Deeply LodgeD
COMMON-TONE RECORDS 220901

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Deeply Lodged:

This record brings together three pieces by composer Tom Baker, written between 2013-2015, premiered between 2015-2018, and recorded/mixed/mastered between 2019-2022. All three pieces share themes of loss and grief, with glimmers of hope and peace. Aesthetically related in sound and mood, they each vary in instrumental textures and timbres.

Produced in association with Common Tone Records (CTR) and Present Sounds Recordings.

Made possible through the Artist Residency Program at Jack Straw Cultural Center, Cornish College of the Arts, Common-Tone Arts, and Present Sounds Recordings.

Deeply Lodged is dedicated to the memory of my father, Monty Baker.

TRACKS and liner NOTES:

Tracks 1-3

DEEPLY LODGED
Cristina Valdés, piano

I. Gather (8.34)
II. Hold (12.43)
III. Unravel (13.36)

Deeply Loged explores our relationship to memory: its powerful hold on us; how it changes and warps as it deceives us; the ways in which we share our memories with others; and the fear that our own memory ultimately disintegrates even as we cling desperately to it.
Deeply Lodged PDF Score

Track 4

FIFTEEN MOMENTS FROM THE TIME OF RIVERS (20.46)
Paul Taub, bass flute; Laura DeLuca, bass clarinet; Joe Kaufman, contrabass; Rob Tucker, percussion

Fifteen Moments is a work from The Time of Rivers: a long cycle of works that are for various instrumentations and ensembles. Each of these works contain a number of musical transcriptions of moments during fly-fishing walks in rivers across the Northwest U.S. These moments are not meant to be sonic imitations, but are instead fragile remembrances that evoke a state of stillness and attention. The piece was commissioned by my colleague, the virtuoso flute player Paul Taub, for an amazing ensemble of performers in Seattle.
Fifteen Moments PDF Score

tracks 5-7

SONGS OF SLEEP AND DREAMS
Chérie Hughes, soprano; Brian Chin, trumpet; Ben Thomas, percussion

This set of songs is based on sensual poetry of sleeping and dreaming by Fernando Pessoa. The songs' languid character is reminiscent of lullabies, with hypnotic patterns of repetition in the instruments and translucent vocal melodies that float over the top of the instrumental textures. As a child, I would a frequent sleepwalker, and I imagine now that if I had been able to describe the deeply held impressions of those walks, these poems would be the words. It is set in the original Portuguese.
Songs of Sleep and Dreams PDF Score

Lyrics and Translations:

Durmo

Durmo. Se sonho, ao despertar não sei Que coisas eu sonhei.
Durmo. Se durmo sem sonhar, desperto Para um espaço aberto

Que não conheço, pois que despertei Para o que inda não sei.
Melhor é nem sonhar nem não sonhar E nunca despertar.

I Sleep

I sleep. If I dream, when I awake I do not know What things I dreamt.
I sleep. If I sleep dreamlessly, I awake
Into an open space which I do not recognize, Since I have wakened now

To what I still don’t know.
Better neither to dream nor not to dream And never to awake.

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Houve um ritmo no meu sono

Houve um ritmo no meu sono. Quando acordei o perdi. Porque saí do abandono
De mim mesmo, em quie vivi?

Não sei que era o que não era. Sei que suave me embalou, Como se o embalar quisera Tornar-me outra vez quem sou.

Houve uma música finda Quando acordei de a sonhar. Mas não morreu: dura ainda No que me faz não pensar.

There was a rhythm in my sleep

There was a rhythm in my sleep.
When I woke up I lost it.
Why did I step out of this abandon of myself Inside which I lived?

I don’t know what it was which wasn’t. I know it lulled me softly,
As if the lulling longed
To turn me into who I am again.

There was a music interrupted
When I woke up from dreaming it.
But the music didn’t die: it still flows on In what stops me thinking.

***

Dorme enquanto eu velo

Dorme enquanto eu velo... Deixa-me sonhar...
Nada em mim é risonho. Quero-te para sonho,

Não para ta amar.

A tua carne calma
É fria em meu querer.
Os meus desejos são consaços. Nem quero ter nos braços Meu sonho do teu ser.

Dorme, dorme, dorme,
Vaga em teu sorrir... Sonho-te tão atento
Que o sonho é encantamento E eu sonho sem sentir.

Sleep while I watch

Sleep while I watch...
Let me dream...
There is no laughter in me. I want you for a dream, Not to love you.

Your calm flesh
Cold in my desire,
My cravings are weariness.
I do not want my dream of your existence In my arms.

Sleep, sleep, sleep,
Floating in your smiles...
I dream you so carefully That dream is enchantment And I dream without feeling.

Album Credits:

Performers:

Deeply Lodged - Cristina Valdés
Fifteen Moments from the Time of Rivers - Paul Taub, Laura DeLuca, Joe Kaufman, Rob Tucker
Songs of Sleep and Dreams - Chérie Hughes, Brian Chin, Ben Thomas

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Poetry for Songs of Sleep and Dreams: Fernando Pessoa

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Recording and production made possible through the Artist Residency Program at Jack Straw Cultural Center.

All works recorded at Jack Straw Cultural Center by Doug Haire.

Editing and mixing at Jack Straw Cultural Center by Doug Haire and Tom Baker.

Mastering at H7 Studios by Tom Baker.

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Cover art and album design by Rachael Fasano.

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Deep gratitude all of the amazing performers who contributed to this music.

Special thanks to: Alissa Rupp, Brian Chin, Common-Tone Arts, Present Sounds Recordings, Doug Haire, Jack Straw Cultural Center, Cornish College of the Arts.

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All compositions copyright 2022 Tom Baker Music.
All scores published by Frog Peak Music.
Deeply Lodged Album copyright 2022 Common Tone Records and Tom Baker Music.

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commontonerecords.org
tombakermusic.com
frogpeak.org
rachaelfasano.org
presentsounds.com
jackstraw.org
cornish.edu