I deleted this one earlier this year for whatever reason. But It's here to stay now.

Well it's a dud, caught in the middle of I know you should
You said you would, not counting stitches at the end of it
And there you go, there you go
It's just for show, it's just for show
--------------------------------------------------------
And if I say tomorrow, I'm burning down a bridge
You see the flames of sorrow and breathe the ashes
Cause' it's a dud, ah held on when you knew you could
You lost your foot, ah and fell from where you stood
From where you stood
--------------------------------------------------------
Well, in a nutshell, you're everything I thought you were
And standing sun, toss it in and let it burn
And there you go, there you go
It's just for show, it's just for show
--------------------------------------------------------
And if I say tomorrow, I'm burning down a bridge
You see the flames of sorrow and breathe the ashes
Cause' it's a dud, ah held on when you knew you could
You lost your foot, ah and fell from where you stood
From where you stood

Counting Stitches

Let's Overcome And Chain Our Tremors

Alison Theme [ Orchestral ]

Written: 2005-06/2023-25
Duration: ca. 33'
for orchestra (3 (dbl Pic.), 3 (dbl Eng. Hn.), 3 (dbl Bass Cl.), 3 (dbl C-bsn.); 4,3,3,1; timp +3; hp; kybd; strings)
Written for JoAnn Falletta and Mostly Modern Orchestra in honor of Mostly Modern Festival’s fifth season
For more information: https://robertpaterson.com/journey-of-a-dragonfly
Video: https://youtu.be/hZOVmC9R82M
Full Video: https://youtu.be/hZOVmC9R82M
Promo Video: https://youtu.be/FYH7xl2Uinw

PROGRAM NOTE
As a child, my parents vacationed at a summer cottage in Maine by a small lake. Often by myself, I would sit on a giant boulder and watch the lake and the wildlife for hours.

One day, a beautiful bright-winged dragonfly flew across the lake and hovered before me. I was startled and intrigued: its long, slender blue body glistened in the sunlight. Finally, it began to fly around the perimeter of the lake. It stopped every few minutes and hovered in place, almost as if waiting for me to follow it. I followed the dragonfly until sunset, imagining a world in which only the dragonfly existed, on its own terms, within its own world.

Years later, I hiked around the Niagara Gorge near Niagara Falls and explored Devil’s Hole Park. There is an opening on the side of a cliff called Devil’s Hole Cave. Interestingly, early Native Americans called it the Cave of the Evil Spirit and foretold subsequent disaster to anyone who dared enter the cave. The combination of the lake, the dragonfly, and Devil’s Hole Cave all came together and helped crystalize the idea for this work.

Journey of a Dragonfly begins as the sun rises; a foreboding darkness looms in the background, contrasting the Dragonfly’s graceful entrance into a world filled with the excitement of being alive. A gust of wind carries dandelion seeds skyward alongside butterflies and rainbow-colored wildflowers. Butterflies land on flowers before the Dragonfly ventures through a dark forest and emerges, only to be chased by five blackbirds. Weaving back and forth to try and escape, the Dragonfly flies into a narrow crevice as two of the blackbirds collide with trees. While still being chased, the three remaining birds retreat as the Dragonfly discovers a dark hole leading to a tunnel. The dragonfly speeds down the ghoulish tunnel and emerges at the end of the tunnel at the side of a cliff, hovering in place. It looks around in horror and sees a gigantic cavern and then Devil Town. After flying through Devil Town and witnessing tortured souls, a bomb factory, Attorney Alley, and the Devil’s Saloon, off in the distance, the Dragonfly sees Satan’s House on a hill and decides to explore. The Dragonfly enters the house and sees the Devil Child, the Devil Mother, and the Devil himself. Suddenly, the Devil Child catches the Dragonfly in a glass jar as the parents prepare dinner in the kitchen. The Dragonfly eventually manages to escape, only to be chased by the Devil Child and then by a group of hellish bats. After a chaotic chase, the Dragonfly finds the tunnel and speeds back toward the world above. Finally free, the Dragonfly finds a flat rock to rest. The tale concludes as the Dragonfly falls asleep, the sun sets by the lake, and the evening fades to black.

