winter songs - digital booklet (design by pat burke)

7/27/2019 Winter Songs - Digital Booklet (design by Pat Burke)

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AMERICAN MODERN ENSEMBLE

Jesse Blumberg, Baritone

Robert Gardner, Baritone

Nancy Allen Lundy, Soprano

David Neal, bass-Baritone

Dimitri Pittas, Tenor

WINTER SONGS

Robert Paterson

and other vocal works


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CAPCHA

1. I. duchenp ed[306]

2. II. Henry alutch [222]3. III. youJusto nicely [159]4. IV. Voix gustroor [445]5. V. Secretary metadon [316]

Jesse Blumberg, tenorBlair McMillen, piano

Winter Songs

6. I. Icicles Filled the Long Window [236]7. II. Dark Day, Warm and Wind [323]8. III. Te Snow Man [410]9. IV. Boy at Te Window [407]10. V. Old Story [256]11. VI. Neither Snow [324]

Daid Neal, bass-baritone

American Modern Ensemble

Eating Variations

12. I. My Body, a emple [309]13. II. Te Hog [049]14. III. Even the Dyspeptic Must Eat [215]15. IV. Te Dietary Moralist [128]16. V. Te Happy Medium [123]

Robert Gardner, baritoneAmerican Modern Ensemble

Tursday

17. 1. Introduction[144]

18. 2. 9:15 a.m. [146]19. 3. 10:42 a.m. [156]20. 4. 5:09 p.m. [158]21. 5. 6:05 p.m. [205]22. 6. 6:15 p.m. [207]

Nancy Allen Lundy, sopranoBlair McMillen, piano

Batters Box

23. 1. Batting Practice [309]24. 2. Catching [157]25. 3. Rain Delay [413]26. 4. At Bat [259]27. 5. Postgame Interview[520]

Dimitri Pittas, tenor

Blair McMillen, piano

OAL IME: 7501

World Premiere Recordings

Produced by Adam Abeshouse

WINTER SONGSRobert Paterson American Modern Ensemble


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PROGRAM NOES

CAPCHA

Jesse Blumberg, baritone; Blair McMillen, piano

CAPCHAoriginated with an assignment rom the

American Opera Projects (AOP) Composers & TeVoice program. Troughout the year, we wrote a varietyo arias and songs and were given various challenges.Some o the challenges included using no more thanour lines o text, using ound text, using prose, andalso trying to avoid the passagio (a term used in clas-sical singing to describe where dierent voice rangescross over, or example, where the chest voice and headvoice cross). I neglected to incorporate any o the chal-

lenges into previous pieces, and I only had one song oraria le, so I had to incorporate all o the remainingchallenges into a single piece.

For ound text, I decided to use CAPCHA texts. Teterm CAPCHA (or Completely Automated Publicuring est o ell Computers and Humans Apart)was coined in 2000 by scientists at Carnegie MellonUniversity. A CAPCHA is a program that protectswebsites against Internet bots by generating and grad-

ing tests that only humans can pass. For example, hu-mans can read distorted text presented as a graphic, butcurrent computer programs cannot. o nd interestingwords and phrases, I spent many tedious hours in ronto my computer loading CAPCHA texts. Actually,what I ended up using are reCAPCHA texts, whichare derived rom a ree version o CAPCHA thatuses combinations o real words rom scanned booksthat need human conrmation and gibberish text.

I initially wrote one song entitled CAPCHA, butlater decided to compose an entire song cycle that

incorporates the original song. Each song uses a ewkey words (the ew that are actually real words andphrases) as a springboard. I attempt to phoneticallyinterpret the other words and phrases that dont makesense, inusing emotion where none exists. Ultimately,my goal is to create an emotionally moving experience,despite the nonsensical nature o the words.

CAPCHAI. duchenp edduchenp ed; cens Overtancruralso Yea; political aroun1782, guilded; icserve incredulousalari weeps; Devillu noun

II. Henry olutch Henry olutchmeitcha whoocers ispeleccruel Otautencapture manciseacaptured iturnpblood hreerdiAncipart glasscemaeve armedvarialla approachinginvasion essiGenpeople toxlessodomentr powerhigoopa 666

PROGRAM NOES

CAPCHA



American Opera Projects (AOP) Composers & TeVoice program. Troughout the year, we wrote a varietyo arias and songs and were g iven various challenges.Some o the challenges included using no more thanour lines o text, using ound text, using prose, andalso trying to avoid the passagio (a term used in clas-sical singing to describe where dierent voice rangescross over, or example, where the chest voice and headvoice cross). I neglected to incorporate any o the chal-



ing tests that only humans can pass. For example, hu-mans can read distorted text presented as a graphic, butcurrent computer programs cannot. o nd interestingwords and phrases, I spent many tedious hours in ronto my computer loading CAPCHA texts. Actually,what I ended up using are reCAPCHA texts, whichare derived rom a ree version o CAPCHA thatuses combinations o real words rom scanned booksthat need human conrmation and gibberish text.



CAPCHAI. duchenp edduchenp ed; cens Overtancruralso Yea; political aroun1782, gui lded; icserve incredulousalari weeps; Devillu noun

II. Henry olutch Henry olutchmeitcha whoocers ispeleccruel Otautencapture manciseacaptured iturnpblood hreerdiAncipart glasscemaeve armedvarialla approachinginvasion essiGenpeople toxlessodomentr powerhigoopa 666

CAPCHA



American Opera Projects (AOP) Composers & TeVoice program. Troughout the year, we wrote a varietyo arias and songs and were given various challenges.Some o the challenges included using no more thanour lines o text, using ound text, using prose, andalso trying to avoid the passagio (a term used in clas-sical singing to describe where dierent voice rangescross over, or example, where the chest voice and headvoice cross). I neglected to incorporate any o the chal-



ing tests that only humans can pass. For example, hu-mans can read distorted text presented as a graphic, butcurrent computer programs cannot. o nd interestingwords and phrases, I spent many tedious hours in ronto my computer loading CAPCHA texts . Actually,what I ended up using are reCAPCHA texts, whichare derived rom a ree version o CAPCHA thatuses combinations o real words rom scanned booksthat need human conrmation and gibberish text.



