Closet Full of Demons by Robert Paterson Composer published on 2013-06-12T20:52:09Z Closet Full of Demons - for sinfonietta. Duration: 7' Live Performance: American Modern Ensemble, David Alan Miller, Conductor Publisher: Bill Holab Music: http://www.billholabmusic.com/composers/robert-paterson/robert-paterson-works/ For More Information: https://robertpaterson.com/closet-full-of-demons PROGRAM NOTES As a child, I remember being very afraid of my closet at night. I was sure that scary things were hiding in the back corner and that my closet was really a nighttime portal to a world of demons and monsters. A bracing, horrible dream I had one night as an adult reminded me of these childhood fears and hastened my writing this piece. What kinds of sounds do demons and monsters make? What would they sound like crammed together in a gargantuan, pitch black, closet at night? I envisioned screaming, chaos, and violent infighting between the creatures. Sometimes these hellish monsters fight amongst themselves, as I would imagine they would do in a sort of morbid, eternal "monster hell," but once in a blue moon they burst out of the closet and start flying around the bedroom in a chaotic free-for-all, cackling and laughing and spitting and drooling, banging into walls and furniture like a bunch of loose, demonic bats. Technically, this work is a vehicle for exploring a variety of exotic sound possibilities within a large chamber group. I imagine monsters of different shapes and sizes, similar to characters you might find in the paintings of Hieronymus Bosch (the right wings of The Hay Wain and the Garden of Delights triptychs would be good examples), but much more abstract, cubist and multi-shaped, such as the images found in the cubist works by Pablo Picasso (i.e. the Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler painting or the Head of a Woman sculpture). If you took Picasso’s cubist people and "morphed" them with Bosch’s un-earthly creatures, or filtered Bosch’s creatures through a cubist filter and airbrushed the final images with hell, then that would be my goal. Other images in particular provided inspiration, such as the famous painting The Nightmare by the Swiss-English artist Henry Fuseli. In this work, an ugly demon is seated on the dreamer’s chest and a frightening white horse with glowing eyes is in the background. My work is further inspired by the diverse collage works—digital or not—being created by contemporary visual artists. Genre Classical Comment by Sydän Laulaa Music Powerfully haunting composition with million colours. :) 2022-05-17T17:10:36Z Comment by Antoine Glatard Wonderful composition! Splendid orchestration. Bravo 2022-05-17T06:18:47Z Comment by Gom Jabbar Wow, these demons move really fast for being inside a closet! Loved the percussion and brass stabs. 2022-05-17T01:05:30Z Comment by SFJ This is great; exotically sinister initially but it does get quite jolly towards the end. I'd like to think you have reached some sort of rapprochement with your demons! 2022-05-16T15:46:11Z Comment by MrHatmando Wonderfully playful dark composition piece, I particularly love the creepy piano and walking bass towards the close of it. 2022-05-16T14:27:52Z Comment by Ramon Capsada Blanch It's always a pleasure to hear your works, but this perhaps more, for its "innovative and complex" character. Contrasting textures, profuse rhythms and rich percussion. Singular timbres and articulations, . . . 2022-05-16T12:44:42Z Comment by the lone warbler woodwinds sound amazing! is it a real woodwinds player or just good sampled VST? 2022-05-16T11:40:31Z Comment by Maxima Sounds like spider webs and creepy crawlers... you kind of don't want to think too hard about it..lol eek good job 2022-05-16T08:40:13Z Comment by Alec Shea Really interesting rhythms! Love the atmosphere it creates! 2022-05-16T05:09:35Z Comment by TGSS/Langsämmer /Jünger/ Laxá/The Dark Messiahs Nice to hear from you again. Great cover art. Cinematic feeling piece, great sense of movement too 2022-05-16T02:21:54Z Comment by Twice Born really erie and suspenseful. Great work! 2022-05-15T22:29:24Z Comment by MORS VIVERE Brilliant ! - Love the very dark and scarry part at first, and great how it shocks you again and again - Perfect performance, very precise ! - Beautiful & wonderous - love it ! ❤️ 2022-05-15T20:22:34Z Comment by The Infinite Wimshurst Instrumentation is spot on. Kinetic and vibrant piece. 2022-05-15T19:12:16Z Comment by Artem Amirkhanyan I really like it. Each part of the composition charms in its own way! 2021-02-12T15:11:36Z Comment by Sabine Alexander This is an awesome piece, Robert!! Crazy and unique go hand and hand. Great work, I definitely enjoyed it!! 2021-02-11T19:50:30Z Comment by Igor Iofe Wow! this piece is like a canvas with many colours. Many situations are being portrait here.Very creative orchestration!!! Excellent performance as always! 2020-12-23T15:59:41Z