Sum of Our Secrets

Sum Of Our Secrets is a piece that exists on multiple levels. The conception of this piece occurred on February 2nd, 2014, when I heard of the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman and subsequently read Tom Junod's article "Philip Seymour Hoffman's Final Secret", published that same day. This article struck me as a very honest and beautiful description of what made Philip Seymour Hoffman a truly brilliant and engaging artist. I did not know Philip Seymour Hoffman personally, and can only admire the skill and humanity he brought to every role he performed, large or small. I encourage anyone who appreciates Philip Seymour Hoffman to read this article, and I do not want to directly correlate events in this piece with the trajectory of Philip Seymour Hoffman's life, although some parallels may exist. Ultimately, this piece serves partially as a tribute to an amazing artist who aptly displayed the grey area in which each of us resides, and partially as a study on humanity as a whole. The outer movements, Prologue and Curtain serve as introductory and epitaphic statements, respectively. A descending five note motif (D-C-B-G-A) emerges as a motivic anchor for the entire piece, as does the repetition of the pitch A (signifying addiction). How Very Near Death Each Of Us Is represents the driving force hiding in all of us, namely: death. Every creature on this planet is driven by the desire to survive, which Freud might call the id. The relentless advance of death is signified by both the drums and the two-note figure representing death's metaphorical knock. Addiction, too, is a driving force for many. Sick Satisfaction may represent Freud's description of the superego. I believe that it is easy to get caught in trappings - smartphones, white picket fences, careers. Things are things, often used only to distract us from that which we are hiding. The title refers to the attitude that people who have less are inherently lesser; that custodians, interns, and baristas are "less than". Alone In Our Room is a phrase pulled from Junod's article. Everyone pretends to be a certain way, and everyone can hide from who they really are. But when we are alone, our true self invariably emerges. When all is said and done, when the balance is struck between what you pretend to be and what lies within, who are you really? The 'addiction' returns at various points in this movement, eventually taking over and bringing the piece to a chaotic climax.