CAPCHAI. duchenp edduchenp ed; cens Overtanc

ruralso Yea; political aroun1782, guilded; icserve incredulousalari weeps; Devillu noun

II. Henry olutch Henry olutchmeitcha whoocers ispeleccruel Otautencapture manciseacaptured iturnp

blood hreerdiAncipart glasscemaeve armedvarialla approachinginvasion essiGenpeople toxlessodomentr powerhigoopa 666

PROGRAM NOES


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III. youJusto nicelyyouJusto nicelyposition. patchediCherry iscibiliyenvis touchingErectheum avoionalFillatio ounded

sunclu giganticpectsOR weightyFeervid LENGHappears FlacklImproper ericsiagalord shortconsequence veybord

WhenRus comesriahot ace

bring towels

IV. Voix gustroorVoix gustroorvoice niionssMUSICAL alengusharmonic nstrylieder riousMos

irohom songssongs, wsxolotbuglehorns uldogneshown potheadcranial cialArccalumny alsolotoIndit conduct

cantsak ACING

called awspesSinonie ngtinPemezzo rtsFUSDreamland ernowbtdream sppoll

V. Secretary metadon

Secretary metadonshe cartellAND usedmeniadmitted splense

WILLIAM workorseoctache barbarousrapedat treasonthou Crustop

lawastty REBECCAcourcte expressionoperations naturEIRESOME ostpter

Petsra hasorsrans charcoal

Pesistri charcoalheckdin soul

orypeue RobertWslykmi Robertoongled ROBERidDirct ROBERapparently cDumberInviews thee

ranentri pronounces

SEVEN atthatsrespecting tusMoreuropley END.

exts by CAPCHA (2012-13)via Project Gutenberg.Arranged by Robert Paterson.exts in the public domain.


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Winter SongsDaid Neal, bass-baritone; Sato Moughalian, fute;Benjamin Fingland, clarinet; Robin Zeh, iolin;Robert Burkhart, cello; Matthew Ward, percussion;Blair McMillen, piano

Te idea or Winter Songs occurred to me aer I wrote ashort song based on the sixth poem rom Tirteen Ways

o Looking at a Blackbirdby Wallace Stevens or a groupcomposition project initiated by Steven Stucky at CornellUniversity. Te original idea was to have each studentin the department set a dierent poem in this work,culminating in an evening long song cycle. Tere are manycompelling settings oTirteen Ways, so instead o tryingto contribute yet another, I decided to compose a songcycle using winter-themed poems by a variety o poets.David Neal, the bass-baritone who sang my initial song,Icicles Filled the Long Window, liked the idea so much thathe asked me or a complete cycle. I spent months collect-ing and reading as many poems about winter as I couldnd. Winter-themed poems seem to all into two distinctcategories: those that are playul and un, and those thatare quite serious. I chose to set six serious poems, includ-ing an additional poem by Wallace Stevens, and others byRobert Creeley, Richard Wilbur, A. R. Ammons and BillyCollins.

As I studied the poems, I tried nding ways o connectingthem, either by subject or themeall poems about snowand ice or death and loss, or exampleor by somethingrivolous, such as poets who wrote about winter withthe rst name o Robert: Frost, Pack, Bly, Creeley andHayden. I also considered interspersing unny poems in-between serious ones, but that seemed to break the ow.Ultimately, I decided to set poems by contemporary poetsthat resonated most strongly with me; emotional qualityand listener comprehensionwhether a poem would be

understood when set to musicbecame more importantthan subject matter. By coincidence, these poems are all

by poets having ties to the American Northeast. Perhapsmy growing up in snowy Bualo, NY made meeeltheseparticular poems more than the others I read.

Te poems are also meaningul to me on a personal level.Te rst one,Icicles Filled the Long Window by WallaceStevens, is the poem that initiated this commission. Te

second,Dark Day, Warm and Windy by A. R. Ammons,reminds me o the walks I took while a doctoral studentat Cornell. Although I never met Ammons while atCornell, I like to think that we shared the experience otaking similar walks in and around Ithaca. I included thethird poem, Te Snow Man by Wallace Stevens, becauseI eel that since the rst poem is quite short and Stevenswrote so many wonderul poems about winter, it seemedright to include another. Te ourth poem,Boy at Te

Window by Richard Wilbur, is dedicated to my son Dylanwho was two years old when I wrote this movement. Itseems to perectly capture the all-encompassing ear opain and loss that every child goes through at a youngage. (Te entire cycle is also split in hal with two poemsabout snow men.) Te h poem, Old Story by RobertCreeley, is special to me because I grew up in Bualo, NY,and Creeley taught or a while at the State University oNew York at Bualo, the same school where my athertaught or over thirty years. Te last poem,Neither Snowby Billy Collins, was originally published in Te CortlandReview, an online literary audio magazine located in thesame town where Winter Songs was premiered. Collinsdescribes a cab ride down the Avenue o the Americas dur-ing a snowstorm. I have lived in New York City or manyyears, and I know rst-hand what that eels like. Becausethis poem has ties to Cortland, NY and is the astestmovement, and Billy Collins himsel gave me permissionto set it, it seemed perect to end with this movement.


