I Go Among Trees
Music by Robert Paterson
https://www.robertpaterson.com/
Duration: ca. 15'
Instrumentation: SATB choir (with divisis, SSAATTBB) and marimba (5-octaves)

For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/i-go-among-trees
Buy Sheet Music: https://billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?keyword=i%20go%20among&main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1

MOVEMENTS
I. I Go Among Trees (Wendell Berry)
II. March in New England (May Sarton)
III. The Kestrel (John Frederick Freeman)

Commissioned by the New Amsterdam Singers, Clara Longstreth, Music Director, in honor of the chorus’ 50th Anniversary and the 65th Birthday of Barbara Zucker-Pinchoff.

NEW AMSTERDAM SINGERS
Clara Longstreth, Music Director & Conductor https://www.nasingers.org/
Guest Artist: Makoto Nakura, Marimba http://makotonakura.com/

Audio Engineer: Dongsok Shin
Recorded at Broadway Presbyterian Church, New York, NY, USA, December 12, 2021

I. I Go Among Trees
by Wendell Berry 

I go among trees and sit still. 
All my stirring becomes quiet 
around me like circles on water. 
My tasks lie in their places 
where I left them, asleep like cattle. 

Then what is afraid of me comes 
and lives a while in my sight. 
What it fears in me leaves me, 
and the fear of me leaves it. 
It sings, and I hear its song. 

Then what I am afraid of comes. 
I live for a while in its sight. 
What I fear in it leaves it, 
and the fear of it leaves me. 
It sings, and I hear its song. 

After days of labor, 
mute in my consternations, 
I hear my song at last, 
and I sing it. As we sing, 
the day turns, the trees move. 

Copyright © 1998 by Wendell Berry, from A Timbered Choir. Reprinted by permission of Counterpoint Press.

I Go Among Trees - I. I Go Among Trees (Wendell Berry)

Spring Songs
Duration: ca. 20'
Instrumentation: tenor and piano
Performers: American Modern Ensemble - Alok Jumar, tenor; Geoffrey Burleson, piano
Recorded at Opera America's National Opera Center, Marc A. Scorca Hall, New York, NY, USA, June 4, 2019
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?keyword=spring%20songs%20-&main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/spring-songs-version-for-tenor-and-piano

I. English Sparrows (Washington Square) (Edna St. Vincent Millay)
II.  April 5, 1974 (Richard Wilbur)
III. Done With (Ann Stanford)
IV. The Widow’s Lament in Springtime (William Carlos Williams)
V. Spring Rain (Sara Teasdale)

PROGRAM NOTES
Spring Songs for tenor and chamber ensemble or piano is my third song cycle celebrating the seasons. As with the first two, Winter Songs for bass-baritone and Summer Songs for soprano, this cycle contains settings of poems by various American poets.

Whereas both Winter Songs and Summer Songs end with scenes in New York City, Spring Songs begins with New York: a setting of English Sparrows (Washington Square) by Edna St. Vincent Millay, a poem about a scene that takes place in the morning in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood in New York City where Millay lived in the early 1900s. The second movement is a setting of April 5, 1974 by Richard Wilbur, a poem Wilbur wrote in honor of Robert Frost’s one-hundredth birthday, and I interpret as being about overcoming self-doubt through wisdom, and about understanding the change of seasons, but also a change of mind. The third movement, Done With by Ann Stanford, I interpret to be about death and rebirth. Stanford symbolizes this by a house being torn down and the ground paved over, the now suffocated plant life yearning to break through. The Widow’s Lament in Springtime, the fourth movement, is a setting of a poem by William Carlos Williams. I interpret this poem as a modernist, pastoral elegy that uses images of nature to lament the death of a loved one. The final movement, a setting of the poem Spring Rain by Sara Teasdale, is about a happy memory of a lover brought about by an evening thunderstorm.

Spring Songs was commissioned by Rick Teller and Kathleen Rogers and was premiered at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall by the American Modern Ensemble, Alok Kumar, tenor, and Geoffrey Burleson, piano.

Spring Songs (Piano/vocal) - IV. The Widow’s Lament in Springtime (William Carlos Williams)

The Winds of Time for Wind Ensemble
Duration: 14'
Performers: Eastman Wind Ensemble, Mark Davis Scatterday, Conductor, Eastman School of Music, Kodak Theater, April 15, 2022
Publisher: https://www.billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/
Buy Score/Rent Parts: https://billholabmusic.com/product/the-winds-of-time/
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/
Watch Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4CRnLcpvBY
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4CRnLcpvBY

Commissioned by the Eastman Wind Ensemble, Mark Davis Scatterday, Conductor, and a consortium of wind ensembles in honor of the Eastman School of Music’s Centennial Anniversary. Consortium members include Carthage Wind Orchestra (Carthage College), CCM Wind Ensemble (University of Cincinnati), Eastman Wind Ensemble (Eastman School of Music), Nevada Wind Ensemble (University of Nevada, Reno), Symphonic Wind Ensemble (Northwestern University), TCNJ Wind Ensemble (The College of New Jersey), Wind Symphony (Ohio University), and the UNC Wind Ensemble (The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill)

PROGRAM NOTE
The Winds of Time was inspired by the title and content of the poem of the same name by Tanzanian poet and novelist Euphrase Kezilahabi. I created musical elements from the various words, phrases and metaphors in his poem, especially those related to wind and water: watching the waves rising, falling, swelling, surging, and waves being driven by winds. The passage of time, inevitability, darkness, and the poem’s overall despair are represented throughout the ensemble with various bells, drums, winds, exotic instruments, and a few non-standard playing techniques.

