Little Mercies (2023)

Program Notes:

Little Mercies is a response to an exhibit of photographs by the same name. The photos were taken by photojournalist Jon P. Cherry who commissioned the work to be performed in the exhibit. The photos capture scenes from the state of Kentucky after several devastating events including the 2021 Western Kentucky tornado outbreak, protests in downtown Louisville after the murder of Breonna Taylor, the 2022 Eastern Kentucky floods, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Jon and I agreed that the quartet should be composed in a way where people could be in the exhibit, walk around, and experience the photos and music simultaneously.

The music responds to the exhibit as a whole focussing on ideas of pain, deep sadness, gritty anger, fleeting moments of hope, and cautious optimism. I am struck by the communities of people in the photos who repeatedly face adversity and devastation but are somehow still able to pick up the pieces and persist. The ending of the piece, tired and exhausted, is underpinned by a looming sense of uncertainty – nothing suggests that this pattern of devastation is ending anytime soon.

Many thanks to Jon Cherry, Jessica Underwood, 21c Museum Hotel, the I-Park Foundation, and the National Fund for the Arts for making this project possible.