Descendant II is one of the first sound works by Lars Fredrikson to have been recorded on tape. Evolving in stages on the basis of a general descending dynamic, it appears to serve as a pendant to the work Ascendant produced during the same period. Descendant II contains an unusual distribution across the full spectrum of high notes (Fredrikson’s sound works typically occupy the realm of low frequencies), at times at the limit of or going beyond audibility. However, the piece also includes very powerful low frequencies. Descendant II seems to have been created entirely using synthesizers.

Léa Dreyer, April 2021

Translated by Timothy Stroud