Although this work is divided into three connected movements, Waves rising, falling, swelling, surging, Bending space/time, and Colossal chimes, fading light, it is more a rhapsody than narrative in structure. Various themes and motives gradually come into the foreground and recede into the background throughout the entire work, similar to how shells wash up on a shore and then become lost to the sand.

The Winds of Time was commissioned by the Eastman School of Music Wind Ensemble, Mark Davis Scatterday, Conductor, and a consortium of wind ensembles in honor of Eastman’s 100th anniversary.

The Winds Of Time for Wind Ensemble (World Premiere)

Deep Blue Ocean for two pianos
Duration: 12'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=938
Online Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/deep_blue_ocean_-_fs-bound
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/deep-blue-ocean

PROGRAM NOTES
Although Deep Blue Ocean is not meant to be overtly programmatic, I thought it would be wonderful to explore the oceanic depths, so during a trip to the Gulf of Mexico I became a certified scuba diver. I was truly inspired, whether by the large rolling waves on the open sea, the delicate back and forth of beds of seaweed, the vibrant colors of fish clustering around cities of coral, or the beams of sunlight that cascade over the ocean’s surface.

I was also inspired by my four year old son Dylan: his name means ocean or god of the seas in Welsh; he is an Aquarius, which means the water bearer; he is an excellent swimmer, and he loves listening to a movement of one of my choral works entitled Infinite Oceans.

While writing this piece, I could not have known that the worst oil spill in U.S. history would occur just north of where I visited. The darker moments in this work are the result of this tragedy. It is in three connected movements: The Darkness Below, Sunbeams and Waterfalls, and Accents and Waves.

Deep Blue Ocean is written for Steven Gosling and Blair McMillen of the American Modern Ensemble and is dedicated to my son Dylan.

Powerhouse Pianists II

Deep Blue Ocean - II. Sunbeams And Waterfalls

Duration: ca. 20'
Music by Robert Paterson • Lyrics by David Cote

Instrumentation: baritone and chamber ensemble (wind doubler [flute, B-flat clarinet, oboe], violin, cello, percussion, piano)
Performed by American Modern Ensemble, Jorell Williams, Baritone

Purchase Sheet Music: (Version for Soprano and Chamber Ensemble): http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=2778

Purchase Sheet Music: (Version for Baritone and Chamber Ensemble): http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=2777

For more information:
Version for Baritone and Chamber Ensemble: https://robertpaterson.com/in-real-life-ii-version-for-baritone-and-chamber-ensemble
Version for Baritone and Piano: https://robertpaterson.com/in-real-life-ii-version-for-baritone-and-piano

In Real Life I for soprano and chamber ensemble and soprano and piano also available. (In Real Life I consists of different songs than In Real Life II.)

PROGRAM NOTE
As a follow-up to our song cycle for soprano and chamber ensemble (or piano), Robert and I  agreed the concept of five characters looking for love online should have a male counterpart. Written for baritone and chamber ensemble, In Real Life II looks at five contemporary men clicking their way to second chances and romance. In “No Frog” we meet a prototypical player, a guy who fluffs his profile, but the truth keeps slipping out. The tone shifts with “Sola Fide,” in which a U.S. veteran of the war in Afghanistan explains the tattoo on his chest and the wounds inside. An older gentleman envisions one last fling in the irreverent “Die with Me.” In “Still Vamping,” a gay man muses on his start-and-stop romantic history. Finally, in “Nice-Plus,” an everyday guy reveals a hidden passion. In Real Life II was commissioned by American Modern Ensemble with funding from the Doctorow Family Foundation.

American Modern Ensemble: In Real Life

In Real Life II - II. Sola Vide

Written: 2021
Duration: ca. 5'
Instrumentation: solo five-octave marimba (four mallets)
Commissioned by Micheal Barnes
Performed by MIDI
Upcoming World Premiere: Recital, Michael Barnes, marimba, Christ Church Cathedral Cincinnati, May 30, 2023
Publisher: Bill Holab Music

PROGRAM NOTES
The word ‘pyro' has a few different meanings. It can denote fire, heat, or temperature, but the meaning that most inspired this piece comes from the word 'pyromaniac', which is used to describe someone who has a compulsion to set things on fire. In particular, I was most influenced by a by a surreal, somewhat grotesque artwork by David Lynch called Boy Lights Fire (2010), in which a boy holds a book of matches in his left hand and a lit match in his right hand, while someone (perhaps his mother) appears in the distance, arms stretched out, seemingly in shock. I imagined the boy lighting their house on fire, and the house gradually burning to the ground. Pyro was commissioned by Michael Barnes.

Pyro for Solo Marimba (Digital Pre-Premiere)

Written: 2021
Duration: ca. 5'
Instrumentation: solo violin (MIDI Version)
World Premiere: TBA
Sheet Music Currently Unavailable
For more information:  https://robertpaterson.com/adagio

PROGRAM NOTE
Adagio for solo violin was composed as a surprise birthday present for my good friend Adam Abeshouse who is an excellent violinist, and also one of the world’s greatest classical recording producers. Since I enjoy creating pieces that musicians have a personal connection with, I asked Adam’s wife Maria which pieces Adam likes to play, and she mentioned the first movement of J.S. Bach’s Sonata No. 1 in G Minor. I have quoted phrases from various pieces by Bach in a few of my other works (my Elegy for Two Cellos and Piano, for example), so I decided to embed a few phrases from that movement in this piece, so that when Adam plays it, he will be reminded of his favorite piece by Bach. I also included motifs based on Adam’s first name (A, D, A, and Mi, the solfège name for E) and also on Maria’s name, and his daughters Sarah and Emily.

