-2006) is a composer who had a focus on electronic music. Or with 'real' instruments such as bass clarinet, which is the focus on side one of this album. "Difonium" is an 18-minute composition with Harry Sparnaay on bass clarinet, with Goethals's electronic sounds. This 1974 composition is a moody interplay with the wind instrument andmagnétaphone. I think of Edgard Varése's music when listening to this piece. Not only due to its compositional techniques but for it's the sense of purity in sound and vision.
Side Two starts off with "Cellotape," and I have to say I love the mixture of electronics and real instrumentation such as piano and violin. I admire electronic music as it stands by itself, but the tension of having real instruments brings the music a specific type of intensity. Sometimes this music is instruments treated through an electronic medium (besides the recording studio of course), but here it's on equal ground with Goethals's eternal sounds. The Piano goes through cluster-sounds, strumming of the piano keys as well as played on the keyboard. "Studie VII B" is pure electronic composition, and I find it lacking in that it does need the presence of a real instrument in its mix.
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