Energy

A momentary relapse on missing a loved one and the hope that never ends, on a rainy afternoon...

SONIC ARCHITECTURE

VIOLET SKIES

Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/5fUlKHXX7fv5I3AxrNtVyJ?si=43d422e6205f4086
Listen on Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/24/1570537156?i=1570537157

Just a quick piano composition I made yesterday in Presonus Studio One!

Broken Lullaby

Very Normal

In this piece the newly invented string instruments are playing in combination with flute, soprano voice and piano. The strings are being stretched between the beams of the mezzanine of the building and also hanging from the ceiling beams with heavy weights on them. The hanging strings surround the audience and musicians. A very special building HET VEEM (Van Diemenstraat 410, 1013 CR Amsterdam) - former warehouse, where the piece was premiered, inspired us to create these instruments and this composition. The concert was performed as a part of Toetsdestijds Concerten Series.

http://www.veem.nl/nl/p482c37cf9528d/het-veem.html

MUSICIANS

String players:
Julie Stalder
Frank Diamand
Linda Paulino
Jan van der Sangen
Noam Staal

Reciters:
Frank Diamand
Lara Diamand

Ensemble TRIODUO: 
Lara Diamand - soprano/reciter
Erica van den Berg - ( alto ) flute.
Georgina Collington - piano
http://www.laradiamand.nl/Lara_Diamand/TRIODUO.html

INSTRUMENTS created by: 
Hans van Koolwijk 
http://www.hansvankoolwijk.nl/index.html 
Jan van der Sangen 
http://www.toetsdestijds.nl/werk.html 

Lyrics by Omar Khayyam
Music by Igor Iofe 
http://igor-iofe.com/

Recording - Bart van Hasselt
Mixing/ Mastering  - Igor Iofe

I Came Like Water and Like Wind I Go Mov I - III

Performers: Nashville Opera; Samuel Levine, Tenor

ABOUT THE ARIA
From The Companion, the first act of a trio of operas called Three Way. In The Companion, Maya lives with her android lover, Joe. This interactive programmed Companion looks and sounds human—only better. After Joe has told Maya he’s leaving her for another android, he sings this tender parting aria.

ABOUT THE OPERA
An Il trittico for the Tinder generation, Three Way is a new opera about the present and future of sex and love with music by Robert Paterson (The Whole Truth) and a libretto by David Cote (Blind Injustice). In three playful acts, average heroes explore the worlds of android lovers, BDSM and polyamory in a quest for “more” in today’s hyperconnected and gender-fluid world. Featuring Nashville Opera, conducted by Dean Williamson. Original cast recording.

CREATIVE TEAM
Robert Paterson, Composer: http://www.robertpaterson.com | http://www.robertpaterson.com/three-way
David Cote, Librettist: http://www.davidcote.com

THREE WAY SITES
Three Way Site: http://www.threewayopera.com/
Nashville Opera: http://www.nashvilleopera.org/three-way/
American Opera Projects (AOP): http://www.aopopera.org/threeway/

Materials available from Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/threeway/
Three Way Arias - Male: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Arias - Female: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Piano/vocal score: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...

ORIGINAL CAST
Danielle Pastin, Soprano: http://www.daniellepastin.com
Courtney Ruckman, Soprano: http://www.courtneyruckman.com
Eliza Bonet, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.elizabonet.com
Melisa Bonetti, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.melisabonettimezzo.com
Jordan Rutter, Countertenor: http://www.jordanrutter.com
Samuel Levine, Tenor: http://www.samuellevinetenor.com
Wes Mason, Baritone: http://www.wesmasonstage.com
Matthew Treviño, Bass: http://www.matthewtrevino.com

LYRICS
You were my first love,
The one I will never forget.
Your passion, your laugh,
I will never forget.
You taught me how to love,
How to be the perfect man,
But we were not meant to be.
You I will never forget.
Remember my kiss,
Forget the pain, goodbye.

Three Way

Three Way - Act I. The Companion - Scene 3: Joe’s Aria: You Were My First Love (Tenor Aria)

Performed by Nashville Opera; Matthew Traviño, Bass

ABOUT THE ARIA
From Safe Word the second act in a trio of operas called Three Way. In Safe Word, Mistress Salomé is a high-priced dominatrix in a private dungeon, and today she has a new client, an aggressive corporate type. Even though he's the one who pays to be humiliated, the Client is bossy. In this aria, she has canceled the session and told the rule-breaking Client to dress and leave. As she releases his straps, he taunts her cruelly and sadistically, getting too close—physically and emotionally.

ABOUT THE OPERA
An Il trittico for the Tinder generation, Three Way is a new opera about the present and future of sex and love with music by Robert Paterson (The Whole Truth) and a libretto by David Cote (Blind Injustice). In three playful acts, average heroes explore the worlds of android lovers, BDSM and polyamory in a quest for “more” in today’s hyperconnected and gender-fluid world. Featuring Nashville Opera, conducted by Dean Williamson. Original cast recording.

