One of the best pieces from an American composer I've heard. Congratulations on a monumental achievement.

Superbly constructed polyphony! In every chord the high skill of the composer sounds! Words fade before music !!! Wonderful!!!!!

IM IN. YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSES WITH GREAT EARS   

Beautiful piece! So bright and shining. Excellent work, Robert!

Amazing track all round. Great musicianship and sound.

my favorite so far my friend.  lovely  work here.  CS5 APPROVED  ❤

What a wonderful composition. Absolutely stunning. I know nothing of music theory, but everything sounds amazing to me, the mix of strings, choir, brass....fantastic work!

Beautiful composition. Nice classical production.

Incredible vocals and the percussion is very very good - lovely work :-)

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 Orchestraand Albany Pro Musica, Kent Tritle, conductor, Larry Pine, narrator, 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: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&search_in_description=1&keyword=whitman%27s+america

For More Information: http://robertpaterson.com/whitmans-america

View Score Online: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/paterson_whitman_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 for Orchestra and Chorus

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.

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