Clyne wrote in the score program notes, "I scooped it up, but alas, none of the poems made even the slightest of references to a unicorn of a spangly nature.
Reviewing the world premiere, Lawrence A. Johnson of the Chicago Classical Voice called the piece "well-crafted, virtuosic and written with great flair and a quirky off-center humor".
After a fanfare opening, the work segues into a swaying waltz led by CSO trumpeters Chris Martin and John Hagstrom.
An ironic Mahler-esque dance-like theme is heard followed by some wail-like trombone cries (protests form Coward's nonexistent unicorn?).
[3]Conversely, Evan Kuchar of ChicagoNow called Spangled Unicorn "a big disappointment" and described it as "banal ideas combined in boring ways—and then brought back a second time.