Excellent 1st movement of the quartet. Powerful, strong, colorful, rhythm rich  and excellently performed!

Wow, this is amazingly expressive music! I feel like in the melodic dialogues between the string sections are depicting a debate between two worldviews. The harmonic/melodic scales, tremolos, pyrgian phrases are bringing to life the instruments itself. Simply amazing! Huge Congrats Robert!

a concise and powerful piece, with amazing quality production sound!

Written: 2018-19
Duration: ca. 25'
Commissioned by J.K. Billman
Premiere: Euclid Quartet, 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.” The movement ends with more furious barking: he is overcome by distilled tension, imploding inward with a final, loud, buzzing unison tremolo.

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.

String Quartet No. 2

El Paso

Serene

This song is part of the sailors EP: https://ffm.to/sailors-ep

Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmfqkUMyXVA

This is one of the first song that I wrote, I completely changed the instruments. The first version is on youtube, but I might delete it soon  https://youtu.be/K7hHI2xk2OA

Lyrics: 

The rain wouldn’t stop from falling  today
Forming small puddles on the sidewalk that caught my reflection  
I saw many of me there scattered on the ground
But all around, there was none of you to be found

So I wrote you this letter Diane

The dirty streets of my hometown seem even gloomier today
And your absence makes me feel 
Even worse than yesterday

I’m drinking too much coffee 
Smoking too many cigarettes 
I’m thinking about you all the time 
Nothing I can do puts my mind to rest
I’ll see you there I’ll find you there In this kingdom by the sea

Diane, you left me hanging there 
Alone and all I’ve got left is my despair 
And a bitter taste in my mouth 
When I see your pictures everywhere
This place feels so cold, it’s no home there 
The warmth was you and now it’s just freezing in hell 
And me, I’m just hanging by a thread 
Cause love is gone and you are gone, Diane

I’ll see you there, 
I'll meet you there 
I’ll find you there 
In this kingdom by the sea

Sailors

Diane

An intense and upbeat track with a very chaotic EDM and video-gamey vibe.

Feel the Tension

sights

Good Memories

Pretty funny coincidence that my 358th release would be the same number as part of the video game's title.

I gave this a try but I have not really ever tried to match my music to specific video cutscene timing till now.

358 : Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Xion's Death - Submission for Rafamigo's Reimagining VGM 1 Jam Itch.IO released November 21, 2024

Feature.fm link to this track:
https://ffm.to/dps-xions-death-kingdom-hearts

SoundCloud for this track:
https://soundcloud.com/doug-stoothoff/kingdom-hearts-3582-days-xions-death-submission-for-rafamigos-reimagining-vgm-1-jam-itchio

Spotify for this track:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6glfBwqnet1kTuYMNfXPSB

Bandcamp for this track:
https://dougstoothoff.bandcamp.com/track/kingdom-hearts-358-2-days-xions-death-submission-for-rafamigos-reimagining-vgm-1-jam-itch-io

Douglas P Stoothoff main site:
https://exedexes1.com/
https://exedexes1.godaddysites.com/

Youtube subscribe:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4WSgBZCySWQ-wAQ0GMtXag?sub_confirmation=1
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0BaYj4gcMibSa0gVS8WeQ?sub_confirmation=1

itch.io profile link:
https://exedexes1.itch.io/

Feature.fm overall Artist Bio link:
https://ffm.bio/douglas-p-stoothoff

Master Track List on SC:
https://soundcloud.com/doug-stoothoff/tracks

Artist page on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/7EuvIQRQESX9WFtwI6GqWB

Artist page on Apple:
https://music.apple.com/us/artist/doug-stoothoff/1687430940

Artist page on Amazon:
https://music.amazon.com/artists/B0C4YK678Y/douglas-p-stoothoff

Youtube Artist Topic Channel (autogenerated):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4WSgBZCySWQ-wAQ0GMtXag

Artist page on Bandcamp:
https://dougstoothoff.bandcamp.com/

Artist page on Tidal:
https://tidal.com/browse/artist/39485859

Artist page on Beatport:
https://www.beatport.com/artist/douglas-p-stoothoff/1155579

