DURATION: Approximately 11 minutes

2.2.2.2 / 4.3.3.1 / Timpani + 2 / Harp + Piano / Strings

I felt compelled to write this piece based on my own family history of mental illness and memory loss. Broken into four continuous sections, this work explores the progressing mental state of an unnamed protagonist suffering from dementia. The piece begins with a fretful melodic fragments in the strings, which spin out into a dense and scattered opening tableau as the protagonist obsesses over their deteriorating mental state. These broad and energetic sounds close in as the their memory deteriorates, culminating in a plodding and listless harp ostinato that underlies the hazy second movement. A plaintive oboe solo ushers in the third section, a romantic selection representing a final, clear memory emerging from the fog. Both nostalgic and sorrowful, this last glimpse of identity soon fades back into the veiled textures that preceded it. The finale emerges suddenly, taking the perpetual ostinati from the second section and transforming them into a sprightly scherzo. The near-total loss of memory faced by the protagonist has now brought a measure of peace, as they can only live purely in the present, experiencing each new moment in its totality without recollection of the strife that came before.