CREATIVE TEAM
Robert Paterson, Composer: http://www.robertpaterson.com | http://www.robertpaterson.com/three-way
David Cote, Librettist: http://www.davidcote.com

THREE WAY SITES
Three Way Site: http://www.threewayopera.com/
Nashville Opera: http://www.nashvilleopera.org/three-way/
American Opera Projects (AOP): http://www.aopopera.org/threeway/

Materials available from Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/threeway/
Three Way Arias - Male: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Arias - Female: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Piano/vocal score: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...

ORIGINAL CAST
Danielle Pastin, Soprano: http://www.daniellepastin.com
Courtney Ruckman, Soprano: http://www.courtneyruckman.com
Eliza Bonet, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.elizabonet.com
Melisa Bonetti, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.melisabonettimezzo.com
Jordan Rutter, Countertenor: http://www.jordanrutter.com
Samuel Levine, Tenor: http://www.samuellevinetenor.com
Wes Mason, Baritone: http://www.wesmasonstage.com
Matthew Treviño, Bass: http://www.matthewtrevino.com

LYRICS
I know your type.
Pretty girl, not too dumb.
Studied hard, missed all the fun.
Looked back on your life, saw what a waste,
Life was a banquet that you didn’t taste.
Decided to have a second life, a little lie,
A secret side, a magic door,
Where you could hide inside.

You know my type.
Alpha boss, ladies’ man.
Do what I like because I can.
Reach deep within and feel no thrill;
Life is a wine I drunkenly spill.
Decided to have a second life, a secret side,
An inner lie, a tiny door,
Where I can hide inside.

I want to get inside you and find you.
I want to find your borders, your corners.
Back you in the corner, my corner.
We’re in the corner pressing close.
It’s small inside, where we hide,
It’s small inside you and me.

We’re the same type.
Wrapped in disguise.
Here it’s truth, outside it’s lies.
We agree to have a second life, a special side,
A private code, a secret key unlocks the door—
Where you hide…!

Three Way - Act II. Safe Word: Client’s Aria: I Know Your Type (Bass Aria)

An Il trittico for the Tinder generation, THREE WAY is a new opera on the present and future of sex and love with music by Robert Paterson (The Whole Truth) and a libretto by David Cote (The Scarlet Ibis). In three playful one-acts, average heroes explore the worlds of android lovers, BDSM and multiple partners in their searches for the emotional connections that are ever-elusive in today s romantic world. Featuring Nashville Opera, conducted by Dean Williamson. Original cast recording.

CREATIVE TEAM
Robert Paterson, Composer: http://www.robertpaterson.com | http://www.robertpaterson.com/three-way
David Cote, Librettist: http://www.davidcote.com

THREE WAY SITES
Three Way Site: http://www.threewayopera.com/
Nashville Opera: http://www.nashvilleopera.org/three-way/
American Opera Projects (AOP): http://www.aopopera.org/threeway/

Materials available from Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/threeway/
Three Way Arias - Male: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Arias - Female: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...
Three Way Piano/vocal score: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/i...

ORIGINAL CAST
Danielle Pastin, Soprano: http://www.daniellepastin.com
Courtney Ruckman, Soprano: http://www.courtneyruckman.com
Eliza Bonet, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.elizabonet.com
Melisa Bonetti, Mezzo-Soprano: http://www.melisabonettimezzo.com
Jordan Rutter, Countertenor: http://www.jordanrutter.com
Samuel Levine, Tenor: http://www.samuellevinetenor.com
Wes Mason, Baritone: http://www.wesmasonstage.com
Matthew Treviño, Bass: http://www.matthewtrevino.com

TEXT

DOMME
No!
You don’t own me.
Think you know me?
I know you.
You come here to be dominated,
But you can’t hide your hatred.
Your cringing is a kind of swagger.
Your begging is a command.
Your submission is my slavery.
You think I’m trash, a tool, something to be used and tossed.
Just a commodity.
Your property.

Oh…
Think you know me?
Want to own me?
Get to know me.
Look into these eyes and see what I am.
I’m out of your price range:
The pretty pink doll you cannot buy.
Knock me down, but I will rise.
There’s a million more behind me, too.
I’m your mother, your wife, your daughter, 
Your mistress, your sister, your teacher, 
Your angel, your devil, your god.
I’m everything to you.
(The pose is frozen. Now we hear from deep inside her.)
Is this part of the game?
What about the rules?
Who’s in charge? 
Where is it going?
I despise his dead eyes; 
His sour breath, like death.
So why am I wet 
And the blood pounds around
In my head!
Ever since you were a girl,
You knew this day was coming.
A murderer knocks, you open the door,
And meet your glory, glory, glory!

