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

Eternal Reflections

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - II. The Noise of Waters (James Joyce)

"Loser" by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter.  Andy Pope at the Baldwin Grand.

Loser

The Hope of Love

My friends repeatedly asked me to integrate some vocals into my music. I have to admit it's not my forte. But I decided to give it a try. This is one of my first musics where you can hear a human voice. 🙂

Blue Moon Melody

Lyrics:

You've gone this far
Feeling awake, but caught up in your scars
Your heart is in a fragmented state, but wrapped up in my arms
Head start, feeling awake but left without your scarf
So cold, what's left in the wake of all of who we are

Caught in another avenue, transitioning from where you are to where you knew
I get lost in my head too, you're coming home but not a moment too soon
So blue, you -  keep chasing the lines, shading the memories out of view 
Blending hues, I'm - coming home but I'm a moment after you

You've gone this far
Feeling awake, but you've been caught up in your scars
False start, your heart, wanting to leap, but your feet keep you where you are
You've made this  far
It took so, so long
Being awake unaware of anything at all
You'd think you'd see the truth in all of what you do
Head start, false start, you must be cold without your scarf
Find your forward before you break off and depart

Caught in another avenue, transitioning from where you are to where you knew
I get lost in my head too, you're coming home but not a moment too soon
So blue, you -  keep chasing the lines, shading the memories out of view 
Blending hues, I'm - coming home but I'm a moment after you

You're cold, so cold -
Keeping you warm from the beating of my heart
Impart from the depth of it all, ahead of where you are

Caught in another avenue, transitioning from where you are to where you knew
I get lost in my head too, you're coming home but not a moment too soon
So blue, you -  keep chasing the lines, shading the memories out of view 
Blending hues, I'm - coming home but I'm a moment after you

You're gone, far gone -
Wandering deeper through your head
Gone far astray, getting closer to that place
You're gone, so gone 
Cultivated in your head
Getting enveloped in all of the words but never believing in what they said

Winter

Avenue (Demo)

Ambient piano track, unpolished, detuning.
Failing to recreate this sound with current software!

De Profondeur

Seconds by Hamade available on

iTunes: https://music.apple.com/lb/album/seco...

Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/song/9614919...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/42tvXZ...

Seconds

Sonata for Bassoon and Piano
Duration: ca. 15'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1302
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/sonata-for-bassoon-and-piano

PROGRAM NOTES (SHORT VERSION FOR PROGRAMS) 
When I first began to plan this sonata for bassoon and piano, I had no idea that I would be inspired by something so overtly programmatic, let alone by an American, historical figure who was alive well before I was born. I knew that the premiere would take place at the Thomas Edison Inn in Port Huron, Michigan, and my curiosity eventually took hold and I started reading up on Thomas Edison’s inventions and his life. I was immediately hooked: many of his experiences and beliefs resonated with me. I could not stop thinking about him or his inventions and they ended up providing a Romantic and technical inspiration for this piece.

The first movement, Edison’s Ears, is inspired by a legendary story about the ear problems Edison suffered from throughout his childhood in Port Huron. According to this tale, when he was 15, a train accident further injured his ears. When he tried to jump on the moving train, the conductor grabbed him by his ears to help pull him up. The young Edison said he felt something snap inside his head, and he soon began to lose much of his hearing. The thought of something “snapping inside his head” made me think how, as morbid as this is, inventing something musical from this story might have humored him. The middle of the movement reaches its peak with a loud, staccato “snapping” chord. The beginning of this movement sounds somewhat mechanical and is the first of three locomotive sections (based on three musical quotes) that progressively increase in tempo. The end of the movement gradually descends in register and dies away, much like a hyper-speed, fast-forward toward his eventual and inevitable hearing loss.

The second movement, Mina’s Tapping, draws its inspiration from a story about Edison’s second wife, Mina Miller. The story goes that they were introduced to each other by his life-long friend Ezra Gilliland: “Their courtship ended when Edison tapped out a proposal for marriage on Mina’s hand. In their many years together the pair communicated via Morse code. When attending meetings or at gatherings with friends, Mina would tap out the discussions in Morse code on her deaf husband’s hand. Despite his long hours away from home, Thomas and Mina were totally devoted to each other and profoundly in love.” In this movement, Edison is represented by long melodic lines; Mina is represented by heartbeat-like, pulsed chords derived from the dots, dashes and spaces of Morse code.