Artist page on Boomplay:
https://www.boomplay.com/artists/70114948

Artist page on Pandora:
https://www.pandora.com/artist/douglas-p-stoothoff/ARjZ7nth7x9xvpg

Artist page on Qobuz:
https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/douglas-p-stoothoff/18758728

Artist page on iHeart Radio:
https://www.iheart.com/artist/douglas-p-stoothoff-40424070/

ErbEšrā

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (Xion's Death Submission for Rafamigo's Reimagining VGM 1 Jam Itch.IO)

Buy on Beatport

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - Xion's Death - Submission for Rafamigo's Reimagining VGM 1 Jam Itch.IO

The consensus after the game jam submission on Itch.IO was that I had gone one version too-far and added too much synth-lead to it.  This penultimate version lacks those flaws and is consequently nicer to listen to.

Douglas P Stoothoff main site: exedexes1.com/

exedexes1.godaddysites.com/

Youtube subscribe:

www.youtube.com/channel/UC4WSgBZC…ub_confirmation=1 www.youtube.com/channel/UCL0BaYj4…ub_confirmation=1

itch.io profile link: exedexes1.itch.io/

Feature.fm overall Artist Bio link: ffm.bio/douglas-p-stoothoff

Master Track List on SC: soundcloud.com/doug-stoothoff/tracks

Artist page on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/7EuvIQRQESX9WFtwI6GqWB

Artist page on Apple: music.apple.com/us/artist/doug-st…othoff/1687430940

Artist page on Amazon: music.amazon.com/artists/B0C4YK67…glas-p-stoothoff

Youtube Artist Topic Channel (autogenerated): www.youtube.com/channel/UC4WSgBZCySWQ-wAQ0GMtXag

Artist page on Bandcamp: dougstoothoff.bandcamp.com/

Artist page on Tidal: tidal.com/browse/artist/39485859

Artist page on Beatport: www.beatport.com/artist/douglas-p…toothoff/1155579

Artist page on Boomplay: www.boomplay.com/artists/70114948

Artist page on Pandora: www.pandora.com/artist/douglas-p-…f/ARjZ7nth7x9xvpg

Artist page on Qobuz: www.qobuz.com/us-en/interpreter/…stoothoff/18758728

Artist page on iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com/artist/douglas-p-…oothoff-40424070/

Ḫamišešrā

Crypt Of The Necrodancer For Itch.IO Original Soundtrack Jam #4 (Less Busy Draft)

Crypt Of The Necrodancer For Itch.IO OST Jam #4 (Less Busy Draft)

This album was originally released for streaming in 2020 and is appearing on SoundCloud for the first time now.  It was my first album featuring works for a large ensemble with music performed by Camerata Philadelphia conducted by Dr. Stephen Framil with guest artists Brett Deubner and Peggy Pei-Ju Yu. Tracks include THE FOUR ELEMENTS for viola and string orchestra, PAVANNE FOR A WORLD WITHOUT WAR for string orchestra, IN PRAISE OF REASON for cello, 2 horns and string orchestra and MYSTICAL SONGS for soprano, viola and string orchestra setting poems by the Spanish mystic Fernando Rielo.  The album's title comes from one of his poems.

and I paint stars

In Praise of Reason - Adagio Moderato

Bee King

Selfish

Selfish prod by PlatinumSellersBeats

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 - V. Collage

String Quartet No. 2 - IV. Scherzando

String Quartet No. 2 - III. Dolente

String Quartet No. 2 - II. Rigor Mortis

Written: 2018-19
Duration: ca. 25'
Instrumentation: string quartet
Commissioned by J.K. Billman and written for and dedicated to the Euclid Quartet
Premiere: Euclid Quartet, Mostly Modern Festival, Skidmore College, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, June 25, 2019.
Publisher: Bill Holab Music

BUY SHEET MUSIC
http://www.billholabmusic.com

FOR MORE INFO. AND PROGRAM NOTES:
https://robertpaterson.com/string-quartet-no-2

String Quartet No. 2 - I. Colored Fields

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.

String Quartet No. 2 - I. Colored Fields

Robert Paterson Composer

Recent comments

Edward Michaels

Xena East

Karin-Maria Brunner

Stranded Alien/ The NTT

Related tracks