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Winter Songs was commissioned by David Neal and TeArts at Grace through the New York State Music Fundand was premiered by David Neal and the Society orNew Music in April 2008.

Winter Songs

I. Icicles lled the long windowrom Tirteen Ways o Looking at a Blackbird

Wallace Stevens

VIIcicles lled the long windowWith barbaric glassTe shadow o the blackbirdCrossed it, to and ro.Te moodraced in the shadowAn indecipherable cause.

Tirteen Ways o Looking at a Blackbird, rom Te Collected Poemso Wallace Steens by Wallace Stevens, Copyright 1954 by Wal-lace Stevens and renewed 1982 by Holly Stevens. Used by permis-

sion o Alred A. Knop, a division o Random House, Inc.

II. Dark Day, Warm and WindyA. R. Ammons

Dark day, warm and windy,light breaking through

cloudscoloring the sides o tallurrows, thaw decayingsnow, the wind stirringtime up to a rush, I come homerom work midmorningdark with contemplations,that the inant ndshis hand unopened

and the old man orgetshis has closedthat rondure:

I sit down at the pianoand try the Fuga I in TeWell-empered Clavier andmy eelings lighten,the melody so incredible,the counter-melody incredible,the workings in and outprecise and necessary

From Te Snow Poems by A. R. Ammons. Copyright 1977 \A. R . Ammons. Published by W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.Used with permission.

III. Te Snow ManWallace Stevens

One must have a mind o wintero regard the rost and the boughsO the pine-trees crusted with snow;

And have been cold a long timeo behold the junipers shagged with ice,Te spruces rough in the distant glitter

O the January sun; and not to thinkO any misery in the sound o the wind,In the sound o a ew leaves,

Which is the sound o the landFull o the same wind

Tat is blowing in the same bare place

For the listener, who listens in the snow,And, nothing himsel, beholdsNothing that is not there and the nothing that is.

Te Snow Man, rom Te Collected Poems o Wallace Steensby Wallace Stevens, Copyright 1954 by Wallace Stevens andrenewed 1982 by Holly Stevens. Used by permission o Alred A.Knop, a division o Random House, Inc.


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IV. Boy at the WindowRichard Wilbur

Seeing the snowman standing all aloneIn dusk and cold is more than he can bear.Te small boy weeps to hear the wind prepareA night o gnashings and enormous moan.His tearul sight can hardly reach to whereTe pale-aced gure with bitumen eyesReturns him such a god-orsaken stareAs outcast Adam gave to Paradise.

Te man o snow is, nonetheless, content,Having no wish to go inside and die.Still, he is moved to see the youngster cry.Tough rozen water is his element,He melts enough to drop rom one so eyeA trickle o the purest rain, a tearFor the child at the bright pane surrounded bySuch warmth, such light, such love, and so much ear.

Boy at the Window rom Tings o Tis World, Copyright

1952 and renewed 1980 by Richard Wilbur, reproduced bypermission o Houghton Mifin Publishing Company.

V. Old StoryRobert Creeley

Like kid on oato ice block sinkingin pond the eld had maderom winters melting snow

so wisdom accumulatedto disintegratein conduits o brainin neural circuits aded

while gloomy muscles shrankmind padded the pathsits thought had wroughtits habits had created

till like kid aoaton ice block brokenon or inside the thing it stoodor was orsaken.

From Te Collected Poems o Robert Creeley, 1975-2005, by Rob-ert Creeley, Copyright 2006 Te Estate o Robert Creeley.Published by University o Caliornia Press.Used with permission.


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Neither SnowBilly Collins

When all o a sudden the city air lled with snow,the distinguishable akesblowing sideways,looked like krilleeing the maw o an advancing whale.

At least they looked that way to merom the taxi window,and since I happened to be sitting

that ading Sunday aernoonin the very center o the universe,who was in a better positionto say what looked like what,which thing resembled some other?

Yes, it was a run o white planktonborne down the Avenue o the Americasin the stream o the wind,phosphorescent against the weighty buildings.

Which made the taxi itsel,yellow and slow-moving,a kind o undersea creature,I thought as I wiped the og rom the glass,

and me one o its protruding eyes,an eye on a stemswiveling this way and thatmonitoring one side o its world,observing tons o watertons o peoplecolored signs and lightsand now a wildly blowing race o snow.

Published on Te Cortland Review website.Copyright 1999 Billy Collins.Used with permission rom Billy Collins.


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Eating VariationsRobert Gardner, baritone; Sato Moughalian, fute;Meighan Stoops, clarinet; Victoria Paterson, iolin; RobertBurkhart, cello, back-up vocals in Te Dietary Moralist;Matthew Ward, percussion (all perormers doubling cupgongs in My Body, A emple)

Eating Variations is based on a series o witty poemswith the same title by Ron Singer. Te work as a whole isessentially a satire on ood addism and depicts dierentaspects o eating. Te way I chose to set these poems islight-hearted, perhaps lighter in spirit than Singer origi-nally intended, but with a serious, dark side.

Te rst movement,My Body, a emple, incorporatesthe sounds o ibetan Singing Bowls (also cal led emple

Bowls or Cup Gongs) and is loosely, harmonically inspiredby Khmei, or uvan Troat Singing and David HykessHarmonic Choir recordings; both o whom use a style inwhich the singer produces overtones on top o the un-damental notes. Perhaps merciully, I do not require thebaritone to use this technique, but instead, use the ute toproduce alse overtones in a couple o spots.

In the second movement, Te Hog, the instruments mimicpig sounds with scratchy, grunting noises rom the violin

and cello and clarinet multiphonics. A round-soundingwhole-tone scale is used and there is a Polka-like accompa-niment in the percussion.