Adagio for solo violin was commissioned by Steve and Hildy Martin in honor of Adam Abeshouse’s 60th birthday.

Adagio for Solo Violin (Pre-Premiere Version)

Written: 2022-23
Duration: 30'
for piano trio (violin, cello, and piano) and orchestra (2-2-2-2 / 4-2-3-1 / 3 percussion, timpani, strings)
Commissioned by Neave Trio
World Premiere: Mostly Modern Orchestra with Neave Trio, JoAnn Falletta, conductor, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 17, 2023.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music

As we live through a sixth mass extinction, it is not difficult to question whether we can act as good stewards of our earth. While I often feel a sense of despair — how could we have messed this up so badly? — my thoughts are often, perhaps irrationally, tempered by a sense of optimism. Maybe we can fix this, or at least that’s what I tell myself. Triple Concerto is essentially an exploration of these emotions. As a scenic point of departure, the entire work also uses three types of geographical regions as inspiration.

Triple Concerto is structured a bit differently than a traditional concerto. An introduction and three larger movements are interspersed with three small trio-centric movements that loosely function as either a prelude, interlude, or cadenza. These three smaller movements also exist as a stand-alone version for the piano trio that may be performed as a sort of “teaser” for the concerto on a chamber music concert.

The first movement, Introduction, loosely evokes a sunrise. Toward the end of the movement, bird song melodies from around the world are incorporated and performed by the winds. This leads to a movement entitled Chorale Prelude, focusing on the piano trio, leading to a joyful third movement, Bright Pastorale, filled with bright, sunlit bell-like chords and sounds reminiscent of birdsong. Moments of despair begin to appear as the movement progresses. The movement ends darkly, like an overcast sky before a storm. The fourth movement, Interlude, echoes the beginning, focusing on the trio once again and evoking a sense of longing, the sound of a more innocent time. Tundra, the fifth movement, is cold, dark, and bleak but with swaths of color. A sense of sadness and loneliness permeates this movement, at times represented by various mournful effects such as bent notes created by dipping tubular bells in water and glissandi in the strings and brass.

After the fifth movement, the trio performs a virtuosic Cadenza, full of grief and rage but with signs of hope. This leads to the final movement, entitled Summit. Ascending lines suggest climbing a mountain, both literally and figuratively. After a brief climax, eleven bell-like chords sound one after the other, symbolizing the chimes of the Doomsday Clock. The winds perform birdsong once again, perhaps of songbirds that may soon become endangered or even extinct. In a nod to Haydn’s Symphony No. 45 (his “Farewell Symphony”), the players leave the stage one by one until all that is left are the trio and conductor.

Triple Concerto was commissioned by the Neave Trio and premiered by the trio and Mostly Modern Orchestra, JoAnn Falletta, conductor, at Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.

– RP

Movements:
I. Introduction
II. Chorale Prelude
III. Bright Pastorale
IV. Interlude
V. Tundra
VI. Cadenza
VII. Summit

Triple Concerto, "Summit" for Piano Trio and Orchestra (World Premiere)

Written: 2022-23
Duration: 9'
for piano trio (violin, cello, and piano)
Commissioned by Neave Trio
World Premiere: Neave Trio, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 15, 2023.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music

PROGRAM NOTES
Summit Trio (a.k.a. Trio from Triple Concerto, "Summit") consists of three of the seven movements from Triple Concerto, “Summit” that focus on the solo trio. I designed these brief movements to function as a stand-alone chamber piece that can be used as a sort of "teaser" for the concerto. In the orchestral version of these movements, the orchestra enhances the trio now and then, but in this version, the trio performs by itself without any extra assistance from the orchestra.

Triple Concerto and Summit Trio were commissioned by the Neave Trio and premiered by the trio at the Mostly Modern Festival in Saratoga Springs, NY.

Summit Trio (World Premiere) - III. Cadenza

Summit Trio (World Premiere) - II. Interlude

Summit Trio (World Premiere) - I. Chorale Prelude

Written: 2022
Duration: ca. 9'
for B-flat trumpet and piano
Commissioned by Lexie Signor
World Premiere:  Mostly Modern Festival, Lexie Signor, trumpet; Geoffrey Burleson, piano; Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Arthur Zankel Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 2023
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: https://billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/
For more information: https://robertpaterson.com/soar
Buy Sheet Music: https://billholabmusic.com/product/soar/

PROGRAM NOTE
Many composers associate orchestral instruments with animals to great effect, such as Prokofiev with Peter and the Wolf, Rimsky-Korsakov with Flight of the Bumblebee, Saint-Saëns with Carnival of the Animals, and perhaps most obsessively, Messiaen with birds from all over the world. In Soar, I associate the trumpet with an eagle, a bird that can fly as high as ten thousand feet and as fast as two hundred miles per hour. Like an eagle soaring above mountains, Soar requires the trumpet player to play fast and high, and both the trumpet and piano parts are, at times, quite virtuosic. In this sense, Soar is really meant as a show-off piece for expert trumpet players. Soar was commissioned by and is dedicated to Lexie Signor.

Soar for Trumpet and Piano

Suite of choral movements from A New Eaarth for orchestra, chorus and narrator. This version for voice and piano
Duration (all movements): 14'
Text by James Joyce

Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1837
For more information: http://robertpaterson.com/a-new-eaarth

PROGRAM NOTE
Although I have lived in cities most of my life, I do not think of myself as a city person and have always felt more connected to the outdoors rather than to asphalt and tall buildings. Many of my works are inspired by nature, and I am deeply concerned about environmental issues, particularly climate change.

