The music of Charles Ives (1874-1954) still seems puzzling to many listeners: one hears music that on the one hand sounds emphatically, if not devastatingly modern and dissonant, but in which all kinds of fragments of marches and gospel hymns are clearly present. . The important thing is that for Ives both elements were necessary for music (and especially his music) to fulfill its true function: to
… elevate man to a higher spiritual level. In order to convey a message, Ives reasoned, music had to have sharp edges. According to Ives, every composer had to provide the necessary 'bite' if he did not want to fall into a coquettish style, which would not offend anyone, but which would then have nothing to say. At the same time it was necessary to make the religiously uplifting message recognizable by using commonly known symbols thereof. These principles also play a role in a large part of the works collected on this CD. The String Quartet No. 1 (1898-1902) is, despite a few remarkably idiosyncratic passages, still clearly linked to Ives' time as a student with Horatio Parker. Completely different is the String Quartet No. 2, which was written in the years 1907-1913. The first two parts are called 'Discussions' and 'Arguments'; the final movement is entitled 'The call of the mountains'. The core of the quartet is the idea that people should reflect on their situation, seek improvement through the exchange of points of view, in order to subsequently be able to focus more on God. So the mountains here are not only physiological, but also religious-metaphysically 'higher', which Ives underlines by quoting the song 'Nearer, my God, to Thee'. In addition, some smaller works can be heard, such as the two pieces with the curious tempo indication Largo risoluto and the comical Hallowe'en for string quartet, piano and bass drum. Unfortunately, almost all of the small pieces come from other collections of works; they sound here without their original context. This does not alter the fact that this is an interesting and captivating CD, with fine playing by the Leipziger Streichquartett and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher. (JvG) Unfortunately, almost all of the small pieces come from other collections of works; they sound here without their original context. This does not alter the fact that this is an interesting and captivating CD, with fine playing by the Leipziger Streichquartett and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher. (JvG) Unfortunately, almost all of the small pieces come from other collections of works; they sound here without their original context. This does not alter the fact that this is an interesting and captivating CD, with fine playing by the Leipziger Streichquartett and pianist Steffen Schleiermacher. (JvG)more
