Hearing D’Arcy McNickle’s Experiential World (page 3)

The Musical Life of D’Arcy McNickle

Along with his records and observations about gardening, McNickle frequently wrote about the music he was listening to. This includes live and recorded songs — and he was especially fond of classical compositions.

Reading his accounts of gardening, one might expect his musical interests to reflect the light and hopeful thematic context of cultivation. However, McNickle gravitated towards darker compositions — usually recounting somber, epic pieces, written in minor keys. This irony is striking, but gives us a greater depth of understanding of his life and times. Art — in creation and consumption — gives us an outlet to express those parts of ourselves with which we might be hesitant to engage otherwise.

For this project, we decided to reimagine some of the pieces McNickle mentions in his diary for a modern audience. Using digital audio workstations and sampling techniques, we have produced two tracks that provide insight into his world.