Of the many excellent books on the environment, one of the best and the one that moves me most is Eaarth by Bill McKibben, a famed author, educator and environmentalist. McKibben’s assertion is that we have waited too long, and that massive climate change is not only unavoidable, but already underway. He states that we may as well call this new planet Eaarth, because it is still recognizable, but fundamentally different. I feel strongly that he is correct, and wanted to express this in a musical way. A work for orchestra, chorus and narrator seemed like the ideal vehicle for reflecting on this critical issue.

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth consists of the four choral movements from A New Eaarth for orchestra, but with piano rather than orchestra. I designed these movements so they could be performed as a stand-alone suite, and in fact, for the purpose of rehearsals, I composed the choir and piano versions first, and then orchestrated them so they could be integrated into the whole orchestral work.

The suite includes texts by Wendell Berry, James Joyce, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth. The poems, at least as part of the entire orchestral version, allude to the four ancient classical elements—earth, air, fire and water—a theme that permeates many of my other works.

A New Eaarth was commissioned by the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association through a Music Alive! residency grant from New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras.

Eternal Reflections

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - I. Rough Wind (Text by James Joyce)

Suite of choral movements from A New Eaarth for orchestra, chorus and narrator.

Publisher: Bill Holab Music
For more information: http://robertpaterson.com/a-new-eaarth

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - II. The Noise of Waters

Suite of choral movements from A New Eaarth for orchestra, chorus and narrator. This version for chorus and piano.

Publisher: Bill Holab Music:
http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1837

View Score:
https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/paterson_choral_suite_from_a_new_ea

For more information:
https://robertpaterson.com/choral-suite-from-a-new-eaarthh
http://robertpaterson.com/a-new-eaarth

PROGRAM NOTE
Although I have lived in cities most of my life, I do not think of myself as a city person and have always felt more connected to the outdoors rather than to asphalt and tall buildings. Many of my works are inspired by nature, and I am deeply concerned about environmental issues, particularly climate change.

Of the many excellent books on the environment, one of the best and the one that moves me most is Eaarth by Bill McKibben, a famed author, educator and environmentalist. McKibben’s assertion is that we have waited too long, and that massive climate change is not only unavoidable, but already underway. He states that we may as well call this new planet Eaarth, because it is still recognizable, but fundamentally different. I feel strongly that he is correct, and wanted to express this in a musical way. A work for orchestra, chorus and narrator seemed like the ideal vehicle for reflecting on this critical issue.

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth consists of the four choral movements from A New Eaarth for orchestra, but with piano rather than orchestra. I designed these movements so they could be performed as a stand-alone suite, and in fact, for the purpose of rehearsals, I composed the choir and piano versions first, and then orchestrated them so they could be integrated into the whole orchestral work.

The suite includes texts by Wendell Berry, James Joyce, Percy Bysshe Shelley and William Wordsworth. The poems, at least as part of the entire orchestral version, allude to the four ancient classical elements—earth, air, fire and water—a theme that permeates many of my other works.

A New Eaarth was commissioned by the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association through a Music Alive! residency grant from New Music USA and the League of American Orchestras.

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - III. A Timbered Choir

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - IV. There Was A Time

Duration: ca. 6'
Instrumentation: flute and harp
Performed by:
John Romeri, flute: https://www.broadwaychamberplayers.org/about
Kathryn Andrews, harp: http://www.kathrynandrews.com/
Commissioned by Aletheia Duo, Ann Yeung, harp and Jonathan Keeble, flute
World Premiere: Alethia Duo, American Harp Society's National Harp Conference in New Orleans, June 1, 2014; World Harp Congress International Conference in Sydney, Australia, July 1, 2014.

PROGRAM NOTE
Pegasus is a winged, usually white stallion, and one of the best known creatures in Greek mythology. He is the son of Poseidon, and at birth, sprang forth from the bloody neck of the Gorgon Medusa when she was beheaded by the god Perseus. According to legend, everywhere the winged horse struck his hoof to the earth, a spring would burst forth. The imagery of springs bursting forth and Pegasus flying through the skies are what inspired this piece. Pegasus was commissioned by the Aletheia Duo, Ann Yeung, harp and Jonathan Keeble, flute.

Pegasus for Flute and Harp

Performers: Nashville Opera; Eliza Bonet, Mezzo-Soprano

ABOUT THE ARIA
From Safe Word the second act in a trio of operas called Three Way. In Safe Word, Mistress Salomé is a high-priced dominatrix in a private dungeon, and today she has a new client, an aggressive corporate type. Even though he's the one who pays to be spanked and taunted, the Client is bossy. As the Client changes clothes in the next room, Mistress Salomé readies her toys and tools, singing to herself with sensual glee.

ABOUT THE OPERA
An Il trittico for the Tinder generation, Three Way is a new opera about the present and future of sex and love with music by Robert Paterson (The Whole Truth) and a libretto by David Cote (Blind Injustice). In three playful acts, average heroes explore the worlds of android lovers, BDSM and polyamory in a quest for “more” in today’s hyperconnected and gender-fluid world. Featuring Nashville Opera, conducted by Dean Williamson. Original cast recording.

