Robert Paterson | Works: Braids

Braids (1998/2000)
for violin and marimba (six-mallet)

Duration: 7'30"
Instrumentation: violin and 4 1/3 octave marimba (played with six mallets)
Written for the Paterson Duo
Premiere: Cornell Contemporary Chamber Players concert, Cornell University, Barnes Hall, Ithaca, NY, Fall, 1998.
Publisher: Robert Paterson Music (ASCAP)

Audio Excerpt [MP3] | Score Excerpt [PDF] | Purchase Music
Introduction to My Six-Mallet Technique | Basic Six Mallet Exercies

Program Notes

An experience that fascinates me is watching my wife Victoria braid her hair. Braids draws its inspiration from watching her create elegant, masterful braids, with names such as French Twist, Back Twist, Flip Through, Victorian Twist, Rolled Braid, French Braid, Rope and Herringbone. The names of these various braids inspired me to invent interesting musical analogues and ultimately to create this piece.

– Robert Paterson

The book I consulted while writing this piece is Hair: A Book of Braiding and Styles by Anne Akers Johnson.

Reviews and Quotes

"Mr. Paterson's works are notoriously whimsical... Watching his wife braid her hair, he was moved to compose a work for marimba, his instrument. and violin, hers. The seven-minute work did not literally portray the braids Victoria turned around to display on the back of her blonde hair when they took their bows, but it is clear the composer has delightful musical patterns in his grasp. He can also portray the sense of danger and horror. The shorter Piranha (under five minutes) has color and bite, along with subtle dynamics and articulated storytelling."

– Mark Greenfest, New Music Connoisseur

"...each section of the one-movement piece could be heard to represent a different kind of braid. the audience agreed; it was met with great reception."

– Kristen Lamore, Society for New Music, Society News