Wound Up/Unwind - Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan
Written: 2025
Total Duration: 10'
for string quartet and percussion (cajón with pedal and handpan—D Kurd 10: D) A, B-flat, C, D, E, F, G, A, C )
Commissioned by FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
World Premiere: FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival | The Netherlands, Oostkerk, Middelburg, Middelburg, Zeeland, The Netherlands, May 2, 2025
US Premiere: Mostly Modern Festival. FAB5, Mostly Modern Festival, Arthur Zankel Music Center, Helen Filene Ladd Concert Hall, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, June 18, 2026
Publisher: Bill Holab Music
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/wound-up-unwind
VIdeo: https://youtu.be/RPyXPYx-nuo


PROGRAM NOTE
For many years, my wife Victoria and her FAB5 quintet (string quartet and percussion), have entertained thousands of people at numerous performance spaces and travel hubs in New York City, including Moynihan Train Hall, Oculus World Trade Center, Javits Center, and Chelsea Market. Having seen many of their shows, especially those at travel hubs, there's a certain tension and release you experience watching people wait anxiously for their trains, and then the release they feel when they are finally on their way. I've had these experiences myself, so I wanted to create two pieces that emulate these feelings.

Wound Up/Unwind consists of two contrasting pieces for string quartet and percussion. The first, Wound Up, for string quartet and cajón, imitates the feeling of being worried, anxious, and frustrated, especially while waiting to board a train. The second, Unwind, for string quartet and handpan, is calm and soothing, perhaps emulating the satisfying feeling of relaxing in a quiet seat as the train leaves the station. Both pieces can be performed independently and in any order.

Wound Up/Unwind is written for and commissioned by the FAB5 quintet with support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan

Hi - I write songs - here is a selection from over the years - thank you for taking the time to listen. More info on the links below. Thanks.

Christiane Hommelsheim sings and plays on sound objects, Ralf Haarmann electronics and mandoline. With a central interest in loops, they create intertwined acoustic layers. Through the looper all sounds loose their corporality, they resolve within themselves, they appear and
disappear, they become soundfields, and soundshadows. Ocassionally a sentences might appear out of nowhere, and lingers unfinished in the space, like a piece of thought-furniture, that might develop within the ear of the listener before it retreats back out of focus. HAARMANNHOMMELSHEIM create poetics of absence, poetics of nothing.

Tom Markey weaves his unique sound from songwriting and sonic explorations in rock, punk, pop, ambient and beyond. His songs are infused with a sense of justice, optimism and humor in the face of darkness. He draws inspiration for his music from dystopian visions, space travel, books and friendship. Tom is based in Austin, Texas.

(Translation above)

Auteur-compositeur de chansons françaises qui n'attendent que de bons interprètes. 
Après des études au conservatoire et musicologie à la Sorbonne, j'ai enseigné l'éducation musicale à des élèves en école élémentaire de 1982 à 2021.

Dès 1989, alors que je découvrais la MAO, j'ai commencé à faire des centaines d'arrangements de chansons pour enfants ou adultes dans tous les styles pour les faire chanter. Cette solide expérience m'a amené dans un premier temps à composer des chansons pour mes élèves. Puis, je me suis lancé dans un répertoire pour adultes. 132 chansons à ce jour !

Mon répertoire va de la danse traditionnelle française (La bourrée du maumarié), à l’EDM (La tête dans les étoiles) en passant par la musique classique (Double concerto pour violon, violoncelle et orchestre à cordes) et la chanson française, le gros du panier, avec le plus souvent cette pointe d’humour qui fait tant défaut aujourd’hui dans beaucoup de chansons, (ce qui est étonnant quand on voit autant d’humoristes fleurir aux six points de l’Hexagone…)

Même si certains apprécient ma façon de chanter, mes chansons sont faites pour de vrais interprètes qui aiment monter sur scène.

Né en 1961 à Paris.
Membre SACEM

Author-composer and performer... by default of French songs. 
After studying at the Conservatoire and musicology at the Sorbonne, I taught music education to elementary school pupils from 1982 to 2021.

As early as 1989, when I was just discovering computer-assisted music, I started making hundreds of arrangements of songs for children and adults in all styles, to get them to sing along. This solid experience initially led me to compose songs for my students. Then I started working on a repertoire for adults. 132 songs to date!

My repertoire ranges from traditional French dance (La bourrée du maumarié), to EDM (La tête dans les étoiles), classical music (Double concerto for violin, cello and string orchestra) and French chanson, the mainstay of my repertoire, most often with that touch of humor so lacking in so many songs these days (which is astonishing when you see so many humorists flourishing at the six points of the Hexagon...).

Even if some people like the way I sing, my songs are made for real performers who like to get up on stage.

Born in 1961 in Paris.
SACEM member

I love to sing with my guitar. Love to play my guitar and sing.
I practice Zen too, so sometimes I combine traditional Zen Buddhist chants with guitar instrumentals that I have composed; other times, I just sing a folk or popular song that resonates with me.
June 24 2024 marked the release of ShoSaiMyo Vol.1, first released on Bandcamp. It features Five of the Zen and Sutras playlist songs that Brad Stock produced and engineered at Painted Sky Studios. In January 2024, the B side of Vol.1 (called Shosaimyo Vol. 2) was released on January 30, 2025. All proceeds from Bandcamp purchases will support Zen River Temple in the Netherlands. Click the Bandcamp link below to stay tuned! 
https://myora22.bandcamp.com/follow_me

Hi! I am Igor, a lefthanded guitarist from Serbia. I play and compose vintage art rock, melodic rock guitar instrumental music with high emotional depth and strong uplifting power, often ballad and sometimes virtuoso.
Hire me on airgigs.com:
https://www.airgigs.com/user/IgorLisul
Here on soundcloud I am also opened for collaboration. I'll supply you with keen and highly emotional melody, or some faster rock soloing in my vintage style.

These Guitars Say Sorry is the banner for a diverse range of artists, from UK singer-songwriter These Guitars Say Sorry to classical composer Jeremias Langsämmer along with his ensemble, Icelandic post-rock band Laxá with the Heima Kvartett, ambient artist Siegfried Jünger, and Doom Jazz ensemble The Dark Messiahs. Founded by Jez Stephen, who incepted all the projects, the label has released over 30 albums, crafting a unique sonic identity across genres.

Since 2021, These Guitars Say Sorry has released a track every week, later compiling them into albums available on all major platforms. Explore the catalog on Bandcamp: https://theseguitarssaysorry.bandcamp.com/ and support the work for as little as $1 a month on Patreon: www.patreon.com/tgss.

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.

Unapologetic musical calamity from around the world. The only way to support: https://gomjabbar.bandcamp.com

Unwind for String Quartet and Hand Pan

Robert Paterson Composer