I tend to think of Michael Pisaro-Liu's musical career, now spanning some 30+ years, in two periods. The first, up to the early 2010's, is characterized by a more rigorous, pared-down approach, works that tended toward the quiet, seemingly severely sparse but that opened one's ears to an enormous amount of hitherto unappreciated sonic beauty. I'm thinking of things like his Transparent City series, where soft field recordings were threaded by sine tones chosen to "match", as closely as possible, the ambient sonic space. The second is somewhat more lush, more likely to incorporate allusions to other forms of music (often popular), more expansive. I know from seeing scores to some of his earlier work that there's generally a lot more going on than may be immediately apparent to one's ears, especially involving choices offered to the performer(s), and I'm guessing this might hold true with more recent work, though what hits the listener is, I think, more immediately approachable. While, given a choice, I might prefer the earlier mode, there has always been much to enjoy over the past 12 to 15 years as well.

So, I was very intrigued, even heartened, to learn of this two-disc set where the superb Norwegian bassist, Michael Francis Duch (along with Pisaro-Liu on guitar on one of the two pieces) performs works from the 90s: 'within (2)' (1996) and 'appearance (2)' (1998). 'within (2)', originally written for cello and adapted here for double bass by Duch, lasts exactly one hour and consists of a single, low arco note lasting about 15 seconds with silences between of about the same duration. The notes have somewhat different attacks, varying in vibrato, graininess, etc. and their pitch only varies modestly; it's a melody of sorts but very, very drawn out as well as being concerned with internal frequency "beats". The effect, if a visual analogy is appropriate, is one of very similar repeated shapes arrayed on a white wall, with subtle differences in tone, application, etc. As a listener, as with many works from Wandelweiser composers, there are several ways to approach works like this. One is to "not listen', that is, to allow the music to dwell as an element in the ambience of the room and to absorb it osmotically. The other, opposite way might be to listen intently to each element, observing the duration, variation, etc. in relation to its predecessors, successors and, if possible, the work as a whole. I prefer a kind of middle ground, dipping in and out for some degree of precise observation and some amount of allowing the music to tinge the room. For this listener, that works beautifully, almost like having some partially noticed living thing there beside you.

'appearance (2)' was written for two instruments, here double bass and electric guitar, in eleven five-minute sections with substantial silences between. At first, the same four notes are played, plucked by guitar, bowed by bass, the last note extended. The second sequence finds the pitches shifted down, the section shortened, the silence lengthened. All manner of subtle tonal and textural shifts occurs over the piece's duration, as well as the "beats" emerging and receding. The effect is oddly hypnotic, even dramatic, especially as the pitches shift into the low registers and the four-note sequence takes on a kind of dirge-like aspect, lending an unexpected emotional impact to music which is, on the surface, so stark and rigorous. This is one of Pisaro-Liu's great gifts as a composer; he and Duch realize this element beautifully on this release.