Te third movement,Een the Dyspeptic Must Eat, usesupward and downward runs in the bass clarinet to imparta roller coaster-like sense o Gastroesophageal ReuxDisease, a condition in which there is recurrent returno stomach contents back up the esophagus. Tis is rein-orced with a slow, background groove in the drums.

Te cello part in the ourth movement, Te Dietary Mor-alist, was inspired by Dave Eggar, a cellist who can play hisinstrument like a guitar and sing at the same time. In thismovement, I ask the cell ist to play in a somewhat olksystyle and sing out o tune back-up vocalsto me, reminis-

cent o a 1960s musical Hippie Sit-in. Te main vocalistis backed by the well meaning but out o tune band. oparaphrase an interesting email exchange with Singer, weagreed that in this context, the vocalist might represent acontemporary version o a certain species o 60s hippiesay, a particularly zealous air trade coee purveyor, andthat this Malvolio type is singing along with a group okindred spirits. Tis movement is not a literal portrayalo the text, which is quite serious in tone, and stretches

the meaning more than the other movements. Perhaps myinterpretation may instead be viewed more as commentaryon the text.

In each passing decade, people are sure o their eating hab-its, and the careree, assured, commercial America o the1950s was no dierent. In the last movement, Te HappyMedium, I envision a ather-like doctor gure squarelyexplaining to a patient how to eat. Te perky backgroundmusic is meant to evoke a 1950s V commercial, or

perhaps a short, black and white educational grade schoollm.


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Te Eating VariationsRon Singer

1. My Body, a emple

Each day I dose myselwith necessary nutrients:hal a banana, or electrolytesand iron; several whole-grain items,

providing essential roughage;and, hedging my bets, a measureo ats, same o carbohydrates;keeping the calories low,keeping the heartbeat slow,except on days o heavy exercise.Tus it is to eat and be wise.

2. Te Hog

Down, down, down to McDonalds I go,there to wallow in tallow. Pleasedwith grease, I gorge on portionsthat creater distortions between meand lesser humanity. o eat, to eat,until I cannot see my eet. I greet you,and, i I could, I d eat you, too.

3. Even the Dyspeptic Must Eat

A necessary evil,to eat when it makes you ill,when even salad, stinted, dressedwith lemon juice, requires a pill,which is, or you, an aer-dinner mint.A little dish o pastawith a drop o olive oil,eaten slowly, comes back aster.Regardless o how I censor whatI send down to my stomach and my guts,

they groan and roil and send it right back up.

4. Te Dietary Moralist

Each bite I eat is taken rom another mouth,each piece o meat costs the world a tree,diminishing biodiversity.Fruits and vegetables out o season,

each cup o coee, cocoa, tea,stretch the gap between north and south,exploiting third-world poverty.Better to skip ood and drink completely,but asting, too, is a sin against reason,and might cause death, a sin against me.

5. Te Happy Medium

No cause or excess or alarm!A balanced diet, moderate,o delicious treats, well-prepared,neither avoiding nor overdoingany single ood group,a little sh, a little meat,a modicum o soy and wheat,a glass o juice, a bowl o soup,abundant produce rom the arm,apple, lettuce, cucumber, pear,a balance o oils with tasty ats,is the happy, modern way to eat.

ext Copyright 2007 Ron Singer.Reprinted with Permission.

T d


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TursdayNancy Allan Lundy, soprano; Blair McMillen, piano

Te text or Tursday was conceived and written byBridget Meeds and Kenny Berkowitz, both excellent writ-ers who possess an acute and oen exquisitely wry senseo humor. Each movement attempts to paint a literary pic-ture o the central character by introducing various people

who are related to her. Te work has six short movements,each one representing a dierent character.

Tursday: A Song CycleKenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds

1. Introduction

Hi, this is Annie.Im not home,leave a message

at the sound o the beep.

2. 9:15 AM

Hi Sis, its Kate.Im wondering i I can come up this weekend,I just need a break, umm,the men in my department are being really nasty,my advisor is like totally undercutting me,I think theyre going to take my ellowship away.

Ahhh! Oh, and Lydia is leaving.For good this time.Call me! Please.

3. 10:42 AM

Tis is your ather.You havent called in three weeksand I am very angry.I want you and Pete to visitor your mothers birthday,because I dont want to be alone.

And tell your sister Katiethat she should phone her atherevery once in a while.You know where to reach me.

4. 5:09 PM

Tis is Mrs. White rom Citibank Visa,calling to remind Ann Brennanthat her payments are now our months past due.It is urgent that she call me backas soon as possibleat 1-800-248-2265between 9 and 5so we may discuss how she intends to ulllher nancial obligation.

5. 6:05 PM

Hey, its Pete,Im gonna be a little late tonight, sorry.Actually, I have to work all night, Im really sorry.Look, we have to talk,cause I was doing deliveries this aernoonand this guy came outta nowhereand your car got scratched.Well, maybe its a little worse than a scratch,

but dont get upset, its not that bad,not like its totalled or anything.Look, you know I love you,Im sorry about tonight.Ill make it up to you, I promise.Tis is not how I wanted to spend my Tursday,believe me.Gotta go, the pizzas waiting.See ya later.

6 6 15 PM


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6. 6:15 PM

Hi honey, its ess:its three oclock hereso it must be six where you are...I just opened the mail and I love your picture...You look so beautiul!Im sending you a...Im sending a surprise.I love you, call me when you get home,

its just me and the cat tonight...bye.

ext Copyright 1999 Kenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds.Reprinted With Permission.

B tt B


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Batters BoxDimitri Pittas, tenor; Blair McMillen, piano

Batters Boxis my second song cycle written in collabora-tion with Bridget Meeds, a poet, and Kenny Berkowitz,a journalist. Te rst project we worked on together wasTursday, a song cycle or soprano and piano in which thetext consists o ctitious answering machine messages.

