Batter’s Box for Soprano and Piano
Duration: 18’
Text by Kenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds
Performers: American Modern Ensemble: Dmitri Pittas, tenor; Blair McMillen, piano
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=914
Online Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/batter_s_box_fs_bound
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/batters-box

PROGRAM NOTES
Batter's Box is my second song cycle written in collaboration with Bridget Meeds, a poet, and Kenny Berkowitz, a journalist. The first project we worked on together was Thursday, a song cycle for soprano and piano in which the text consists of fictitious answering machine messages. This time, we specifically decided to tackle a subject that we thought might entice people into the concert hall who might not normally attend classical concerts. The text is loosely based on the life of baseball giant Mike Piazza of the New York Mets. Each movement represents a different phase of the game, and Piazza’s thoughts of his father tie everything together. However, overall, I interpret this cycle as being less about Piazza the individual and more about the all-American baseball player.

Winter Songs

Batter's Box - 3. Rain Delay

The Inquest

The inquest

painful death

Z blue house Z

An ai generated instrumental music track.

The Hollow Pines

I produced this track for my clip "Passo San Marco": https://youtu.be/FUShfDl6xCQ

San Marco and giants

Elevation

Welcome Up

I had no partner so it's a very short solo version:)

The Phantom of the Opera

Humanité

🎧 Stream / ⬇Download

A more folk / country sound on this one

LYRICS:

The stone within a band of gold
A fairytale with parts untold
The words you write with the pen you hold compose the nightmares which unfold

To walk along the frozen path
To see the sadness in the laugh
It takes a week to walk a mile
Is that a grimace or a smile?

They’re holding hands while throwing stones
We’ll feel the chill within our bones
Is it too late to turn around before they burrow underground?

It's a one-time chance in a one-horse town
They promised that they’re never gonna let you down again
And again and again..

Lunatic

Legrasse