Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
“Dedicated to the memory of my brother-in-law General Kebbede Gebre and his wife, my dear sister, Desta Gebru. Being at the disaster site with a group of volunteers of the Red Cross, together with my sister W. Desta Gebru, I could be an eyewitness of the famine disaster tragedy of 1972 [editor’s note: liner note for The Visionary gives 1974]: Skeleton mothers left skinny and bony with the deadly shadow look, holding in their bony arms their half dead child starving from hunger, helpless to receive food extended to him, his closed mouth too weak to open, his lifeless eyes gazing and fixing at you was a terri[ble] sight to endure, an unforget[table] image of human suffering. Back at our hotel in Dessie, my sister Desta felt sick of sorrow and couldn’t touch food for three days, as she was of a most kind, generous nature; as for myself, I was so deeply shocked I couldn’t sleep, and their miserable phantom images were a nightmare for many weeks on, and from that disastrous event came out this melody that expresses the drama of helpless starving souls...”
Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru, liner notes for Plays Own Earlier Compositions
Further liner notes and editorial notes by Thomas Feng are included in the sheet music download.
“Dedicated to the memory of my brother-in-law General Kebbede Gebre and his wife, my dear sister, Desta Gebru. Being at the disaster site with a group of volunteers of the Red Cross, together with my sister W. Desta Gebru, I could be an eyewitness of the famine disaster tragedy of 1972 [editor’s note: liner note for The Visionary gives 1974]: Skeleton mothers left skinny and bony with the deadly shadow look, holding in their bony arms their half dead child starving from hunger, helpless to receive food extended to him, his closed mouth too weak to open, his lifeless eyes gazing and fixing at you was a terri[ble] sight to endure, an unforget[table] image of human suffering. Back at our hotel in Dessie, my sister Desta felt sick of sorrow and couldn’t touch food for three days, as she was of a most kind, generous nature; as for myself, I was so deeply shocked I couldn’t sleep, and their miserable phantom images were a nightmare for many weeks on, and from that disastrous event came out this melody that expresses the drama of helpless starving souls...”
Emahoy Tsege-Mariam Gebru, liner notes for Plays Own Earlier Compositions
Further liner notes and editorial notes by Thomas Feng are included in the sheet music download.