Tis time, we specically decided to tackle a subject thatwe thought would entice people into the concert hall thatmight not normally attend. Teir text is loosely based onthe lie o baseball giant Mike Piazza o the New YorkMets. Each movement represents a dierent phase othe game, and thoughts o Piazzas ather tie everythingtogether. I interpret this work as being less about Piazzathe individual and more about the all-American baseballplayer. Te common musical thread through each move-ment is a tonally ambiguous whole tone scale.

Stepping Into Te Batters Box,He Hears His Fathers VoiceKenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds

1. Batting Practice

I love to swing the bat.I cant help it, I just love it,always have... always.

Wow... that is one good-looking lady.I could see mysel with her,maybe ve years rom now,little house in the suburbs,grilling steak out in the backyard,playing catch with the kids.Do people stay aithul in New York?I wish I knew.

I wish I knew what to do.

I mean, I could sit around the hospital,

til they give dad the news.But what good is that gonna do?I I stay here,at least he can see me on V,maybe watch me hit a homer.

We cant aord to lose two in a row.

Every game counts...man, every inning, every pitch.Look at that sky.Can I put in my order or a clear, sunny day?No, not very likely.Mom says, Go to work, dont worry.Dont worry?

Some day, Im gonna have a kid,just like that one,

brings his glove to the game,hoping to catch a oul tip.And Im gonna be as good to himas my dad was to me.I cant believe I was as small as that.

2. Catching

What the hell was that?Tats the best pitch youve got?

Jesus Christ, that was practically up to his gut.Concentrate. Concentrate. Con-cen-trate.I cant stand impulsive people.I want you to gimme a slider.Not like the last one: a slider.One that drops. Like its supposed to.

Dont shake me o.Lord help us and save us,i I wanted a curve ball,

Id ask or a curve ball.rust me.

Im tired o hearing Im doing it wrong: Pride is a sin


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I m tired o hearing I m doing it wrong:Hes too big. Hes too slow.He doesnt know what pitches to call.I know what this game is all about,Ive been working hard.Ive seen this guy, he cant hit em low.

All we need now is a nice, low slider,thats al l you have to do.

Yeah, he knows its coming,yeah, hes waiting or it.i you just keep it low,But you can get it past him,I know you can do it.

3. Rain Delay

Its no un getting beat up my knees are killing me,

my elbow is throbbing,my ngers are numb.Every time I get hit like that,it takes another year o my lie.

Maybe I should be a weatherman:rain, turning to... rain, ollowed by... rain.How long is this gonna last?I cant believe theyre paying mea million bucks to sit on this bench,

a million bucks could eed some countryor like two years.How is me hitting a baseballgonna make a dierence to anyone?

My ather prayed every daythat I would be a basebal l player...and here I am.What choice do I got?Please God, Im not asking or a hit,

I know that would be wrong.

Pride is a sin.But could you give me a chance?I swear, Ill turn this game around.I know a guy oughta pray all the time,and I dont.I know youre too busy to pay attentionto a stupid baseball game.But maybe I could make

these y thousand people a little happier.Or maybe Im just wasting your time.Maybe theres some other lessonIm supposed to learn.

4. At Bat

Knowledge. iming. Luck.Come on! Get your mind on the game!Tis is your moment, your time.

Breathe. Watch. Tink.Tats three curves in row,inside low, inside high, inside low.Give me another one,Ill knock it out o the park.

Knowledge. iming. Luck.What I want is a big, meaty astball,but I dont think Im gonna get it no, I know Im not gonna get it.

Tats okay.Another curve will do me ne.I can hit a curve as good as anybody:All those nights with dad in the batting cage,when my hands were reezing cold,I still kept hitting. For him.Jesus, I didnt even say thanks.What i I dont get the chance?

[He calls time out.]

What am I doing here?

Dad is watching, Sometimes, I think


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Dad is watching,he knows what Im thinking.Hes saying,Kiddo, orget about me,get your head in the game.Hit that ball,show me what youre made o.You cant know whats gonna happen,

all you can do is do your best.And pray.

[He resumes play.]

Knowledge. iming. Luck.Tats all it takes.Te game is a game,it goes on,and Im ready.

5. Postgame InterviewYou always ask yoursel,What could I have done dierently?Teres plenty I could tell you there was a curve in the thirdthat I really shouldve hit,there was that slider in the sixththat I shouldve stopped.But sometimes the game

doesnt go your way,theres things you cant control:We worked hard, and today,thats as good as we could do.Sure, I wishI couldve walked to the moundaer that last outknowing I called all the right pitches,knowing I le an imprint on the game.

I dont know i I can say that today.Ask me again tomorrow.

Sometimes, I thinkthe only thing that keeps me goingis coee and Advil.But the rest o the team,theyre eeling strong.And theyre still thinking on their eet, you know?Mentally, the season beats the hell out o you,its like the eeling you get aer

running a marathon,but doing it everyday.It takes a toll.So you learn, you gotta completelyminimize your mistakes.We havent been doing that,but we can,i we work hard,rom now through October,because the World Series is or people who are doing,not or people who think theyre due.

Yeah, thanks...Honestly, we really dont knowwhats gonna happen to him,nobody does.But were getting some tests back.Im going over there now,take my mom out or some supper.He keeps saying,hes gonna see me in the Series,and I want to believe him.Te bottom line is,whatever else happens,I gotta keep playing.Ive worked too hard to get here.I know this can be goneas easily as it comes.

ext Copyright 2005 Kenny Berkowitz and Bridget Meeds.Reprinted With Permission.