So…
Now you know me.
No one owns me.
What about you?
What the fuck are you?!?
(With a free hand she grabs the whip from the table.)
Cash. And a dick.
A sack of shit with a money clip.
You’re my two-o-clock session and your time is nearly up.
(She winds the whip around his neck; he doesn’t resist.)
You’re my father, my lover, my son, my trick, my slave, my student, my rent, my plaything, my toy, my tool, my trash.
(She jerks the whip tight, leans back. They’re moving together rhythmically.)

CLIENT
Oh, yes, Mistress Salome!

DOMME
You’re a commodity.

CLIENT
Can’t. Can’t breathe!

DOMME
My property!

CLIENT
Wait, wait stop!

Oh, yes, Mistress Salome!

DOMME
You’re a commodity.

CLIENT
Can’t. Wait! Stop!

DOMME
My property!

CLIENT
Can’t breathe! Can’t breathe!

DOMME
Now you know, 
Now you know,
Now you know:
I own you!

Three Way - Act II. She Word: Domme’s Aria: You Don’t Own Me (Mezzo-Soprano Aria)

Written: 2015-16
Duration: ca. 24'
Instrumentation: soprano and baritone soloists, chorus and orchestra: 3 flutes (flute 3 doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, 3 B-flat clarinets (clarinet 3 doubling B-flat bass clarinet), 2 bassoons, 4 F horns, 3 B-flat trumpets, 2 trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani (4: 23”, 26”, 29” 32”), 3 percussionists (tubular chimes, xylophone, vibraphone, crotales [high and low], crash cymbals, 5 temple blocks, castanets, medium triangle, small triangle, orchestra bells, snare drum, crash cymbals, tambourine, medium suspended cymbal, medium wood block, small triangle, concert bass drum, large tam tam, medium triangle, Mark Tree), harp, strings

Performed by American Modern Orchestra and Albany Pro Musica, Kent Tritle, conductor, Larry Pine, narrator, Caitlin Lynch, Soprano Soloist, Chad Sloan, Baritone Soloist, José Daniel Flores-Caraballo, Albany Pro Music Artistic Director, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Filene Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 15, 2018.

Publisher: Bill Holab Music: www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.p…n%27s+america

For More Information: robertpaterson.com/whitmans-america

View Score Online: issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/…n_s_america__score-p

Formerly titled Walt's America for world premiere.

NOTE: Instrumentation is designed to be identical to the Brahms Requiem, but with additional percussion.

PROGRAM NOTE
I have always been very fond of Walt Whitman and his poetry, not only for the inherent beauty and sense of optimism he illustrates in many of his works, but also for his intimacy, directness, colorful descriptions, and the way in which he sings the praises of nature and our role in it as individuals.

Whitman’s America is a setting of six poems from Whitman’s final version of Leaves of Grass, often called the Death Bed Edition, since he compiled this version the year he died. My work is constructed in an arch form as a sort of quasi-fantasia. I view each connected movement or section as a scene or vision, perhaps from an imagined Whitman as he lay on his deathbed. My goal was to capture and highlight a variety of themes that permeate Whitman’s poems, and in particular, themes that have to do with his love of America and the American people.

The work begins with Gliding o’er all, a poem in which Whitman portrays a positive attitude toward death; he is prepared for it and ready to embrace it. He presents a tone of acceptance through the irony of singing of many deaths, for the positive act of singing, in the way he imagines, does not typically correlate with death. Next is I Dream’d in a Dream, sung by a solo baritone, a poem that describes a utopic vision of peace and harmony. Following that is I Hear America Singing, about American pride and having pride in one’s work. Next is America, describing the destiny of America as a nation, his love of the masses, his devotion to Democracy and America fulfilling the spiritual needs of its people. Second to last is A Prairie Sunset, sung by a solo soprano, a poem that captures the beauty of the American prairie, an aspect of the American landscape that Whitman was very passionate about. Finally, I end with After the Dazzle of Day, a beautiful poem describing the starry night sky, an evening filled with music and his own internal symphony during the silence that follows.

Whitman’s America was commissioned by the Gulf Coast Symphony (Fort Myers, FL) as part of their 2020 Commissioning Project, Andrew M. Kurtz, Music Director and Conductor.

Movement Titles:
I. Gliding o'er all
II. I Dream’d in a Dream
III. I Hear America Singing
IV. America
V. A Prairie Sunset
VI. After the Dazzle of Day

Whitman's America - III. I Dream'd in a Dream (Baritone Solo)

Five Quarters

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.

Three Way - Act II. She Word: Domme’s Aria: You Don’t Own Me (Mezzo-Soprano Aria)

Robert Paterson Composer