Wow, really an energetic Polka performance. The marcatos, and the very unique solo performances between the various violin, viola, cello section offers a very entertaining mood. The confidence and the unique signature sound can be heard in this composition as well as in any of your other ones! Huge Congrats, Robert!

Wow - I love this piece.  The polka feel and frenetic string work contrasting with the slower sections really adds drama and depth.  Is this all live instruments?  The dynamics are amazing.

A great piece Robert - some gorgeous articulations and a wonderful energy. A bit like a dance of the witches.

The energy in this piece is fantastic. The variations in strings brings a lot of fluidity and movement. It brings a different yet enjoyable flow and I must say this is really well done!

Nice strings parts with plenty of energy in the piece.

Beautiful piece, Robert!!  awesome energetic string Quartet, indeed. Great track as usual!!

Wonderful melody! I so like it. Excellent as always!

Woaw masterpiece ! Thank you for this moment ! I was listening to one of my songs (Dictateur) and Soundcloud randomly played your song, awesome ! Reminds me of Camille Saint-Saens but even creepier

Morning Coffee

Original composition..... Alejandro Gonzalez M.

Echoes From The Past

Restos de Luz

Tim : https://soundcloud.com/tim-pepper-442859450
Sent me a track and now we are a team. More to come!
Stay tuned

Mocha Zepplin - Timothy Pepper /  R Grigg

Just a quick track made trying to stretch one melodic idea as far as I could take it but using tempo and thickness to create a sense of development. Pretty simple but trying to work on more simpler themes. CSSS CSS and CSP + Reason 11

The Monotony of Sorrow

Last Flight To Beijing

Maxime Poulin Tremblay - Panaché (remastered 2025)

String Quartet No. 1
Duration: 22'
Publisher: BIll Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1026
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/string-quartet-no-1
For more information on album: https://www.americanmodernrecordings.com/the-indianapolis-quartet-robert-paterson-string-quartets-1-3

PROGRAM NOTES
My original intent with this work was to write a set of four independent miniatures. After writing the first maximally-sized one, I decided to change course: these four "miniatures" are now my String Quartet No. 1.

Although these four movements are designed to be independent, small amounts of material are used interchangeably between each movement. Most notably, material from the first two movements is used in the third, and material from the third movement is used in the fourth.

The most prominent aural feature of the first movement, Fast and Sprightly, is the recurring "clarion" motive. This motive evolves into various thematic gestures and also reappears in the next two movements. Another prominent feature of the first movement is the use of jazz references. The string quartet is required to "swing," a style of playing usually only utilized by jazz musicians and big bands.

The second movement, Logy, begins by parodying North American, southern-style country waltzes. While composing this movement, I had visions of my mother interrupting "Three good ol’ boys fiddlin’ on a porch in Rabun Gap, GA," quipping at them to stop. The quipping is represented by the first violinist interjecting the "Rob–ert" theme. This strange, surrealistic daydream probably originates from memories of my mother calling my name from the other side of the bedroom door when I was a boy.

A section called "Andrew Lloyd Webber Disease" occurs in the middle of the second movement. This section is a schizophrenic alternation of a sick, dissonant, violin duo with an Andrew Lloyd Webber-sounding viola and cello duo. By the end of the movement, my mother joins the "Good ol’ boys" for a final song, after they have all become sick from eating too many boiled peanuts.

The third movement, Sad, Luscious Adagio, uses material from the first and second movements, but at a much slower tempo. Each player has a featured solo in this movement: the cellist plays a solo in double-stops and the violinist plays one made up of almost entirely artificial harmonics. The second violin and viola solos are intended to highlight the instruments’ singing qualities and the performers’ lyrical abilities. As with Logy, I use material recycled from previous movements.

Although the fourth movement, Energetic Polka, is not a strict polka, it has a polka-like beginning. It also contains a few short "quotes," the most notable one being the appropriation of the melodic line from the theme song from the television show The Love Boat.

Material from other movements is also used in Energetic Polka, particularly by the cello. The cellist never has a chance to play the "Pseudo-fugato" theme in Logy, so the cellist "aggressively" reintroduces it in this movement. Energetic Polka ends with a section entitled "Hyperfast shimmy and shake."

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

String Quartet No. 1 ("Love Boat") - IV. Energetic Polka

Freya's Tears for Violin and Harp
Duration ca. 15'
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=987

For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/freyas-tears

PROGRAM NOTES
Freya’s Tears is a companion or sister piece for another work I wrote entitled The Book of Goddesses, scored for flute, harp and percussion. Each of the movements is inspired by one of three goddesses: Iris, Freya, and Sekhmet.

In Greek mythology, Iris is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. She is said to have golden wings and is associated with communication, messages and new endeavors, and travels on rainbows while carrying messages from the gods to mortals. That image in particular provided inspiration for Iris.

The second movement, Freya’s Tears, is inspired by Freya (or Freyja), one of the major goddesses of Norse Paganism. She is often described as a goddess of love, beauty and fertility. She was also associated with war, death, wealth, prophecy and magic, as well as the reading of runes, trancing and casting spells. Her most treasured possession was the Brisings’ necklace, a golden necklace crafted by four dwarfs with such artistry that it glittered like a constellation of stars in the night sky. She was married to the God Od (or Odur) who mysteriously disappeared. When she could not find him, she wept tears of gold. The tears that hit trees turned to amber, or Freya’s Tears. I try to evoke these images in the violin and harp by using harmonics, glissandi and delicate arpeggios.

The final movement, Sekhmet, is inspired by the mythological warrior goddess Sekhmet of Upper Egypt. She is depicted as having a human body with a lioness’s head, and is the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. She was viewed as the protector of the pharaohs and led them in warfare. It was also said that her breath created the desert.

The first and third movements call for an optional, specialized mute called the Kerrod mute. This mute muffles some of the strings during certain passages, creating a xylophone-like sound. It was invented and developed specifically for this piece by Jacqueline Kerrod and Marc Uys of Clockwise.

Freya’s Tears is written for and dedicated to Clockwise: Marc Uys violin and Jacqueline Kerrod, harp.

The Book of Goddesses

Freya's Tears - II. Freya's Tears

This highly groovy, acoustic instrumental set consists of two tracks: a simplified loop and a slightly more upbeat main theme. Its inherent suspense creates a feeling of excitement and tension whilst maintaining a very laid-back and cool vibe. A funky flute gives the track a sense off urgency whilst the occasional violins add the necessary drama. It's ideal for tense spy or crime pursuit scenes, dramatic documentaries or suspenseful video games.  

For commercial and derivative licenses, please visit us on Sounzone, where you can buy this track for a number of additional uses. https://www.sounzone.com/artist/covert-acoustics?id=36829&format=producer

Thrilling Espionage - Main Theme

Impress celebrates Piano Day with Arqtic.

Arqtic - Dekore (Piano Version)

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. 1 ("Love Boat") - IV. Energetic Polka

Robert Paterson Composer

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