The reflections of a man recognising the strength of the woman who has shouldered all of his failures.

YOUR TRUEST FAITH
(Paul Ariss)
Every time you look at me
I know just what you’re thinking
You wish that I would change my ways
And maybe stop this drinking
It’s too much to admit I know
But I’m not the man you married
I’m not the man you knew before
I’m just the man you’ve carried

Even when the child was born
I was somewhere else instead
You never even asked me why
When you should have wished me dead
I carry all the benefit as you
Suffer all the blame
I took from you the years of youth
And you took from me my name

And now as you see another line round your eyes
Do you think of the years passing by
Do you wish for that optimistic wind on your face
As I hang on to your truest faith								   As I hang on to your truest faith

A man as weak as this one before you
Will always find excuse
To seek a home for his easy anger
With occasional abuse
I still hide behind your charity,
But I know the price you pay,
Do you still believe in me
Or has hope just blown away

REPEAT CHORUS 

If you would only scream a little and let me see the pain
Would I carry on regardless and do it all again?
Or take another chance to show you the man I wished to be
Recall those years I stood beside you so strong and straight and free






Every time you look at me
I know just what you’re thinking
You wish that I would change my ways
And maybe stop this drinking
It’s too much to admit I know
But I’m not the man you married
I’m not the man you knew before 
I’m just the man you’ve carried

And now when you see another line round your eyes
Do you think of the years passing by
Do you wish for that optimistic wind on your face
As I hang on to your truest faith
As I hang on to your truest faith
As I hang on to your truest faith

Your Truest Faith

ABOUT THE ARIA
From Masquerade, the third act in a trio of operas called Three Way. Masquerade takes place at a lavish suburban home. It’s a swinglife party, where people from all walks of life pursue their wildest erotic dreams. Couples in masks and robes have paired off in twos and threes. In this aria, the conservative, middle-aged Larry thought he was going to have fun with two ladies, but had performance anxiety. He pours a drink and laments.

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’m angry with myself.
Well, just a part of myself—
The part that lies there like a shrunken lump.
I could take that magic pill,
But I’d rather use my will,
Not an artificial bump to end this slump.

Two of them, two of them, what more could you ask?
Two luscious ladies, eager and game.
That makes three of us, three of us, all in our masks,
The lighting is low, the cushions are deep,
It’s my favorite dream but I’m not asleep.
And Little Larry Junior’s not making a peep.
I guess it’s not my night.
Not my night. Not my night.

I’m beating up myself.
I should be nicer to myself.
I want to keep on playing in the game.
But despite my healthy hunger,
The other team is so much younger
And my pitching arm is feeling awful lame.
When did the wild man get so very tame?
Not my night! Not my night.

Three Way

Three Way - Act III. Masquerade: Larry’s Aria: Not My Night (Baritone Aria)

Related of a classic Impress event, the piano solo atmosphere gives a start to the concept's music label.

Retrace

Francesco Carone - Retrace

An acoustic track written and performed by @jculkin

LYRICS:

All we had was fire and fog
We needed not much more
You bring the food, I’ll drink the wine
It’s fine

Some days we just sit about
Breathing slowly side by side
And when we’re old, we’ll have splinters in our voices and breadcrumbs in our lungs
I’ll still be coughing ‘I love you’s'
But your ears won’t be so young

Some days were meant for sitting around

Time may deepen the creases in your skin
But I won’t mind
You’ll still be bold and decent
Still be warm as sunshine

Some days were meant for sitting around

Sitting Around

Lala-lai lala-la lala-la
Nana-nai 
nana-na-na nana-na

I love my country
I love my steak
if I don't like it
I call a fake

the earth is flat
just so I can jog it
if it doesn't kill
then it's not a rocket

I've done bad things 
out of necessity and need
you gotta burn 
a lot of ground to succeed

and yes some of that ground 
with the people
shoot first
that's how you win against evil

we're a side effect of trees 
and an afterthought to bees
busy hacking away
at the branch we sit on

when our epitaph is done
they'll say we failed to break our sun
but we chewed through every rock
we ever bit on

