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

It's a blessing to be able to create music and if someone enjoys my work, that's icing on the cake! All blessings come from God.

As a retired DOD Civil Service worker, I have time to record some. I have been recording at home for around 23 years and some of my tracks are very old.  I‘ve had 50+ years in bands playing music of many types. I still play the club scene 3 to 4 times a month. Life is good!

I'm a Guitarist who likes to write, record and sing many styles of music. Please check out my tracks. I'm also enjoying the occasional collaborations.  Meeting some good friends on here and continuing to grow. Thank you for listening!


Es una bendición poder crear música y si alguien disfruta de mi trabajo, ¡eso es la guinda del pastel! Todas las bendiciones vienen de Dios. Como trabajador jubilado del Servicio Civil del Departamento de Defensa, tengo tiempo para registrar algunos. He estado grabando en casa durante unos 23 años y algunas de mis pistas son muy antiguas. He tenido más de 50 años en bandas tocando música de muchos tipos. Todavía juego en la escena del club de 3 a 4 veces al mes. ¡La vida es buena! Soy un guitarrista al que le gusta escribir, grabar y cantar muchos estilos de música. Por favor, echa un vistazo a mis pistas. También estoy disfrutando de las colaboraciones ocasionales. Conocer a algunos buenos amigos aquí y seguir creciendo. ¡Gracias por escuchar!

Making jazz fusion inspired by our surroundings in beautiful northern Montgomery county MD. Featuring the wonderful and talented local, organic musical talent.

Featuring local musicians.  Songs inspired from our little piece of the world. Played and produced in the DC-Choppah studio in  Highland MD.

DC-Choppah is an Independent contemporary jazz artist/producer.
Guitarist and pianist, and
Traditional jazz artist and
Songwriter

Hey there, hey there!
Welcome to GhostoftheGarage, here you will find titles of all kinds.
and even small collaborations...

R12G Doze, também conhecido como simplesmente Doze, é um rapper e artista underground brasileiro que está chamando a atenção com seu estilo de música inovador e autêntico. Atualmente, é um dos nomes mais proeminentes no cenário do drill plug e trap.

Composer of Electroacoustic music for Concert Band, Orchestra, Choral, and Chamber Works as well as electronic music.

These Guitars Say Sorry is the banner for a diverse range of artists, from UK singer-songwriter These Guitars Say Sorry to classical composer Jeremias Langsämmer along with his ensemble, Icelandic post-rock band Laxá with the Heima Kvartett, ambient artist Siegfried Jünger, and Doom Jazz ensemble The Dark Messiahs. Founded by Jez Stephen, who incepted all the projects, the label has released over 30 albums, crafting a unique sonic identity across genres.

Since 2021, These Guitars Say Sorry has released a track every week, later compiling them into albums available on all major platforms. Explore the catalog on Bandcamp: https://theseguitarssaysorry.bandcamp.com/ and support the work for as little as $1 a month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/tgss.

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.

Covers, poetry and my own English and Dutch tracks. Thanks for the love!


Contact:
Bookings s.v.p. via https://deschrijverscentrale.nl/auteurs/12451
For more info (upload link, ISRC codes e.t.c.) mail me at vanderveldebenne@gmail.com


The poet Hanz Mirck in an issue of Bookblad Magazine: ‘This poet knows how to capture your attention, on paper as well as on stage.’

The poet and author Rob Chrispijn: ‘Benne writes sentences that stick, clean, dark and intense. This way a poem lasts!’

The poet Philip Hoorne on the website Poetry rapport: ‘There’s a genius hiding in Benne van der Velde, those are the Good Tidings of today. Amen.’

Creative Resume Benne van der Velde:  
 
 	after dominating the Dutch slam poetry scene in the early and mid 2000s (with wins in 7 cities and a place in the Nationals of 2012) and performances at the Lowlands-, Uitmarkt- and Parade festivals a/o, Benne successfully made the transition from the stage to paper by getting his first publishing deal in 2005. Since then, 4 publishing houses (kleine Uil, Douane, Nadorst and Stanza) released volumes of his poetry. For a 5th (Passage) he co-edited  an anthology of satirical verses with fellow poets Daniel Dee and Alexis de Roode. 

As a member of the artist movement ‘Het Ongeboren Idee’ he helped to organize (and was part of/presented) cultural lo-fi festivals, exhibitions, making a movie, monthly poetry stages in his hometown of Vlaardingen, Rotterdam and Nijmegen + a talent show for bands. 

In 2002 and 2003 he studied ‘writing for performance’ at the vocational university of the Arts in the city of Utrecht (HKU) and as a result saw 3 of his theater plays being performed on stage. He also gave numerous poetry and rap workshops at schools and other institutions. There were a lot of collabs too, for example voice over work for a Rock Opera and the R.J.S.O (The Rotterdam Youth Symphony Orchestra). 

Benne has been an editor for several literary magazines (Krakatau, Renaissance and Op Ruwe Planken), at one time he and his wife owned a secondhand bookstore, he’s been the official poet laureate for his hometown of Vlaardingen and released his first and only Dutch rap-EP in 2011. In 2012 he rhymed his way into the finals of Art Rocks. An EP with songs in English followed in 2021. This year he translated and recorded 6 Dutch classics in English. Some of his short sci-fi and fantasy stories have recently found their way to medium related magazines and anthology’s. 

According to the poet himself rewriting his poetry, lyrics and prose in English somehow feels like the next logical step in his career, a way to open up to the world at large. Which is both exhilarating and terrifying. 

In everyday (some claim real) life he worked as an industrial tank cleaner, in pest control, on a garbage truck, at a chemical waste disposal facility, driving forklifts, on a Ferry and as a bartender. At the time of submitting this resume he works at a greenhouse for a living. He’s been off the herb since 2008, has a wife, a cat and a dog, mild anxiety issues and likes to read every sci-fi and fantasy classic he can find.

Matthiaz has based his entire musical career on contrast, polarization, the storm that destroys you and the calm that heals you. The Indonesian artist is a true organic piano music alchemist, he is able to delve into soundscapes of ambient.

String Quartet No. 2 - V. Collage

Robert Paterson Composer