Steven Snowden

Hidden Mothers

ensemble violin, violin, viola, cello (string quartet)

duration 10 minutes

written 2020

commissioned by Art of Elan for the Kontras Quartet

premiered April 21, 2022, San Diego, CA. Available to perform by the general public April 21, 2023.

For inquires about this piece, please email stevensnowden@gmail.com.

Program Notes

Hidden Mother photography was a genre of portraits popular in the Victorian era. Limitations of early camera technology required long exposure times and children were difficult subjects. To help keep them still, their mother would be present, but hidden under a shroud, behind curtains, or even disguised as a chair. While this technique was successful, the resulting images can be considered quite unsettling today. 

I think this unique style of photography serves as an interesting metaphor for the role that women have historically had in Western culture. The astounding amount of work and sacrifice required of motherhood forms the very foundation of society. However, their efforts often go unrecognized or intentionally hidden from the public. 

With this in mind, I decided to base this piece on three mothers who have had an important role in my life. Pam is my own mother. 연주 (Yeon-Joo) is my wife’s birth mother (she was adopted from Korea when she was four months old). Lauren is my wife, who gave birth to our daughter just a few weeks before I finished composing this piece. 

Hidden mother photography is a genre of photography common in the Victorian era in which young children were photographed with their mother present but hidden in the photograph. It arose from the need to keep children still while the photograph was taken due to the long exposure times of early cameras.

Steven Snowden and Kontras Quartet at the Art of Elan performance Kontras Quartet & Friends, on April 21, 2022.