Composed in 1906, Charles Ives’ Hallowe’en evokes childhood reminiscences of a rising bonfire and playful mischief. Ives wrote,
It’s a take-off of a Halloween celebration and bonfire – the elfishness of the little boys throwing wooden on the hearth, and many others, and many others… it’s a joke even Herbert Hoover might get.
Scored for “string quartet, piano and elective drum,” the work begins as a whisper, with solely two voices, the second violin and cello, and will increase in pace and cacophony. It enters the world of polytonality, with every voice coming into into scales in its personal distinct key (C main for the primary violin, B main for the second violin, D-flat main for the viola, and D main for the cello). Ghostly canons emerge within the counterpoint. The rollicking celebration ends with dramatic cadential chords which veer away from decision in a closing sensible joke.
Ives provides the choice of enjoying the music three or 4 instances, every time with altered tempo. He wrote,
It has been noticed by associates that 3 times round is kind of sufficient, whereas others stood for 4 – however as this piece was written for a Hallowe’en celebration and never for a pleasant live performance, the choice should be made by the gamers, whatever the emotions of the viewers.
Though the manuscript was dated “first of April,” it’s removed from a joke. Ives described Hallowe’en as “one of the crucial fastidiously labored out [compositions] (technically talking), and probably the greatest items (from the standpoint of workmanship) that I’ve ever accomplished.”
Hallowe’en is a part of a set of Ives’ Three Outside Items, which incorporates The Pond and The Gong on the Hook and Ladder.
Recordings
- Ives: Hallowe’en (for string quartet, piano and elective drum), Op. 71, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic Deutsche Grammophon
Featured Picture: “Camp Fireplace” (1880), Winslow Homer