Edison is also responsible for creating a revolutionary business model, the world’s first “invention factory.” The final movement,Invention Factory Eureka, is inspired by this, and the one invention that is said to have been Edison’s only true “Eureka!” invention, the cylinder phonograph. The opening motivic material in this movement is derived from the word “Eureka!” The many bright ‘dings’ throughout the middle of the movement represent the cliché of a light bulb appearing above someone’s head when they have a bright idea. This image ties in nicely to Edison, his inventions and his one “eureka” moment.

Cornucopia

Sonata for Bassoon and Piano - III. Invention Factory Eureka

Sun Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano
Duration: ca. 35'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=908
For More Info: http://robertpaterson.com/sun-trio

PROGRAM NOTE
Sun Trio originated when I first started the film score for a documentary entitled Journey Into Courage. After writing opening music to the film, director Bess O’Brien and I concluded that it was best to change some parts in order to properly compliment the film. The theme was kept, but some of the other sections were changed and/or edited. I never discarded the original sketches, even though much of it remained on the cutting room floor. Thankfully, it came to good use later in this work.

The first movement, Sun Day, begins with the theme from the Journey Into Courage introduction. This movement is meant to evoke the feelings you get when summer, mid-day sunbeams appear from between the clouds and warm your skin.

Sunset, the second movement, was inspired by Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont and my wife Victoria. I envisioned us embraced, doing a Tango–like dance under a multi–colored sunset—at times, to themes from Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat. Victoria is a much better dancer than I, and in this movement, she teaches me the steps. I fumble around and finally get it right, and then the sun sets.

The third movement, Absence of Sun, is connected from beginning to end by one long melodic line. The cello melody is modeled after a classical Indian Sitar raga, specifically the traditional, slow introductory section of a classical Indian composition. The bass piano part supplies the drone while a high-pitched tone row supplies a "starry night" texture. This texture gradually melds into a wind chime accompaniment. The movement peaks in the middle with an intense cello line. At this point, the violin intervallically supports the cello line. Each instrument—and in the case of the piano, each stave—represents a specific, individual texture. This movement intended to sound somewhat improvised.

Sunrise, is meant to evoke the feeling you get when watching the sun rise. There is a "Sun" peak of an octave, a bright yellow ‘E’, symbolizing the first, intense, bright sunbeam peaking over the horizon. In the middle of the movement, a string of rising chords mimics a "fast-forward" of the sun rising in the sky. Later in the movement, the violin and cello play decelerated bird motives. I wrote the bird songs down on the morning of April 17, 1995, while watching the sun rise behind the University of Vermont music building. I use the "mystic chord" by Alexander Skryabin as melodic and chordal material for the anticipation of the rising of the sun. While I was waiting for the sun to rise, I watched the mountains intensely. I finally was about to give up, thinking that the sun tricked me and rose behind some clouds when I wasn’t looking. As soon as I turned around to walk away, I felt an intense heat hit the back of my neck. I turned around and there it was! The sun was there, in all of its glory and splendor, lighting up the mountains. As well as evoking a sunrise, this movement also uses themes from the previous three movements.

The sprightly Sun Dance is a closure movement written to provide a vibrant contrast to the other four. The initial piano motive is taken from Five Movements for string quartet by Anton Webern. The first section introduces the themes, motives and patterns which are then used in subsequent sections. The second and fourth sections are percussive, while the third section is more placid and melodic. The finale is hard and driving, utilizing both snap pizzicati (plucking the string so it bounces against the fingerboard) and loud four-note chords in the strings.

Sun Trio was commissioned by Dennis O’Brien to commemorate the 98th birthday.

Spheres

Sun Trio - V. Sun Dance

Sun Trio - Mvt. V. Sun Dance

Composition Two

gold

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.

Sonata for Bassoon and Piano - III. Invention Factory Eureka

Robert Paterson Composer