Composer Paul Pankert says of this new recording: "The use of live electronics has characterised my composition process over the last years. This should not be surprising, given that digitalisation is a defining element of our time in all areas of society, including art and compositional technique. It is impossible for me, however, to contemplate doing without the sound of instruments played live; for me, the performers expressivity will always be a central aspect of musical expression. The sounds created, however, are also fed into a computer via microphones on the instruments; they are then electronically transposed, modulated, delayed, filtered, looped... and then played back in real time via loudspeakers. The programming of the electronics is therefore a fundamental part of the composition. My close involvement with baroque music over many years has naturally also influenced my compositional style, although rarely has it done so in such a distinctive way as in my Toccata and Pavane, in which I used baroque works as a musical foundation. These works were inspired by unusual portrait photos by the Liege based artist and photographer Sophie Langohr; I have composed new solo works based on virtuoso pieces from the early baroque in order to achieve a corresponding interaction on a musical level."
