Hymn (Ives)

Background#

“Hymn” was first conceived as a movement in an early string quartet commonly referred to as the Pre-Second String Quartet. This piece was later extracted from bars 7 to 32 of the first movement of the quartet, which was later discarded. A second performance also took place on December 1, 1966, at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City. The piece was performed by the artt Chamber Players, a small ensemble consisting of violinists Abraham Mishkind and Elaine Mishkind, violist Louise Schulman, cellist Judith Glyde, double bassist Bertram Turetzky, and pianist Charles Gigliotti. The program on that occasion announced that it was the “first performance of complete set anywhere.” It was published more than half a century later, in 1966, by Peermusic. Out of all the pieces that make up the Set, this is the only piece that is available individually.

Structure#

This compositions has an approximate duration of three minutes and 32 bars. It is scored for string orchestra, consisting of first and second violins, violas, cellos, and double basses. The string orchestra version also requires a solo cello. The piece features free counterpoint around two hymn melodies: It is marked Largo cantabile in the score, later progressing to Più animando in bar 19.

Recordings#

“Hymn” has sometimes been recorded as a work separately from the Set. Here is a list of recordings of the piece: * The Boston Chamber Ensemble recorded the string orchestra version of the piece in October 1962 with conductor Harold Farberman. The recording took place at New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and was released on LP in 1963 by Cambridge Records. * The New York String Quartet, consisting of violinists Paul Zukofsky and Romuald Teco, violist Jean Dupouy and cellist Robert Sylvester recorded the string quartet version of the piece with pianist Gilbert Kalish and double bassist Alvin Brehm. The recording was released in 1970 on LP by Columbia Masterworks. * Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic recorded a live performance of the string orchestra version of this piece in November 1988. The recording was taken at the Avery Fisher Hall in New York City and was released by Deutsche Grammophon on compact disc in 1990 and re-released in 2004, 2013, and 2018. * Conductor James Sinclair recorded the world premiere recording of the Ives Society Critical Edition of the string orchestra version of the piece with the Orchestra New England with solo cellist Steven Thomas. It was recorded between February and May 1990 at the Sprague Hall in Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The recording was released in 1990 and again in 2000 on compact disc by Koch International Classics. * Violinists Edwin Blankenstijn and Jan Erik van Regteren Altena, violist Annette Bergman, cellist Eduard van Regteren Altena, double bassist Quirijn van Regteren Altena, and pianist Fred Oldenburg recorded the piece in 1992. The recording was released by Etcetera Records in the Netherlands on compact disc in 1993.

External links#

• • Original score, as published by Peermusic