performed by Keyed Kontraptions (Meerenai Shim & Kris King), San Francisco, CA, USA, Apr. 2018
Program Note:
Sundowning is a neurological phenomenon most commonly seen in sufferers of Alzheimer’s disease. Patients with sundowning usually begin to show behavioral problems after the sun sets. Sometimes they get agitated, restless, or even aggressive; sometimes they suffer from auditory hallucination, illusion, or even delusional disorder. Such syndrome visited my aged grandmother, which put her in a state of mood swings, mental confusion, and cognitive disorder. I found her physical functions obviously degenerating; she even lost her sense of hearing the week before her death.
This piece is divided into two uninterrupted sections: Agitation and Hallucination. I attempt to record the decaying and dreary living gestures of an aged person at the last stage of her life. Sundowning II is commissioned by Guerrilla Composers Guild and written for Meerenai Shim & Kris King of Keyed Kontraptions.
Lily Chen｜陳立立 