Ives, Charles (1874-1954)
Central Park in the Dark - Ives used a variety of titles for this work including:
"Central Park in the Dark (in the Good Ole Summer
Time)"
"A Contemplation of Nothing Serious"
"Central Park in the Dark (Some 40 Years Ago)"
Ives also paired this work with "The Unanswered Question" and called
the set "Two Contemplations." "Central Park" served as movement
No. 2.
This work is Ives' musical impression of a walk in Central Park around the turn of the century. In annotations in the manuscript, Ives declares, "Runaway smashes into fence, heard at 65 CPW July 16, 1906, with J[ulian] M[yrick], Old Pt Comfort."
Central Park in the Dark (1906), like many of Ives' works, consists of multiple independent layers of sound. As in its companion work, The Unanswered Question, strings provide a slow, impassive sonic layer. However, in place of The Unanswered Question's transcendental call-and-answer between trumpet and woodwinds, the woodwinds and pianos in Central Park slowly construct a collage of popular and pop-influenced tunes – the most recognizable being Hello Ma Baby – above this string undercurrent.
As Ives writes in the notes that accompany the score, "This piece purports to be a picture-in-sounds of the sounds of nature and of happenings that men would hear some 30 years ago (before the combustion engine and radio monopolized the earth and air), when sitting on a bench in Central Park on a hot summer night." The ever-present backdrop of the strings embodies the silence and murmur of nature, interrupted by the trolley car, a casino, fire engine, and a band of street musicians, all represented by the rest of the ensemble. As these sounds die away, the texture recedes to the hushed sounds and silence of the night.
This work represents one of Ives' first forays into densely layered music. It's also probably one of the works that Ives would have played for Harmony Twichell when their relationship was just beginning to blossom.
Composition History
Ives composed the "Central Park in The Dark" from July through December
1906. He also possibly made revisions to the work in 1936.
Ives weaves the following tunes into the work:
"Ben Bolt"
"The Campbell's are Comin'"
"Hello! Ma Baby"
"Violets"
Sousa's "Washington Post March"
Premiere Performance
The premiere performance of "Central Park in the Dark" occurred on
May 11, 1946. A chamber orchestra of graduate students at the Juilliard School
performed the work. Theodore Bloomfield conducted the ensemble. The same concert
featured the premieres of "The Unanswered Question" and String Quartet
No. 2.
Premiere Recording
The first recording of this work was released in 1951. Will Lorin and the Polymusic
Chamber Orchestra performed the work on the Polymusic label.
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Resources
John Cage
Joseph Beuys
Pierre Boulez
Luc Ferrari
Egberto Gismonti
Charles Edward Ives: Central Park in the Dark
Gyorgy Ligeti
Olivier Messiaen
Steve Reich
Ad Reinhardt
Terry Riley
Jean-Claude Risset
David Tudor
Ludwig Wittgenstein
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[11] · Piano drone #1 [04:40]
[10] · Piano minimal #2 inspired by quaggy [13:06]
[09] · Piano minimal #1 [04:46]
[08] · Train Sonor: Piano NYC Subway #4 [10:17]
[07] · Cluster medicine [pianodrone #2] [18:54]
[06] · Flute stream [09:54]
[05] · Supernatural drone [guitardrone reverse] [17:02]
[04] · Piano minimal #3 [simultaneous] [08:50]
[03] · For Marjan K. [excerpt three] [05:44]
[02] · For Marjan K. [excerpt two] [05:40]
[01] · For Marjan K. [excerpt one] [06:21]
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