The inspiration behind the suite is found in the fascinating history and vast regions of Alaska, with each movement being based on a particular location and time period.

Beginning with Alyeska – a rough translation of an Aleut word meaning “mainland” – the suite takes us to the expanse of the great arctic tundra found in the Northernmost regions of Alaska. This is the earliest time period of all the movements, and expresses the undisturbed natural beauty of the barren landscape in the north. This movement establishes the primary ‘theme’ that represents Alaska, which returns in each of the other movements in some form.

The second movement, New Archangel, is set in the early 1800’s in the small capitol of Russian-America. New Archangel is modern-day Sitka, Alaska. This movement paints a picture of a small group of Russian soldiers and fur trappers traveling through a harsh winter, as they seek refuge in the town of New Archangel.

The third movement is the most programmatic of the suite. In October of 1918, the SS Princess Sophia was a Canadian Pacific Steamship that was making her last voyage of the season. With at least 354 people on board the ship, the Princess Sophia set sail from Skagway, Alaska, behind schedule. The ship quickly encountered a blinding snowstorm and heavy winds, and became grounded on the Vanderbilt Reef. Once grounded, the ship remained there on the reef for more than a full day before it began to take water. The SS Princess Sophia sank and all aboard perished. This movement seeks to recreate the timeline of events, beginning with the ship setting sail, becoming stuck on the reef, and eventually sinking. The chimes heard throughout are chiming the accurate nautical time during which those different events took place. Near the end of the movement a wood block frantically taps out in morse code a part of the final telegram message that was sent before the ship sank: “Taking water and foundering, for God’s sake come and save us!” The Alaskan theme is heard in full force throughout this movement – only this time it represents the potentially harsh and unforgiving nature of this environment.

Closing out the suite is a fourth movement, set in the Aleutian Islands in 1942. During World War II there were only two invasions of the US by Japanese forces. Those invasions took place on Attu and Kiska, two of the Aleutian Island, found in Alaska. This movement, clearly militaristic in nature, begins with meandering solo woodwind lines before being horribly disturbed, much like the Aleutian Islands were during WWII. While the melodies throughout this movement were derived from a tone row, the overall movement is not atonal, and seeks to maintain stability while still expressing the frantic and unstable nature of the time period during which the movement is set.