CREATIVE TEAM
Robert Paterson, Composer: http://www.robertpaterson.com | http://www.robertpaterson.com/three-way
David Cote, Librettist: http://www.davidcote.com

THREE WAY SITES
Three Way Site: http://www.threewayopera.com/
Nashville Opera: http://www.nashvilleopera.org/three-way/
American Opera Projects (AOP): http://www.aopopera.org/threeway/

Materials available from Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/threeway/
Three Way Arias - Male: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Arias - Female: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Piano/vocal score: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...

ORIGINAL CAST
Danielle Pastin, Soprano: http://www.daniellepastin.com
Courtney Ruckman, Soprano: http://www.courtneyruckman.com
Eliza Bonet, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.elizabonet.com
Melisa Bonetti, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.melisabonettimezzo.com
Jordan Rutter, Countertenor: http://www.jordanrutter.com
Samuel Levine, Tenor: http://www.samuellevinetenor.com
Wes Mason, Baritone: http://www.wesmasonstage.com
Matthew Treviño, Bass: http://www.matthewtrevino.com

LYRICS
Pain and release.
Torture and tease.
Worry and please.
I will fulfill your deepest needs.
You strip, I sneer.
I whip, you leer.
The ritual humiliation 
Is sweeping the nation.
And don’t you just love it, my dear.
I pinch, you groan.
You flinch, I’m stone.
I slap, you sigh.
You snap, I lie.
It’s so excruciating,
We should be celebrating,
And don’t you ever do it alone.
My pleasure, your pain.
Your leisure, my gain.	
It hurts so exquisitely.
I’m so glad you could visit me.
Would you like to come over again?
Pain and release.
Torture and tease.
I will fulfill your deepest needs.

Three Way

Three Way - Act II. Safe Word: Domme’s Aria: Pain and Release (Mezzo-Soprano Aria)

Written: 2012
Duration: 38'
Instrumentation: orchestra, SATB chorus and narrator
Performed by the American Modern Orchestra and Albany Pro Musica, Mostly Modern Festival, Kent Tritle, conductor, Larry Pine, Narrator. Special thanks to Jose Daniel Flores Caraballo for preparing the choir for this performance.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/

Also Available: Choral Suite from A New Eaarth consisting of the choral movements from the orchestral work re-scored for SATB choir and piano. The choral suite may be performed as a stand-alone work.
For more information on this work: http://robertpaterson.com/a-new-eaarth. http://robertpaterson.com/choral-suite-from-a-new-eaarth

A New Eaarth for Orchestra, Chorus and Narrator

Carmilla: Opera in 2 Acts
Act I, Scene 4 (Piano/vocal)
Music by Robert Paterson/Libretto by John de los Santos
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG7-EP-yMO8

"Mother of Poisons" Aria begins at 6:32

SCENE/ARIA SUMMARY
A young woman named Laura is in the middle of a difficult French lesson with her impatient tutor, Madame Clotilde. Laura's mysterious, young houseguest, Carmilla, who is actually an eight- hundred-year-old vampire. Carmilla insists she is a superior teacher, and scares Madame Clotilde away. Laura admires the color of Carmilla's nail paint, called Mother of Poisons. Carmilla explains that the hue comes from a beautiful flower which has the toxicity to easily kill man or beast. Laura is intrigued by Carmilla's words, and joins her in French song.

OPERA: BRIEF SYNOPSIS
Inspired by Sheridan Le Fanu's novella (which predates Bram Stoker's Dracula), Carmilla tells of a precocious young woman named Laura Torehaven, who lives with her widowed mother. Though intended to wed the strapping son of their neighbors, Laura yearns for more in life and love. One evening a coach crashes outside the house and a strange woman named Carmilla is found inside and given refuge in the Torehaven house. Laura finds herself drawn to Carmilla's strange beauty and worldly knowledge, despite a series of nightmares and violent deaths that plague the surrounding village in the following days. Laura willfully relents to Carmilla's charms and comes to know her heart's true nature. A good friend of Laura's mother, Dr. Suero, suspects that Carmilla is a centuries-old mullo (the Romani word for vampire). As Laura grows more and more sick, she refuses to marry her intended or undergo any treatment to cure her. Carmilla seduces Dr. Suero one night, and then murders him. Unable to conceal her identity any longer, Carmilla begs Laura to join her for eternity. Torn by her love, Laura kills Carmilla to stop the cycle of death. In an epilogue, we see that Laura's neighbor has married another and Laura has inherited her family's fortune. She is a free and independent woman, forever stamped by the kiss of her true love, Carmilla.

CAST
Carmilla: Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano
Laura: Jennifer Goode-Cooper, soprano
Madame Cloutilde: Sarah Heltzel, mezzo-soprano
Geoffrey Burleson, piano

Recorded at Opera America's Marc Scorca Hall at the National Opera Center,  June 4, 2019

Sites:
http://www.robertpaterson.com
http://johndelossantos.com
http://www.blythegaissert.com
https://www.jennifergoodecooper.com
https://www.sarahheltzel.com

Carmilla Opera: Act I, Scene 4, Including "Mother of Poisons" Aria (Piano/vocal)

Written: 1988 | Duration: 8'
Instrumentation: 12 pairs of hands (twelve hand clappers)

Buy Sheet Music: https://www.steveweissmusic.com/product/voices-paterson/percussion-ensemble-sheet-music

PROGRAM NOTE
Voices was written to accompany six dancers performing a powerful work about the lives of teenagers. Two hand clappers (four hands) represent one dancer, and each of the six dancers choreographed their individual dance to their own clapping tracks, which start out together in unison but gradually become more intricate. The whole piece slowly and almost imperceptibly speeds up from beginning to end.

