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.

Sundowning II: for contrabass flute and contraforte (2018)

Lily Chen, born in Taiwan, is a composer exploring sonic and theatrical potentials in both acoustic and electronic music. Her music shapes evocative atmospheres that point towards subtle poetic commentary on her observations about literary, emotional, or social aspects of the contemporary situation. She received her Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California at Berkeley, where she studied with Ken Ueno, Edmund Campion, Franck Bedrossian, and Cindy Cox. She also received her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, under the instruction of Chung-Kun Hung. She is currently an Assistant Professor of composition at Taipei National University of the Arts. For more information, please visit – http://chenlily.com