for solo piano
Duration: 8’
These variations aim to convey in musical terms the effects that Alzheimer’s disease has on the individual.
The theme represents the individual in their prime: before the onset of the disease. The music of the theme imitates the type of music which would have been popular at that point of an Alzheimer’s patient’s life. The theme should encapsulate the vitality and charisma of the individual.
Variation 1 should have the same spirit as the theme, but with the addition of mistakes. As with the early signs of Alzheimer’s, these mistakes should be heard as ‘little things’ which are often mistaken for simple signs of aging.
In Variation 2, these mistakes become more serious – they begin to affect the actual melodic line, mimicking the noticeable changes in the Alzheimer’s patient with mild cognitive decline.
Variation 3 aims to highlight the growing gap between the individual and the rest of the world by temporal misalignments between the left-hand accompaniment, relentless in its rhythmic stability; and the right-hand melody, which struggles to stay in time.
Variation 4 portrays violent bursts of anger that are sometimes present in Alzheimer’s disease. These bursts are based on short motives taken from the theme, showing the narrow and stubborn nature of anger in Alzheimer’s.
Variation 5 In the last stages of Alzheimer’s, all that remain are fading glimpses of the patient’s former self. While references to the theme remain, it is obvious that the music, and person, have become something completely different.