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Composer Robert Paterson continues to gain attention here and abroad or writing vibrantly scored and well-craed music that


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g goen seems to shimmer (NewMusicBox). His works are praised or their elegance, wit, structural integrity, and a wonderul senseo color. Paterson was awarded Composer o Te Yearat Weills Carnegie Hall rom the Classical Recording Foundation in 2011. Te

Book o Goddesses was included on the Grammy ballot this past year or Best Contemporary Classical Composition and was namedone o the op 10 avorite pieces o the year by NPRs Best Music o 2012.

Recent perormances includeDark Mountains with Jaime Laredo and the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, the European premiere oDancing Games by the Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire (France), andEternal Refections, commissioned or the San Francisco-based Volti choir.

His works have been played by the Louisville Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, American Composers Orchestra, Pittsburgh New Mu-sic Ensemble, New York New Music Ensemble, BargeMusic, Caliornia EAR Unit, and Ensemble Aleph in Paris.

Upcoming engagements include a commission or the Albany Symphony Orchestra,Dark Mountains with the Austin Sym-phony, and an album o Patersons choral works to be recorded with Musica Sacra and conductor Kent ritle. Patersonwon the Cincinnati Camerata Composition Competition or his setting oDo Not Stand at My Graveand Weep (text by Mary Frye). Te panel chose this work rom his cycleEternal Refections or itsexpressive choral writing, text painting and imaginatively beautiul textures.

Awards include the 2014 Utah Arts Festival composer commission, the Copland Award, twoASCAP Young Composer Awards, a three-year Music Alive! grant rom the League o Ameri-can Orchestras and New Music USA, the American Composers Forum, and ASCAP. Fellow-ships include Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, the Aspen Music Festival, and the AtlanticCenter or the Arts.

Born in 1970, Paterson was raised in Bualo, New York, the son o a sculptor and apainter. Although his rst love was percussion, he soon discovered a passion orcomposition, writing his rst piece at age thirteen.

In 2005, Paterson ounded the American Modern Ensemble (AME), whichspotlights American music via lively thematic programming. He serves as

artistic director or AME as well as house composer, requently contribut-ing new pieces to the ensemble, and he directs the afliated record label,

American Modern Recordings (AMR), which will be distributed by Naxosin 2014.

He holds degrees rom the Eastman School o Music (BM), Indiana Uni-versity (MM), and Cornell University (DMA). Paterson has given masterclasses at numerous colleges and universities, most recently at the CurtisInstitute o Music, New York University, Ithaca College, the Cleveland Insti-tute, and the Eastman School o Music. He resides in New York City with his

wie, Victoria, and son, Dylan, and summers at the Rocky Ridge Music Center inColorado where he is composer-in-residence.

Artist Biographies


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Jesse BlumbergBaritone Jesse Blumberg is equal-ly at home on opera, concert,and recital stages, perormingrepertoire rom the Renaissanceand Baroque to the 20th and21st centuries. His perormances

have included the world pre-miere oTe Grapes o Wrath atMinnesota Opera,Niobe,Reginadi ebe at the Boston Early MusicFestival, BernsteinsMASSatLondons Royal Festival Hall,

and appearances with New York City Opera, PittsburghOpera, and Boston Lyric Opera. Recital highlights includeappearances with the Marilyn Horne Foundation and NewYork Festival o Song, and perormances oDie schne

Mllerin and Winterreise with pianist Martin Katz. Hehas perormed major works with American Bach Soloists,Los Angeles Master Chorale, Oratorio Society o NewYork, Apollos Fire, and on Lincoln Centers AmericanSongbook series.

Jesse has given the world premieres o Ricky Ian GordonsGreen Sneakers, Lisa Bielawas Te Lay o the Loe and

Death, Conrad CummingsPositions 1956, and om Ci-pullosExcelsior. He also works closely with several otherrenowned composers as a member o the Mirror VisionsEnsemble.

Jesse has been recognized in several competitions, andwas awarded Tird Prize at the 2008 International RobertSchumann Competition in Zwickau, becoming its rstAmerican prizewinner in over thirty years. He received aMaster o Music degree rom the University o CincinnatiCollege-Conservatory o Music, and received undergradu-ate degrees in History and Music rom the University oMichigan. Jesse is also the ounder and artistic director oFive Boroughs Music Festival, which brings chamber musico many genres to every corner o New York City.

jesseblumberg.com

Robert GardnerSince winning the BoulangerPrize in 2007, baritone RobertGardner has been in high de-mand among living composers.Pieces composed or his voiceinclude the hour-long Symphony

o Meditations by Aaron Jay Ker-nis, an evening-length song cycleby Gabriela Lena Frank entitledSongs o Ciar and the Sweet Sea,and an opera by Robert PatersoncalledInvisible Child, among

several others by living composers.

He has appeared with numerous opera houses in the U.S.and Europe, including New York City Opera, WashingtonNational Opera, and Bavarian National Opera, and hassung with some o the major symphony orchestras, includ-ing Pittsburgh, Dallas, Seattle, Denver, San Diego andmany others. Recital appearances have been equally suc-cessul in Carnegie Hall, as well as in Boston, Marseilles,Paris, Dallas and Denver, among others.

