Winter Songs (for Bass-Baritone and Chamber Ensemble)
Duration: ca. 20'

MOVEMENTS:
I. Icicles filled the long window (Wallace Stevens)
II. Dark Day, Warm and Windy (A. R. Ammons)
III. The Snow Man (Wallace Stevens)
IV. Boy at The Window (Richard Wilbur)
V. Old Story (Robert Creeley)
VI. Neither Snow (Billy Collins)

Performers: American Modern Ensemble; David Neal, Bass-Baritone
For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/winter-songs
Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103_137&products_id=1357
Online Perusal Score: https://issuu.com/robertpaterson/docs/winter_songs_perusal_score


PROGRAM NOTES
The idea for Winter Songs occurred to me after I wrote a short song based on the sixth poem from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens for a group composition project at Cornell University. The original idea was to have each student in the department set a different poem in this work, culminating in an evening long song cycle. There are many compelling settings ofThirteen Ways, so instead of trying to contribute yet another, I decided to compose a song cycle using winter-themed poems by a variety of poets. David Neal, the bass-baritone who sang my initial song, Icicles Filled the Long Window, liked the idea so much that he asked me for a complete cycle. I spent months collecting and reading as many poems about winter as I could find. Winter-themed poems seem to fall into two categories: those that are playful and fun, and those that are quite serious. I chose to set six serious poems, including another one by Wallace Stevens, and one each by Robert Creeley, Richard Wilbur, A.R. Ammons and Billy Collins.

Winter Songs was commissioned by David Neal and The Arts at Grace through the New York State Music Fund and was premiered by David Neal and the Society for New Music in April 2008.

ARTISTS:
Robert Paterson, Conductor
'David Neal, bass-baritone
Sato Moughalian, flute
Benjamin Fingland, clarinet
Matthew Ward, percussion
Blair McMillen, piano
Robin Zeh, violin
Robert Burkhart, cello

The Four Seasons

Winter Songs - II. Dark Day, Warm and Windy (Text by A. R. Ammons)

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.

Winter Songs - II. Dark Day, Warm and Windy (Text by A. R. Ammons)

Robert Paterson Composer