Voices for 12 Clappers (12 Pairs of Hands)

Written: 2018-19
Duration: ca. 25'
Commissioned by J.K. Billman
Premiere: Euclid Quartet, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, June 25, 2019
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com
For more info.: https://robertpaterson.com/string-quartet-no-2

PROGRAM NOTES
In some ways, String Quartet No. 2 is similar to my String Quartet No. 1: the five movements are stylistically diverse, I use a few snippets of pre-existing music, and the music, while idiomatic, is technically demanding. As with my first quartet, this work explores technical and aesthetic ideas I didn’t have a chance to explore in other works.

The first movement, Colored Fields, is inspired by abstract expressionist painters such as Mark Rothko, Kenneth Noland, and Barnett Newman, but also pointillist painters such as Georges Seurat and Paul Signac. There are textures that emerge and submerge using articulations that gradually shift from soft to loud, or short to long, and there are a few transitions that utilize a technique I call pitch phasing or phase modulation, as opposed to tempo phasing. In these transitions, two or more instruments gradually modulate (raise or lower) notes, motives, or phrases by gradual, very refined, microtonal, non-chromatic increments, settling on new pitch areas that directly reflect the previous areas, just modulated up or town. The movement ends softly with a virtual desaturation of the rhythmic material. I remove notes, one by one, until there’s nothing left.

The second movement, Rigor Mortis, is inspired by a comic strip by David Lynch that newspapers ran for many years. In this strip, Lynch sketched a stressed-out, pitch-black dog, looking very mean and almost buzzing with anger; it looked like it was about to explode. Every strip began with an accompanying paragraph that read, “The dog who is so angry he cannot move. He cannot eat. He cannot sleep. He can just barely growl. Bound so tightly with tension and anger, he approaches the state of rigor mortis.” This made me envision musicians playing with such ferocity and tension that the music seems to eventually cancel itself out, anger imploding in on itself.

The third movement, Dolente, is sad, lush, and mournful. The only request I had when writing this quartet was to incorporate a Norwegian fiddle tune or theme by Edvard Grieg, so I chose themes from Grieg’s String Quartet No. 1. The form of this movement mimics the form of a song by Edvard Grieg’s entitled Spillemaend (Minstrels, or Fiddlers). The poem that Grieg set in 1876 as the first of Six Ibsen Songs (Op. 25) is based on the Norwegian folktale of the fossegrim, a male water spirit who could teach the art of violin-playing, but often at the price of personal happiness. In some versions of the story, the poor violinist drowns in the end. Like the song, and echoing the second movement, this movement beginning with the protagonist’s longing, his desire for the beloved. Next, he encounters the fossegrim, who promises that becoming a master of music will allow the protagonist to become master of his beloved. In the final stanza, the protagonist becomes a master fiddler, but he is now a cursed, wandering musician deprived of earthly love, so he drowns himself.

The humorous fourth movement, Scherzando, capitalizes on effects that at times, often make the string players sound inebriated. I make use of copious glissandi and tempos that fluctuate between 3/4 and 6/8, giving a sense of unease.

The final movement, Collage, is similar to the first movement in that it is inspired by the visual arts, and specifically, collage painting and works by surrealists. Many themes from the first four movements are brought together in this odd-metered movement.

String Quartet No. 2 commissioned by J. K. Billman and is written for and dedicated to the Euclid Quartet.

The Indianapolis Quartet: Robert Paterson - String Quartets 1-3

String Quartet No. 2 - III. Dolente

Suite for String Orchestra
Duration: 15'
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/suite-for-string-orchestra
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/
Purchase Sheet Music: http://billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=%22suite+for+string+orchestra%22

PROGRAM NOTE
Unlike some of my previous works, Suite for String Orchestra is not inspired by an over-arching programmatic theme. Although there are some technical and motivic relationships between some of the movements—particularly the first and fifth—the movements are generally unrelated and are meant to be noticeably distinct. It is in five short movements and is intentionally written in an “old-fashioned,” somewhat archaic style. I initially played around with the idea of titling this work Old-fashioned Suite or Old Time Suite, but there seems to be a sufficient sprinkling of “new fangled ideas” in this work to make these alternative titles seem inadequate.

The first movement, Allegro vivace, is written in a “mid-20th century American” style. My model for a few of the sections in this movement is the evocative, German phrase Sturm und Drang, which literally translated means “storm and stress.”

In the second movement, Trapped waltz, I imagine an ethereal, yet cognizant waltz floating above the stratosphere, looking for a place to rest, but hobbled and shackled by a pounding rock and roll drumset. I see this as a metaphor for the various dances throughout history that have come and gone but are continually vying for attention in contemporary culture. The movement fades out at the end, as if the waltz is eternally looking for a place to settle down. Admittedly, I was somewhat inspired by the collage works of Charles Ives.

The third movement, Nocturne, begins slowly and sadly, and I imagine the pulse in the beginning as similar to the gentle breathing of someone who is asleep. The middle of the movement is much more intense and violent, and the end is as soft and calm as the beginning. The first chair violin and the first chair violoncello have brief solos in this movement.

Although material from the middle of the fourth movement, Balinese scherzo, is derived from a Balinese scale, the beginning is somewhat chromatic and the ending is essentially based on the E-major scale. This movement is distinctive in that the orchestra is asked to play pizzicato almost the entire time.

The fifth movement, Finale: allegro moderato, is the movement that is most reminiscent of the first movement. The ending combines material from the beginning of both the first and fifth movements.