His honors include the Pro Musicis International Award,the Gerda Lissner Award and the Sullivan FoundationAward. His opera and concert characters include MarcelloinLa Boheme, Sharpless inMadama Butterfy, GermontinLa raiata, the title role o Eugene Onegin, John theBaptist in Salome,Elijah, as well as solo work in severalBach Cantatas and Oratorios, as well as BeethovensMissaSolemnis and Symphony No. 9, BrahmsEin Deutches

Requiem, Carmina Burana by Carl Or, as well as severalsymphonic works by Ralph Vaughan Williams and EdwardElgar. Robert Gardner is a graduate o the Yale School oMusic.

myspace.com/robertgardnerbaritone

s B og es


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Nancy Allen LundyDescribed as enthralling(Opera News), soprano NancyAllen Lundy has enjoyed a

varied career in contemporaryand standard repertoire onthe stages o opera houses and

concert halls in Europe, Asia andthe US. She is best known orher work with Oscar-winningcomposer, an Dun, or whomshe originated lead roles in ea(DVD, Deutsche Grammophon)

and Te Gate. For an Dun she also sang inPeony Pailion,Marco Polo (DVD, Opus Arte),Red Forecast, On aoism,Water Passion and Silk Roadwith such orchestras and esti-

vals as NHK Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic,Munich Philharmonic, Vienna Radio Symphony, FlemishRadio Symphony, BBC Symphony Orchestra, St. PaulChamber Orchestra, BAM, and Pacic Music Festival.Originating the role o Zina in Simon McBurneys produc-tion o Alexander RaskatovsA Dogs Heart, she sang therole with Netherlands Opera, English National Opera,La Scala and Lyon Opera. Other contemporary roles shehas interpreted include Claire in Peter BengtsonsTe

Maids, Caoline Gaines in Richard DanielpoursMargaretGarner, Pat Nixon in John AdamsNixon in China, andSinger #1 in Conrad Susas ransormations. She has sung

major leading roles with such opera companies as HoustonGrand, Philadelphia, Hawaii, Washington, Minnesota,New York City, Cincinnati, Portland, and Vancouver, atSpoleto (USA), St. Louis Opera Teater, and BregenzerFestspiele, and with such orchestras as Montreal Symphonyat Carnegie Hall (Charles Dutoit conducting), Philadel-

phia Orchestra, National Symphony o Norway (Bergen),and Phoenix Symphony. Ms. Lundy holds a masters degreerom Eastman School o Music and was a member o Te

Juilliard Opera Center.

nancyallenlundy.com

Blair McMillenBlair McMillen has establishedhimsel as one o the most ver-satile and sought-aer pianiststoday. Te New York imeshas called his playing lustrous,riveting, and brilliant prodi-

giously accomplished and excit-ing. Known or imaginative anddaring programming, he plays arepertoire that spans rom late-medieval keyboard manuscriptsto the 21st-century.

Recent appearances include Carnegie Hall, the AmericanSymphony Orchestra, Bang on a Cans 25th anniversarymarathon Perormance highlights rom recent seasonsinclude the ProkoevConcerto No. 1 at the Bard Music

Festival, Walter Pistons Concertino at Carnegie Hall, nearlya dozen perormances o John Cages landmark Sonatasand Interludes, and numerous appearances with the St.Paul Chamber Orchestra.

Dedicated to new and groundbreaking projects, BlairMcMillen is committed to perorming the music o today.Known or adventurous and imaginative programming,he has premiered hundreds o solo and chamber works.He is the pianist or the Naumburg Award-winning DaCapo Chamber Players, the American Modern Ensemble,

Perspectives Ensemble, and the six-piano super-groupGrand Band. McMillen also co-ounded (and co-directs)the Rite o Summer Music Festival on Governors Island, anoutdoor alt-classical estival.

Blair McMillen holds degrees rom Oberlin College,Manhattan School o Music, and the Juilliard School. Heresides in New York City and ser ves on the piano aculty atBard College and Conservatory.

blairmcmillen.com

David Neal Dimitri Pittas


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Praised by the Syracuse PostStandard or his resoundingbass voice, bass-baritone DavidNeal has perormed with manycompanies in a wide range orepertoire. He has premieredseveral works by leadingAmerican composers, including

Lowell Liebermann and RobertPaterson, whose Winter Songshe commissioned with Te Arts

at Grace concert series in upstate New York, o which heis Artistic Director. A member o the American ModernEnsemble, he has perormed with AME at Bargemusic andTe imesCenter, and has also perormed in numerousconcerts with the Society or New Music in Syracuse. Hecreated the role o the Commissioner in Michael Dellairasand J. D. McClatcheys Te Secret Agentin a March 2011

production by the Center or Contemporary Opera, whichreceived additional European perormances at the ArmelFestival in Szeged, Hungary and the Opera Teatre o Avi-gnon. He returned to Szeged the ollowing season, again

with CCO, as John Henry in William MayersA Death inthe Family.

Neal has appeared in recent seasons with Lake GeorgeOpera, Syracuse Opera, ri-Cities Opera, Opera Vivente,and the Kitchen Teatre, in such roles as Simone in Gianni

Schicchiand Buosos Ghost, Dick Deadeye inHMS Pin-aore, Sarastro inDie Zauberfte, Colline inLa Bohme,Bartolo inLe Nozze di Figaro, the Commendatore inDonGioanni, and Kolya in the silent movie operaBed andSoa. Concert appearances have been with SymphonySyracuse, the Hamilton College Chorus and Orchestra,the Ithaca Community Choruses, and the Cayuga Cham-ber Orchestra. He lives in Groton, New York, with his

wie, Gailanne Mackenzie, and is on the aculty at SUNYCortland.

davidnealbassbaritone.com

Dimitri Pittas has appeared onleading opera stages throughoutNorth America and Europe,including debuts with the Bavar-ian State Opera, the ViennaState Opera, Royal Opera HouseCovent Garden and the Cana-dian Opera Company. He is agraduate o the MetropolitanOperas Lindemann Young ArtistDevelopment Program and has

been heard on the Met stage as Rodolo inLa bohme,Macdu inMacbeth, Nemorino inLelisir damore andamino inDie Zauberfte. For his debut with CanadianOpera Company as the Duke, the oronto Star said,Dimitri Pittas comes o the best as Te Duke o Mantua,

with a exible voice that can express real love and shallowdesire with equal conviction.

