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 - VIII. Yemaya (for Alto Flute and Cajón)

Sketch and Noise, 
Sound and Texture
Guitarist and Composer

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.

Thanks for visiting. This is a retro eclectic music mix with looming influences from among others Iggy Pop, David Bowie, Lou Reed & Jon Lord. Mostly I write about the human condition.

I am always looking for a guitar player that wants to collaborate. Would be fun to find a real drummer also.

A Gat is a cat in Catalan - it all makes sense if you’re me. The (s) stands for many collaborators.

I encourage everybody on SC to listen more and be less transactional.

I make Multi-Instrumental music ranging from modern classical to ambient and experimental.

Next to music I'm a videographer, for that check out my Youtube page!

For collaborations and inquiries:
nickmateo@rhythmandframe.com

An independent casual pianist and a music artist who loves to create gentle melodies of a song, with the piano as my first musical instrument. 

I started my music journey with a classical piano teacher from 2010-2014. During these years I improved my hand coordination and finger dexterity for my piano playing, as well as learning the techniques in classical piano that would be useful for my later years in terms of piano playing.

After that, I joined a jazz piano school from 2014 to 2016 to learn more contemporary music pieces. I learned more in improvising my own style to the piano. I learned some basic foundations as well that allow me to play basic beginner-level jazz music.

From 2016 to 2019, I have been playing an electronic keyboard with a music band in a local church in which most of the dominant genre is rock, and also acoustic music in a Christian community at my university. I occasionally play the electronic keyboard solo as well during the worship session of the church. Here I experienced live collaboration with my bandmates as well and learned to play music on wide audiences. I learned how different musical instruments have different purposes and different textures to the overall music. 

From 2019 to 2020, I have been spending my years discovering several genres of music that suit my taste and finding my personal branding. I explored and listened to different styles during these years. These include heavy metal, EDM, a-cappella, and many other genres that I have not listened to actively before. This also includes learning the basics of music production and the general components that made up a piece of music.

Now, in the late 2020s, I started my journey by covering some of the songs I find it touching to the heart and moves my emotion. I started my music production and cover in SoundCloud as my first stepping stone. I’m planning to create music that touched the emotions of people intimately.

Self-produced composer, multi-instrumentalist, and visual artist. This is a solitary personal art exploration since 2016. Thank you for following and listening!

©ACAM

My name is Rich Davis, a musician and composer from Lincolnshire in England. I am primarily a pianist but also play electronic keyboards and enjoy singing. I have played the piano since the age of 12  when I first started having lessons.  Over the past few years I have been entertaining elderly residents in care homes, providing a mix of classical and easy listening piano with singalong and wartime songs. I have found this really rewarding as it makes such a difference to elderly people to have music in their lives especially those suffering with dementia. More recently I have been composing original piano solo compositions resulting in the completion of my first album called 'Piano Chillout'. I have really enjoyed making this album as all the pieces on it are inspired by personal experiences and life events. I would describe the album as easy listening and  hope it will provide relaxation and comfort to many. Since completing 'Piano Chillout' I have composed a number of new piano solo compositions all based on different themes. One of my most recent pieces 'Flowing Stream' was inspired by the beauty of water running down a mountain side. Prior to that 'Northern Lights' was inspired by the beautiful Aurora Borealis which is totally unique and something I wanted to put into music. The compositions 'Thankyou' and 'Now I Understand' are both piano and vocal tracks with lyrics that are very close to my heart. I hope you enjoy my music.

Psicotrònic Scapes is the solo project of Cesc Céspedes.
Certified multi-instrumentalist, with extensive experience both as a studio musician and as a live musician.
Member of the instrumental rock project, Exxasens.
Currently immersed in music production and experimentation with different styles within electronic music, collaborating with other producers, recording studios and various musical projects. Always enjoying and learning, lately focused on creating soundtracks for audiovisual projects.
Ambient, Electro, Spiritual, Darkwave, Synthwave and Soundtrack music. Just flow and travel across the duality of psychotronic music and enjoy the Psicotrònic landscapes.
psicotronicscapes@gmail.com

The Book Of Goddesses - VIII. Yemaya (for Alto Flute and Cajón)

Robert Paterson Composer