THE CHESHIRE’S GRIN (2016)

INSTRUMENTATION

Solo Piano

DURATION

3 minutes

PROGRAM NOTE

Commissioned by pianist Stanley Wong as part of the Alice 150 Project, The Cheshire’s Grin (2016) for Solo Piano is inspired by Lewis Carroll’s depiction of the Cheshire Cat in his timeless children’s classic Alice in Wonderland, first published in 1865. The Cheshire Cat, who slyly speaks to Alice from atop a tree branch in Chapter Six “Pig and Pepper,” is a mysterious figure who often vanishes into the shadows like a ghostly apparition, leaving behind nothing but a broad, toothy smile.

My own representation of this distinctive literary creature involves an exploration both of his macabre tendencies and of his underlying whimsicality. The piece thus explores a sound world that is often playful and grotesque, although a rhapsodic passage hints at something more enchanting. The Cheshire Cat even sneaks onto the page via the musical notation itself, which includes “feathered beam” gestures that fan out into the shape of a mischievous grin.

 —Jules Pegram (2016)