Lou Harrison called it “the finest piece of American chamber music yet… Music of this kind happens only every fifty years or a century, so rich in faith and so full of a sense of completion.”
Charles Ives’ String Quartet No. 2 (composed between 1907 and 1913) is a programmatic work. The composer envisions his musicians as four people who “converse, discuss, argue (in re ‘Politick’), fight, shake hands, shut up – then walk up the mountain side to view the firmament.” What could be more American than that?
On this Election Day, it is my hope that the majority of Americans will be big enough to emulate those enshrined in this quartet. We’re all different, we all have our own opinions, and our own philosophies, but we are all peers under the heavens.
We’re also flawed, but we do have the capability to reach down inside to get in touch with our best selves. It’s not about getting over on those you don’t agree with. State your piece, in peace, cast your vote, but coexist and respect your neighbors and family. It’s time for us to be better than our leaders.
That’s all I’ve got to say. Though I am thinking of my grandfather, who once remarked, on an Election Day morning of my childhood, “Well… I’m on my way to vote the bastards out!”
Screwing the plywood over my computer screen now. Good luck, and God bless.
Ives’ String Quartet No. 2
A little more about it
http://www.musicweb-international.com/ives/wk_string_quartet_2.htm
