The Book of Goddesses
For Flute, Harp, Percussion, and Optional Choreography
Commissioned by MAYA with funding from the  New York State Council on the Arts
Duration: 36'

Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1011

For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/the-book-of-goddesses

PROGRAM NOTES
My initial inspiration for The Book of Goddesses, and the source of the title, is the beautiful, lavishly illustrated book of the same name by Kris Waldherr, a Brooklyn based author, illustrator, designer and cellist. Waldherr’s book contains descriptions and images of hundreds of female deities from around the world, some featured more prominently than others. Rather than focus on goddesses in one particular culture, I highlight a few that seem to evoke something musical, dance-related or sensual. The cultures, countries and continents I draw on for musical material and styles are India, China, Greece, Ireland, North America, Nigeria and Cuba.

The flute and harp parts in each movement are often inspired by similar instruments found in each culture. For example, the harp part in Xi Wang Mu is inspired by the Konghou, and ancient Chinese harp, and the solo bass flute movement, Estanatlehi, is inspired by the sound of a Native American flute. Percussion instruments provide an earthiness, at least with regard to timbre, and each of the trio movements uses instruments that are not common in Western music, including an Indian Gatam, a Middle-Eastern Dumbek, an Afro-Cuban Cajón and the Udu drum, an instrument traditionally played by Nigerian women.

In order to achieve the right feel for each movement, I use non-Western scales, rhythms and other elements, and I occasionally appropriate patterns and other material from pre-existing music. My goal is to merge some of the qualities of traditional music with my own sensibility, and then filter it through flute, harp and percussion.

Many goddesses are associated with dance, certain colors or creativity in general, and with that in mind, I imagine The Book of Goddesses being performed live with choreographed dance. It may be presented in its entirety, although subsets—such as all of the movements for flute and harp—or single movements may also be extracted and performed.

The Book of Goddesses was commissioned by MAYA with funding provided by the New York State Council on The Arts.

The Book of Goddesses

The Book Of Goddesses - IX. The Muses

The Book of Goddesses
For Flute, Harp, Percussion, and Optional Choreography
Commissioned by MAYA with funding from the  New York State Council on the Arts
Duration: 36'

Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1011

For more information: https://robertpaterson.com/the-book-of-goddesses

PROGRAM NOTES
My initial inspiration for The Book of Goddesses, and the source of the title, is the beautiful, lavishly illustrated book of the same name by Kris Waldherr, a Brooklyn based author, illustrator, designer and cellist. Waldherr’s book contains descriptions and images of hundreds of female deities from around the world, some featured more prominently than others. Rather than focus on goddesses in one particular culture, I highlight a few that seem to evoke something musical, dance-related or sensual. The cultures, countries and continents I draw on for musical material and styles are India, China, Greece, Ireland, North America, Nigeria and Cuba.

The flute and harp parts in each movement are often inspired by similar instruments found in each culture. For example, the harp part in Xi Wang Mu is inspired by the Konghou, and ancient Chinese harp, and the solo bass flute movement, Estanatlehi, is inspired by the sound of a Native American flute. Percussion instruments provide an earthiness, at least with regard to timbre, and each of the trio movements uses instruments that are not common in Western music, including an Indian Gatam, a Middle-Eastern Dumbek, an Afro-Cuban Cajón and the Udu drum, an instrument traditionally played by Nigerian women.

In order to achieve the right feel for each movement, I use non-Western scales, rhythms and other elements, and I occasionally appropriate patterns and other material from pre-existing music. My goal is to merge some of the qualities of traditional music with my own sensibility, and then filter it through flute, harp and percussion.

Many goddesses are associated with dance, certain colors or creativity in general, and with that in mind, I imagine The Book of Goddesses being performed live with choreographed dance. It may be presented in its entirety, although subsets—such as all of the movements for flute and harp—or single movements may also be extracted and performed.

The Book of Goddesses was commissioned by MAYA with funding provided by the New York State Council on The Arts.

The Book Of Goddesses - I. Saraswati

Looney Tunes
Duration: 16'
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/looney-tunes
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1428
Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/looney_tunes_-_fs_bound_perusal

Instrumentation: flute (doubling piccolo), alto saxophone (doubling baritone sax), violin, cello, electric guitar, electric bass guitar (not acoustic contrabass), percussion (drumset, bongos, xylophone, amplified Udu drum and misc. small instruments) and piano (doubling synthesizer). All players doubling misc. small percussion instruments, bird whistles and sound effects.

PROGRAM NOTES (SHORT VERSION FOR PROGRAMS)
(Long version: http://robertpaterson.com/looney-tunes)
In Looney Tunes, each movement uses a specific well-known cartoon character as a musical influence and point of departure. The first movement, Taz, is inspired by the Tasmanian Devil character and plays upon all of Taz’s traits with loud, dissonant outbursts, gyrating transitions, quiet, reflective sections and a few references to his attraction to music. The second movement, Foghorn Leghorn, is inspired by this character’s loud, vocal disposition. The ‘Foghorn’ part of his name makes me think of real foghorns, and a foghorn-like interval begins this low-sounding, baritone sax-heavy movement. The third movement, Tweety Bird, provides contrast with a somewhat high tessitura and includes prominent parts for piccolo, violin, xylophone and alto sax. Although the entire movement only abstractly references the animated Tweety, I try to make all of the high instruments sound bird-like from beginning to end. Two of my favorite cartoon characters of all time are the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, so it seemed appropriate to end the work with a fastRoad Runner movement. I have always been fascinated by the seemingly infinite array of ACME inventions the Coyote uses to try and capture the Road Runner, and the last movement reflects this and incorporates a number of exotic, gizmo-like sounds and instruments.

Guerilla New Music

Looney Tunes - II. Foghorn Leghorn

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.

Eternal Reflections

Choral Suite from A New Eaarth - IV. There Was A Time (William Wordsworth)

Lágrimas Silenciosas (Silent Tears)

rockon2019

away from it all

A cool Indie rock track with some grunge guitars and a cool bass and guitar riff. Ideal for advertising, fashion and more!

Photo by Jan Kroon from Pexels

Cool Indie Rock

(c)2021  Guitar, bass, Composing, programing, recording, mixing and mastering by Robert Grigg
A fun little ditty!

Video Link!
https://youtu.be/P5MKya1bNpU

The Rooster Walk

Another acoustic track about teenage folly, loss of innocence and peer pressure

LYRICS:

When we were young we felt so strong
The songs we sung, the words were wrong

Tell us a story of your broken hearts
When the water turns black and the ocean parts
Follow your leader on up to the park
And we can all stand by as your eyes go dark

When you were young you grazed your knee
You couldn’t tell, they couldn’t see

Eyes Go Dark

A few tweaks to the original to give it even more bite for inclusion in my album.

Charles Hardin

Sleep is the Brother of Death (Album Mix)

A prog rock track about moving on

LYRICS:

No shelter from the rain
For those who helped her to explain

Too tired now to explore any more
Blew the fires out when we saw we were sure

It’s not that you’re kidding me, it’s just that your mask looks too real
I see what I look for, when I watch you my brain slips a gear
It appears you fit me ideally
But your beautiful heart is already separate and healing

We crawl and we walk and we run and we jump and we’re flying
We call and we talk and we sing about something that’s dying

I’m not such a fool, I just have a rule
Don’t cut your loss ‘til it’s over
If you slice it too soon you’re risking a wound to a lover
So what would you say when the fog melts away
And the warmth comes to rest on your shoulder
Would you look at me then and choose me again
Or still walk away with another

Your Beautiful Heart (Dying)

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.

The Book Of Goddesses - IX. The Muses

Robert Paterson Composer