'cause I gotta get mine

I know all about empathy
I know all of you owe a lot of that to me
wasn't born with a silver spoon
that's why I rape my way across the room

understand our condition is a race
there's a number to your figure
and a figure to your face
name your price and I will pay it
there's a price for all the gods to okay it

I gotta get mine!

we're a side effect of trees 
and an afterthought to bees
busy hacking away
every branch we ever sit on

when our epitaph is done
they'll say we failed to break our sun
but we poisoned every rock
we've ever been on

in a way that's our gift
in a way that's our gift

we're a sideshow to chimpanzees
a transportation hub for fleas
busy chopping away
at the one branch we're given

when our epitaph is done
they'll say we wasted a perfect sun
but we made our escape
into heaven

we should drill right here...

Support Gom

The Side Effect (feat. Melon Coke)

Bruce MacLeod: Guitar, Bass, Synth.
Jimmy Hobson: Drums
  
The pump don't work cause the vandals took the handle...

Subterranean Homesick Blues (Dylan Cover)

Just Another Love Song

Duration: ca. 16'
Instrumentation: mezzo-soprano and piano
Performed by American Modern Ensemble: Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano; Blair McMillen, piano

World Premiere: American Modern Ensemble, Blythe Gaissert, mezzo-soprano, Blair McMillen, piano, Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, New York, NY, USA, April 26, 2018.

Publisher: Bill Holab Music

View Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/paterson_captcha__score-mezzo-sopra

Buy Sheet Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=2782

For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/captcha-mezzo-soprano-version

Also available as a version for baritone and piano.

PROGRAM NOTES
CAPTCHA originated with an assignment I was given as a participant in the American Opera Projects (AOP) Composers & The Voice program. Throughout the year, we wrote a variety of arias and songs and were given various "challenges." Some of the challenges included using no more than four lines of text, using found text, using prose, and also trying to avoid the passagio (a term used in classical singing to describe where different voice ranges cross over, for example, where the chest voice and head voice cross). I neglected to incorporate any of the challenges into previous pieces, and I only had one song or aria left, so I had to incorporate all of the remaining challenges into a single piece.

For found text, I decided to use CAPTCHA texts. The term CAPTCHA (for Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart) was coined in 2000 by scientists at Carnegie Mellon University. A CAPTCHA is a program that protects websites against bots by generating and grading tests that only humans can pass. For example, humans can read distorted text presented as a graphic, but current computer programs cannot. To find interesting words and phrases, I spent many tedious hours in front of my computer loading CAPTCHA texts. Actually, what I ended using are reCAPTCHA texts, which are derived from a free version of CAPTCHA that uses combinations of real words from scanned books that need human confirmation and gibberish text.

I initially wrote one song entitled CAPTCHA for baritone and piano, but later decided to compose an entire song cycle that incorporates the original song. Each songs uses a few key words (the few that are actually real words and phrases) as a springboard. I attempt to phonetically interpret the other words and phrases that don’t make sense, infusing emotion where none exists. Ultimately, my goal is to create an emotionally moving experience, despite the nonsensical nature of the words.

CAPTCHA (Version For Mezzo-Soprano And Piano) - IV. Voix Gustroor

The title track for my upcoming album "Civilization Soundscape," which is featured in the epic teaser trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwwH8h91FUU

Artifex (noun - Latin): practitioner of an art, craftsman, creator

This track acts as a small case study, epitomizing both my sound and what I try to achieve with my music. I start with a blank canvas and employ the simplest of motifs, a pulse on a single tone. With each subsequent layer I try to add intrigue and detail, giving a direction to the piece and painting a picture for the listener. Each layer is treated analogously to how an engineer would make use of a fundamental principle in their trade, ultimately arriving at something comprised of much greater complexity.  Finally, a simple harmonic structure is introduced, rich and vibrant in tonality, which I attempt to complement through the continued use of driving percussive elements. I intended the final product to feel built from the ground up like a group of architects beginning construction on a monument, only with the brick and mortar and mathematical axioms substituted by sonic motifs.

I hope you enjoy :) please comment with your thoughts and any critiques!

Artifex

SINGULARITY V.3

Ask Somebody

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 III. Masquerade: Larry’s Aria: Not My Night (Baritone Aria)

Robert Paterson Composer