Program Notes

Looking at the movement titles, this recalls Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du Soldat, and the instrumentation—especially the use of clarinet and cello—echoes that lineage.

I. Ragtime: At first, this doesn’t sound like a ragtime. It feels more like a waltz—except it’s in duple meter, not triple. But through hemiola, McKinley makes it feel like a waltz regardless. Why the meter mismatch? Because it gives him flexibility. He can shift back and forth—two, three, somewhere in between. Syncopation, a hallmark of ragtime, is ever-present. And in true McKinley fashion, there’s a surprise at the end: after a two-bar silence, the music jolts back with its opening gesture, reminiscent of the first movement of his March Symphony.

II. Waltz: A tongue-in-cheek title—he’s already waltzed us in the previous movement. This one opens with a piano figure evoking Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1, slowed and stretched. The noir sensibility lingers, though it’s less a waltz than a memory of one.

III. March: A feeling of chaotic tension dominates. The piccolo evokes something like a police whistle. A striking unison section in the middle may nod to Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, just as in the March Symphony. The movement, once again, fades away.

IV. Lullaby: A “film-noir” feeling, this time conveyed through sparse piano and dissonant commentary from flute and cello. There’s a lullaby-like rocking in 6/8, but it’s not for children. It’s for the weary souls of mid-century adulthood.

V. Jig: The jig is present, but never obvious. It’s camouflaged in off-beat accents and misleading gestures. This is not music that gives up its secrets easily. There’s upward motion—buoyancy, even flight—rather than the usual earthbound weight of a jig. And once again, noir shadows haunt the texture. Then—it just stops.

VI. Polka: This might be the most literal of the movements. There’s joy and chaos in equal measure. At one point, the music nearly tumbles over itself, like someone running downhill too fast. It recovers, only to end in an frenzied, almost gleeful collapse.

VII. Finale: The finale begins unexpectedly: a lonely flute cadenza instead of grandeur. A storm begins to gather—momentum builds. Just as something truly monumental seems about to occur…it ends. The gesture is clear. The reason why? That’s the mystery. It’s not strange, just unusual and something truly original.

—Peter Chun, from MS102