Suite For String Orchestra - IV. Balinese scherzo

Autumn Songs (for Mezzo-Soprano and Chamber Ensemble)
Duration: ca. 18'

MOVEMENTS
I. Ascension: Autumn Dusk in Central Park (Evelyn Scott)
II. Under the Harvest Moon (Carl Sandburg)
III. All Hallows’ Eve (Dorothea Tanning)
IV. November for Beginners (Rita Dove)
V. Leaves Before The Wind (May Sarton)

Performers: American Modern Ensemble, Blythe Gaissert, Mezzo-Soprano
For more information: https://robertpaterson.com/autumn-songs
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://billholabmusic.com/store/index...
Purchase Sheet Music: http://billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?keyword=autumn&main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1
View Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs...
Also available as a version for mezzo-soprano and piano: https://robertpaterson.com/autumn-songs-version-for-mezzo-soprano-and-piano

PROGRAM NOTE
Autumn Songs for mezzo-soprano is my final song cycle celebrating the seasons. As with my previous three seasonal cycles for different voice types, this cycle contains settings of poems by various American poets.

Like Spring Songs, Autumn Songs begins with New York: a setting of Evelyn Scott’s Ascension: Autumn Dusk in Central Park, an early 20th century Imagist poem in which people seem to merge at dusk. The second movement is a setting of Under the Harvest Moon by Carl Sandburg. In this poem, Sandburg uses autumn and summer as a metaphor for people in two different periods of life, revealing beauty in both stages. Memory is the primary concern for someone who is older, and possibly for someone who is younger. The third movement is a setting of All Hallows’ Eve by Dorothea Tanning, who was not only a poet, but also a well-known visual artist whose early work was inspired by Surrealism. This is perhaps the most playful setting, and I used Tanning’s evocative, Surrealistic imagery as inspiration for colorful sounds and angular dissonances in the ensemble. November for Beginners by Rita Dove is the text for the fourth movement. In this setting, Dove beautifully encapsulates the feeling of waiting for winter in November, and the sense of anticipation one feels during the fall months. At the end of her poem, she uses the sound of zithers as a metaphor for the sounds of wind and rain when spring comes. The final movement, a setting of Leaves Before The Wind by May Sarton, is inspired by Irish jigs, and mimics leaves blowing in the wind. The penultimate section is anthemic, and the end of the movement is more calm and similar to the beginning.

Autumn Songs was made possible, in part, by generous support from the Gerson Family Foundation.

ARTISTS
American Modern Ensemble: http://www.americanmodernensemble.org
Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano: http://www.blythegaissert.com/
Sato Moughalian, flute
Pascal Archer, clarinet
Matt Ward, percussion
Esther Noh, violin
Dave Eggar, cello
Geoffrey Burleson, piano
Robert Paterson, conductor

The Four Seasons

Autumn Songs - IV. November For Beginners (Text by Rita Dove)

Written: 2019-20
Duration: ca. 21'
Instrumentation: string quartet
Commissioned by The Indianapolis String Quartet
Premiere: The Indianapolis String Quartet, Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, New York, NY, March 5, 2020.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/string-quartet-no-3

PROGRAM NOTES
String Quartet No. 3 consists of five movements that explore “other voices,” either literally or figuratively. In a literal sense, this could mean speaking or singing in a way that is not considered normal or even out of one’s control. It could also mean speaking differently for a desired effect. Figuratively, “other voices” could mean a voice that is not one’s own. All five movements touch on these definitions in one way or another.

The first movement, Twist and Shout, uses musical patterns that sound like stuttering or someone who has a severe form of Tourette’s Syndrome. I use these sounds as a technical point of departure, incorporating jagged rhythms, erratic melodic patterns, and sudden volume shifts throughout the movement.

The second movement is entitled Poet Voice, and uses this style of reciting poems as a point of departure. In particular, this movement is based on a video of Louise Glück reading her poem “The Wild Iris,” which is included in a book of poems of the same name for which Glück won the Pulitzer Prize. Glück’s poem compares human suffering and finding a voice to the growth of a wild iris that makes a “passage from the other world” underground, despite the difficulty of breaking through. In the image of the wild iris, the explosion of color symbolizes new life. In this movement, I mimic Glück’s speech patterns and structure the movement around the sound of her voice and the content of her poem, essentially giving new life to her poetic reading. 

The third movement, Auction Chant, is inspired by North American auctioneering, which is a rapid-fire, rhythmic repetition of numbers and “filler words” spoken by auctioneers in the process of conducting an auction. This movement is also inspired by country fiddle music, which is a type of music often played in areas where auctioneering takes place.

In the fourth movement, Effects Pedal, I mimic sounds made by electronic effects pedals—and in particular, a vocal effects pedal, but without the use of actual electronic effects on the stringed instruments. I also use musical effects that sound somewhat like swallowing helium, which raises your voice when you inhale it, or sulfur hexafluoride, which lowers it.

The final movement is entitled Anthem. In this patriotic-sounding, yet slightly humorous movement, I weave together various sports themes and state songs from around the United States that are used to rile up fans at sports games.

String Quartet No. 3 was commissioned by The Indianapolis Quartet.

String Quartet No. 3 - III. Auction Chant

Braids for violin and marimba (six-mallets)
Duration: 8'
Performers: Victoria Paterson, violin; Robert Paterson, marimba

Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=976

PROGRAM NOTES
An experience that fascinates me is watching my wife Victoria braid her hair. Braids draws its inspiration from watching her create elegant, masterful braids, with names such as French Twist, Back Twist, Flip Through, Victorian Twist, Rolled Braid, French Braid, Rope and Herringbone. The names of these various braids inspired me to invent interesting musical analogues and ultimately to create this piece.

