"i don't know who she is, but she loves me" by Hannah Moore
Program Notes Below
Learn More About The Composer
Upon purchase, you will receive a secure 24-hour link to the digital performance materials including:
Full Score and Parts — PDF format
View Perusal Score Here
Program Notes Below
Learn More About The Composer
Upon purchase, you will receive a secure 24-hour link to the digital performance materials including:
Full Score and Parts — PDF format
View Perusal Score Here
Program Notes Below
Learn More About The Composer
Upon purchase, you will receive a secure 24-hour link to the digital performance materials including:
Full Score and Parts — PDF format
View Perusal Score Here
Program Notes
When my grandfather was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, I remember my mother telling me a story. The story went that every day, an Alzheimer patient’s wife would come to the facility where he lived to eat meals and spend time with him. One day, one of the facility’s caretakers asked the man who she was to him. His response was “I don’t know who she is, but she loves me.” Looking back I wonder if this story was just a tale, or if the patient was my grandfather.Personally, Alzheimer’s has both been a blessing and a curse for my family. My grandfather, Pops, was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011. My grandmother, Gumma, could not take care of him by herself, so they moved to Oklahoma in 2014. Because of Alzheimer’s, my family had to watch Pops suffer; however, it is also because of this disease that I actually got to know my grandfather – even if it was an altered version. Pops died in October of 2017. A year later, Gumma was diagnosed with the same disease. This piece, dedicated to my two grandparents, is based on this disease.As someone who has seen Alzheimer’s first-hand, it is a complex, tricky disease. The first thing the person loses is their sense of time and ability to read numbers. In the piece, this is depicted through the inconsistent time signatures, use of polyrhythms, and multiple-phrase accelerando. As time passes, events get distorted and changed (original theme returning as a sextuplet figure in measure 77). Eventually, the individual’s personality is altered – shown in the abrupt changing of themes throughout the piece. This sometimes occurs multiple times. While all of this is occurring, there are random moments of clarity where the individual seems like they are perfectly sane (original theme returning at the end); however, this is a trick of the disease. In the end, the individual forgets how to eat, drink, and eventually breathe. There’s nothing left. The process is very emotionally charged, and as such this piece is very aggressive and loud, but the quiet moments are just as important – this is the sadness and realization that comes with realizing your own demise. As a final note, the performer should keep in mind the dramatic nature of this disease and take liberties when seen fit to portray the mood.