Journey of a Dragonfly was written for JoAnn Falletta and Mostly Modern Orchestra in honor of Mostly Modern Festival’s fifth season.

– RP

Movements:
1. The Lake: Sunrise
2. Dragonfly’s Entrance
3. Chase: Blackbirds
4. Descent Into The Underworld
5. Devil Town
6. Satan’s House
7. Trapped
8. Kitchen
9. Escape
10. Chase: Bats
11. Ascent To The World Above
12. The Lake: Sunset

Journey of a Dragonfly for Orchestra

Website

Easy

Breeze Through the Quantum Field.mp3

Slip N Slide centers the feelings of pain surrounding heartbreak. These are the very emotions that paved my entry into making music. We've all been through our love trials and breakups, and if you haven't yet...it's probably on its way. All I know is, it showed me the way and made me who I am today. Know who is good to keep around and know who drains your energy. Hope yall vibe with this one. 

Slip 'N Slide

This is my latest pop song with male AI vocals. Lyrics are taken from a poem by William Shakespeare. Listen with headphones...

Out now on all streaming platforms and distribution sites.

https://open.spotify.com/intl-de/track/19TSGR6UfVhBZGm0KTZl8y?si=4eff4cbdc8454a7c

William Shakespeare - "To me, fair friend..." (sonnet 73)

"That time of year thou mayst in me behold
When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang
Upon those boughs which shake against the cold,
Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang.
In me thou see'st the twilight of such day
As after sunset fadeth in the west,
Which by and by black night doth take away,
Death's second self, that seals up all in rest.
In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire
That on the ashes of his youth doth lie,
As the death-bed whereon it must expire,
Consum'd with that which it was nourish'd by.
This thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong,
To love that well which thou must leave ere long."

If you enjoy what you hear hit the like and repost button.

Follow me on Soundcloud and Facebook.

@constellation-lyra

www.facebook.com/pages/Constellat…/377825935649048

Thy Love [out on Spotify]

But when you're next to me, you'll feel like my one and only...

Next to Me

Next To Me

Can you feel your heart beating in anticipation?

Affair of the Heart

..as observed at a nightclub once upon a time....the whistle is as he walks away...hands in pockets...feigning nonchalance. :)

Time to Time

Outside

American composer Robert Paterson is a true New Yorker—born and bred in Buffalo, he lived in Rochester and Ithaca for over ten years, in New York City for over twenty years, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, near the Adirondacks. Paterson’s colorful music embraces a wide variety of themes, everything from goddesses and online dating to mathematics and the environment. His music is filled with emotion and fierce rhythmic energy, marked by elegance, wit, and meticulous craftsmanship. Named Composer of The Year by the Classical Recording Foundation at Carnegie Hall, Paterson is the winner of the Alfred I. DuPont Award, and his opera Three Way won the Grammy® under Best Classical Producer of the Year. His music is often a Best of the Year pick on National Public Radio. His orchestral tone poem, Dark Mountains, regularly airs on NPR’s Performance Today. Three Way premiered with Nashville Opera, then BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), and across the United States. Minnesota Orchestra, Louisville Orchestra, The Oratorio Society of New York, Buffalo Philharmonic, Albany Pro Musica, Albany Symphony, Musica Sacra, Austin Symphony, Vermont Symphony, and ensembles worldwide perform his works. Paterson gives masterclasses at the Curtis Institute of Music, New York University, the Aspen Music Festival, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and more. He is the Artistic Director and house composer for Mostly Modern Projects. Robert is a lifelong vegan and advocates for animals and the environment, celebrating the natural world with ground-breaking works such as his Triple Concerto, A New Eaarth, Listen, and I Go Among Trees.

Journey of a Dragonfly for Orchestra

Robert Paterson Composer