This electronic composition produced at the Parisian studio of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales in 1970 was dedicated, the composer explains, “to the memory of sailors who drowned on the ‘Eurydice’ submarine in March 1970.” However, the title also carries a wider humanist message, related to the famed tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice (...). The music material is exclusively electronic, but unlike Aela, many sections are based on “improvisation” in which, Kotoński adds, “the individual structures were formed in real time.” Such a composition technique was made possible by the advanced modern technology of the new Parisian studio. Some of the structures were composed using a Moog synthesiser. The piece was originally conceived as autonomous music for tape and as such, presented in 1970 in Paris. The premiere of the ballet version, designed as part of a show concert, was held in Stockholm in December 1971.
Stanisław Dybowski (excerpt from liner notes
on Kotoński’s music, Warsaw Philharmonic, 12 November 1973)