Music Maker JAM

Not For Nothing

Original composition... Alejandro Gonzalez M.

Firmamentum Mysterium

This is a song about parents, teachers, work mangers and leaders all messing with your head and making you feel inferior when they have got no more of a clue than you'll ever have; so feck it and go with your gut, so long as it isn't hurting anyone :) That's what I say anyway. I've had a lot of practice and experience; but still, what the hell do I know eh? :)

Left of Hardin

Rip up the Rulebooks

She makes me

the unseen forces are at it again
making waves in an unbroken ocean
fighting for life, arms devoted
to the fleeting inspiration just
replicated light baring doughy hands
they stay describing some twisty
experience with a folding 
tongue reflexing
to interfere with none that can
be changed by the estrangement
from fantasy or victory to know to be
the well chosen engagement

outside logic in the field of moments
i hover like a torn lover seeing
all the weapons 
trying to buy lunch
with the trigger of a hunch
retiring to thinking bout nothing
much, mind keep changing if you must 

the unseen forces are at it again
trying to match this decided flame and
fleeing from death, heart default
clockwork mode network encoding
needing work to busy our hands
they stay grabbing some twisty space
trying to win, lest they’re saved by
empty grace and all the qualia of a
hue-tone-scale-spectrum-yearning for
fantasy or victory to know to be the well
chosen

and i live and defy the lies
of living for more than a (your) disguise
see, everything is hidden from me
and i just make up the boundary
like a north star cradled in the 
downward sky
changing?  it’s fine it’s fine to leave
me behind

Keep Changing If You Must

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

The First Noel

Original composition. .... Alejandro Gonzalez M. (Sabine Alexander).

Mediae Metronome

The Essence of Gravity - for Mixed SATB Choir
Duration: 18’
Commissioned by Robert Geary and the Volti choir of San Francisco
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=902
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/the-essence-of-gravity

PROGRAM NOTE
In The Essence of Gravity, I use a few key words, phrases and phonetic sounds rather than an elaborate text. Since there are so few words, I designed the text myself, and it is made up almost entirely of onomatopoeia words. The word ‘gravity’ in the title not only refers to the force of attraction by which objects tend to fall toward the center of the Earth, but also to a sense of seriousness. Each movement reflects one or both of these definitions.

The first movement, Echoes of War, contains words and phrases that make me think of war. A type of weapon called a “gravity bomb” also inspired me. This weapon is delivered by aircraft and does not contain a guidance system; it follows a ballistic trajectory. Until the later half of World War II this described all aircraft bombs, and the vast majority until the late 1980s.

The second movement is entitled Love and Kisses. Although love is an undeniably heavy subject, this movement is intended to be much more playful than serious. Perhaps it is more about the emotional pull that people have on each other.

Before I composed the third movement, Infinite Oceans, I walked along San Francisco’s Baker Beach and Lands End. Although I’ve been to the ocean many times, I am always struck by the seemingly infinite-sounding tides and lonely-sounding foghorns I often hear in the distance. This movement is inspired by the gravitational pull of the moon, the primary force responsible for the ocean’s tides. This movement also alludes to the stories of the mythological Greek Sirens that lured sailors to their deaths with their beautiful singing.

Although many people might not think of machines as evoking a sense of gravity, they seem important in ways that may not be readily apparent. Without machines such as the Space Shuttle, we would not be able to explore outer space. For better or worse, they are integral to our modern way of life. In this sense, the fourth movement, Machines, pays homage to the machines that enrich our lives by allowing us to defy gravity.

Eternal Reflections

The Essence of Gravity - III. Infinite Oceans

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 - I. Iris

Peatlands hold over 3 times the carbon of all the forests of the world... we kind of have to keep it in the ground... but we do need to keep warm, and we love our roses...

ROSES: LYRICS

brought you something you may never need
I think its supposed to keep you warm 
found you something you might not need to keep
but it’s the little things
it’s the precious things
its the everything
it’s the anything
you want…

show you something you’ve never seen
it’s from a place you’ve never been
take you somewhere when the leaves go green…
we could go somewhere
go anywhere
that never were
we ever meant to be…
but we’d better keep...

keep
those roses now
don’t hack them down
digging up those roses…
keep
those roses now
don’t cut them down
digging up those roses… 
should have left them in the ground

when you’ve found somewhere 
you need to be
you know i’ll bridge you across
every stone, every leaf and tree
and i will shield you from 
any sense of loss
Any touch of frost
you feel beneath your feet
cos its the little things
the precious things
the anything
that helps us feel complete…

but we’d better keep…
we’d better keep…
keep
those roses now
don’t hack them down
giving up those roses…
Keep those roses now,
Don’t cut them down
Digging up those roses...

should have left them in the ground
should have left them where I found
should have kept them
safe
where they’d never be found
kept them in the ground
underground
kept them safe
from the lost and found
keep them in the ground
underground…

keep those roses…

Roses

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 Essence of Gravity - III. Infinite Oceans

Robert Paterson Composer