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David Lang’s darker, a slow, methodical and moody exploration of sound for 12 strings, received its premiere release on a recording by NYC’s renowned Ensemble Signal, conducted by Brad Lubman. In their capable hands, the music becomes a piece that gradually unfolds with the fervor and foreboding of a cinematic thriller.

Quite fittingly, Signal’s performance on Oct 9 of the hour-long piece at Brooklyn’s National Sawdust was accompanied by a provocative visual tableau designed by filmmaker Bill Morrison, known for his poignant use of long-forgotten, sometimes deteriorated, and often haunting archival footage.

“darker is both highly detailed and relentlessly restrained,” Lang explains, “and it requires an almost superhuman focus in order to keep it moving, inexorably, towards its end. In many ways, it’s more like an object than a piece of music. It’s an extreme exploration of emotional restraint — a long, slow passing from something mostly even and pleasant to something a little less pleasant.”