The book I consulted while writing this piece is Hair: A Book of Braiding and Styles by Anne Akers Johnson.

Six Mallet Marimba

Braids (Violin and Marimba)

Dark Mountains for orchestra
Commissioned by the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, Jaime Laredo, conductor
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=994
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/dark-mountains
View Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/dark_mountains_for_orchestra_fs-bou

PROGRAM NOTES
Vermont is famous for its green mountains, but I often find myself taking long drives through the mountains on overcast days or even at night, when the mountains lose color and become gray silhouettes. Many roads in Vermont are so dark, particularly in the Northeast Kingdom, that you need to use headlights, even during the day. Dark Mountains is meant to portray the beauty and grandeur of the mountains and the peacefulness of the open roads, but also the darkness and occasional treacherous passes one may encounter during the evening hours. The piece is in three connected sections. The first section portrays the calmness and austerity of a quiet evening. The second is inspired by a fast drive down winding country roads, with twists and turns, frequent tempo changes and shifting gears. The final section evokes the feeling of looking at the nighttime sky with moonlight shining through the trees and the sounds of nature in the distance.

This piece is commissioned by and dedicated to the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and Jaime Laredo, and was originally written for the Made in Vermont Music Festival.

Dark Mountains (for Orchestra)

Fanfare for Trumpet Sextet
Duration ca. 5'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
Purchase Sheet Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=940

PROGRAM NOTE
I wrote this fanfare for my wedding. It was designed to take advantage of the surrounding balcony and resonant acoustics of Middlebury College’s Mead Chapel in Middlebury, Vermont, where we were married. The title of this piece was originally Wedding Fanfare. Since I think this piece could work well for concerts or other types of events, I shortened the title to Fanfare.

Fanfare for Trumpet Sextet

Komodo for Solo Marimba (Six-Mallets). Duration: ca. 7'.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=900

For more information: https://robertpaterson.com/komodo

PROGRAM NOTES
Komodo is not only inspired by Komodo Dragons, the famous monster lizards that live on the island of Komodo, but also by the surrounding ocean which contains one of the world’s richest marine environments. Komodo begins and ends with sections that evoke the magnitude and ferocity of the Komodo Dragon while the middle section is calm and a little wavy, reminiscent of the placid ocean and colorful marine life found in these waters.

Sometimes I am inspired to write a new work by something as simple as a title, a phrase or even a single word. In this case, the word ‘Komodo’ made me think of the Italian word ‘modo’ which means mode. In its most common sense, a mode is a type of scale. Sections of this piece are made up of Westernized Balinese scale patterns and arpeggios that are transposed up or down in a somewhat "modal" fashion.

Aside from any sort of programmatic or technical inspiration, I wrote this flashy, six-mallet piece to show off the bottom end of my five-octave marimba and to have something fun to play.

Komodo (Solo Six-Mallet Marimba)

Life is But a Dream for SATB Choir
Duration: ca. 5'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=999
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/life-is-but-a-dream

PROGRAM NOTES
The text and initial melody for Life is But a Dream is derived from the English nursery rhyme Row, Row, Row Your Boat, a popular round sung by children all over the world. While working on this piece, I discovered that there quite a few variations—most of them humorous—as well as versions in various languages.

In Life is But a Dream, I use the English text in its entirety and also words and phrases from the German, French, Latin and Italian versions. Throughout the piece I superimpose different words and phrases, creating a kind of flowing, quilt-like dreamscape.

Buy on Amazon

Life is But a Dream

Stillness for Oboe and Marimba (Six-Mallets).
Duration: 6'
Performed by  Sarah Schram, oboe; Robert Paterson, marimba
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1202

Stillness (Oboe and Marimba)

Symphony in Three Movements for Orchestra
Duration: 19’
Mostly Modern Festival, American Modern Orchestra, Chris Rountree, 2018 Faculty Conductor
Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Hall, Saratoga Springs, New York (USA), 6/10/2018
Commissioned by the Cayuga Chamber Orchestra for their 25th Anniversary Concert, Kimbo Ishii-Eto, conductor
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1339
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/symphony-in-three-movements

PROGRAM NOTES
The first movement, Bright and jubilant, is generally cheerful and upbeat, but occasional clouds of gray cast shadows over the musical surface. I associate this movement with traveling to a lover, and particularly over great distances. The brightness of this movement also subtly reflects the "silver anniversary" occasion for which this work was originally commissioned.

The slow second movement, Serenade, represents the unique intimacy that lovers share. Most string players in a chamber orchestra—even the first stands—never have a chance to play exposed material. This is interesting because although the string sections most often play as homogenous groups, the first stands of the string section are in an arc have an intimate view of each other. In this movement, the first stands of the violins, violas and cellos all have solo material whereas the rest of the strings often play gentle, long trills. My goal in to give all of the string players in the first stands an opportunity to shine.

The third movement, entitled Dancing games, is the most energetic of the three. It is has quirky, dance-like rhythms and a strong sense of pulse. In this movement, I imagine two lovers engaging in a bickering, yet friendly verbal dance match, their playful sentences bantered and volleyed back and forth like some sort of demented game of badminton in fast-forward mode. I suppose this would mean that the kind of dance I am imagining here is not one that you would necessarily move your feet to, but one meant for listening and that makes your insides want to move and shake.

Symphony in Three Movements - I. Bright and Jubilant

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.

Popular tracks by Robert Paterson Composer