In the 2012/13 season, Mr. Pittas begins with OperFrankurt as Rodolo, beore his return to Houston GrandOpera and his house debut with Lyric Opera o Chicagoin the same role. Further perormances include roles withthe Bavarian State Opera, and the Ttre du Capitole inoulouse, France. Mr. Pittas has a close association withthe Santa Fe Opera, having been an apprentice artist withthat company, and has worked with the Seattle Opera,Deutsche Oper Berlin, Opera Bordeaux, Opra de Lille,

Opra de Montreal, Opera Teatre o St. Louis and theUKs National Opera.

On the concert stage, Mr. Pittas has worked with numer-ous world-class orchestras and conductors, includingTe Cleveland Orchestra. Atlanta Symphony, CincinnatiSymphony, and Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Tis pastseason, he was presented at Carnegie Hall at the annualrecital o the Marilyn Horne Foundation.

dimitripittas.com


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Founded in New York City in 2005 by violinist Victoria Paterson and house composer Robert Pater-

son, AME celebrates and showcases American music, with a ocus on living composers. Te ensemble isespecially devoted to presenting the widest possible repertoire to audiences outside the contemporarymusic eld. AME regularly presents premieres, and conducts three annual competitions or young,emerging and proessional composers. A exible, robust ensemble pulling rom a large roster o topNew York City artists, the ensemble has perormed and premiered over 150 works by American com-posers in venues ranging rom Lincoln Center to Galapagos Arts Space. AME is committed to connect-ing audiences directly with those composers: 90% o composers whose work has been programmed byAME have attended the concerts and joined in lively discussions, including John Luther Adams, ChenYi, John Harbison, Aaron Jay Kernis, Steven Mackey, Christopher Rouse, Paul Moravec, Peter Schikele,Steven Stucky, Joan ower and David Del redici.

Incorporating the traditional and the cutting edge, stretching rom the bawdy to the brilliant, AME hasconsistently demonstrated a air or inventive programming (Te New York imes). Notable suc-cesses include the groups sold out Powerhouse Pianists program, eaturing ten varied composers romNancarrow to Joan ower; XXX, the ensembles tribute to horizontal cameos, including composersGlenn Crytzer and David Del redici; and m&ms: Microtones and Minimalism, o which the TeNew York imes declared: Devoting a program to Minimalist and microtonal compositions couldeasily amount to an egghead agenda; leave it to the American Modern Ensemble to make it a partyinstead. Sold out crowds at Merkin Hall, Dimenna Center, and the Rubin Museum is a winning testa-

ment to the groups an base and ever expanding popularity.In 2012-13, AME was the ensemble-in-residence at the CUNY Graduate Center in NYC. In 2009,American Modern Recordings was ormed as the in-house record label. AMRs releases document rep-ertoire commissioned and expertly perormed by the ensemble and associated artists, extending the or-ganizations mission into the recording eld. Videography and streaming are new, integral componentso each show that serve the music on a worldwide level.

americanmodernensemble.org

Credits


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Credits


Perormances by the American Modern Ensemble

Executive Producer: Victoria Paterson or American Modern Recordings

Engineered, edited, mixed and mastered by Adam AbeshouseWinter Songs,Eating Variations and Tursday recorded June 9-11, 2011at the Academy o Arts and Letters, New York, NY, USA

Batters Boxrecorded June 12, 2012 and CAPCHArecorded April 25, 2013at Westchester Studios

Assistant Engineer or Academy Sessions: Andy Ryder

Rehearsal Studio: Ayers Percussion

Percussion Rental: New York Percussion Service

Piano Rental: Klavierhaus

Piano echnician: Ed Court

Album Package & Booklet Design: Pat Burke

Winter Photos: Dennis OBrien

Special Tanks to everyone involved, including all o the antastic AME instrumentalistsand vocalists, Adam Abeshouse or his constant riendship, wisdom, expertise, supportand humor, American Opera Projects and Steven Osgood or providing just the rightenvironment or coming up with crazy ideas like CAPCHA, David Neal and the NewYork State Music Fund or commissioningWinter Songs, Paul Sperry or his vocal sugges-tions, Billy Collins or granting permission to set his poem directly, and last but denitelynot least, my entire amily, and especially Dylan, my Boy at the WindowI love youmore than you can imagine. Robert Paterson

Additional albums rom the American Modern Recordings catalog eaturing the music o Robert Paterson.Available rom americanmodernrecordings com


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Available rom americanmodernrecordings.com

Duo Scorpio: Scorpion alesAMR1035

Robert Paterson: Six Mallet MarimbaAMR1037

Robert Paterson: Te Book o GoddessesAMR1034

Robert Paterson: Star CrossingAMR1032

WINTER SONGS


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& 2013 American Modern Recordings, a division of Lumiere Records, Inc.

Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.

1-5. CAPCHAJesse Blumberg, baritoneBlair McMillen, piano

6-11. Winter Songsbass-baritone and instrumental sextet

David Neal, bass-baritoneAmerican Modern Ensemble

12-16. Eating Variationsbaritone and instrumental quintet

Robert Gardner, baritoneAmerican Modern Ensemble

17-22. TursdayNancy Allen Lundy, sopranoBlair McMillen, piano

23-27. Batters BoxDimitri Pittas, tenorBlair McMillen, piano

OAL IME: 75'01"

World Premiere Recordings


americanmodernrecordings.com

WINTER SONGSRobert Paterson Vocal Works

American Modern Ensemble

[15'28"]

[20'36"]

[9'04"]

[11'36"]

[17'38"]

winter songs - digital booklet (design by pat burke)

Documents