Marybeth Kurnat Hello, My Name Is... For highvoice and piano ©2023 emm bee kay music This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Hello, My Name Is...
Doyou remember being angry with me once?
"They were too young, and had so much more to give," you said.
But could you feeltheir suffering? IL was unbearable and unending.
IL was all I could do Tocool !heirhairlesscrowns withmy palms.
IL is easy Lo be misunderstood in my position.
Pain is a complicated mau:er.
The living blame me for 1heir illness and accidents; They say I came too soon, They claimthat I take young lives unfairly Unfairly? But towhom?
\Vhenthereis so much pain Andnot enoughlife todefeat it; That iL coi·rupts the senses And becomes so large that it is shouldered by 1heir whole world.
When there is no turning back, How can you ask them to stay?
The living say 1hat I dress in darkness, That I hide my face behind fingers oficy bone.
But those whom I've aided Have seen the loving eyes Oftheir mothers andfathers, And whentheyfeel my touch, It's cool,like a gentlebreeze Thatlingers briefly in 1heir finalbreath.
I'll walk with you - alwaysThrough your anger and_your pain, For I am the face ofcompassion. Not ofloss orgrief, I am Rest, I am Relief
-Marybeth KurnalThis score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
Composer's Notes
During my mid-20's, I lost three beautiful friends my age to terminal i.llnesses over a span of 15 months. As I navigated a seemingly endless chapter of trawnatic grieving, I experienced overwhelming anger and depression, fear of any early death, and a desperate need t:o blame someone for lettjng this happen to them when they each had every trait one could need to make the world better. It's easy to point the finger at God, or even death itself.
In the ten years following their passing, I've had time to process and reflect: on what it means to lose someone, the importance of knowing what isn't in anyone's control, and that at a certain point, the end of life can be more of a gift than a punishment for everyone.
Hello, Jlf_y NarneIs is my first art song setting. I wrote the text in January of 2022.It is a monologue in the voice of Death, personified as a deeply empathetic creature, comfortjng someone who has suffered a difficult Joss. The key changes throughout the work represent the bereaved's progression through the five stages of grief, as Death paljently explains their frequently misunderstood role within the realm of the living - not to cause suffering, but to end it.
In memoryof..
Kevin Ballantine (1988-2012)
Gary Luedke (1988-2012)
Julia HeJenowski (1988-2013)
Become a bone marrow donor at www.hethematch.com
50% of alJ sales from this work will he donated to the American Cancer Society.
About the Composer
Marybeth Kurnat (1987) is an emerging voice m choral music m the Chicago area. Her authentic compositional style, especially her harmonic language, is heavily influenced by her musical foundation as a jazz saxophonist. Her work, "I, Lover," was the 2021-22 \.Vinner of the Stephen Paulus Emerging Composer's Competition. She was a 2023 Composition Fellow for the PREMIEREIProject Festival.
Marybeth holds a B.M. in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, and serves as a music educator in DeKalb, IL. She maintains an active performance schedule as a soloist and choral singer with several Chicago-area choirs.
©2023 ernm bee kay music
This score is not licensed for performance. Please visit MusicSpoke.com to purchase performance copies.
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