Work of the Week – Katherine Balch: Central Park in the Dark

What does Central Park sound like at night? Charles E. Ives provided an answer to this question 118 years ago with his piece Central Park in the Dark. There will be a new look at this question on 11 August 2024 at the Alte Seilerei in Frankfurt am Main, where Ensemble Modern will premiere Katherine Balch's adaptation.

As part of Ensemble Modern's young ensemble academy, Balch has created a version of the work that is not only significantly longer than Ives' original work, but which the composer has also notated in an open instrumentation. This allows for different playing styles and ensemble compositions and thus a constantly changing sound.

Central Park in the Dark by Katherine Balch: Treading New Paths

Ives originally wanted to capture pre-industrial sounds of nature, but his piece also bears traces of its time of origin, so that elements of ragtime and American marches can be heard. Balch, whose works repeatedly testify to her great interest in nature, combines this with her creative power to create completely different sounds. She divides the piece into modules that form possible paths through the work as if through a park and require the performers to make a pre-selection.

The piece endeavors to generate greater aleatoric possibility in the soundscape experience of a central ostinato (“the night sounds and silent darkness”) layered by interruptions of sounds surrounding the park. (Katherine Balch)

Together with Balch's new work Country Radio, the world premiere of Central Park in the Dark on 11 August will mark the end of Ensemble Modern's young ensemble academy. Balch's works will be performed again under the direction of David Niemann at Musikfest Berlin on 13 and 14 September 2024.

Further Reading:

Katherine Balch: Composer Profile

Central Park in the Dark: Work Details and Online Score

Website Ensemble Modern

photo: Bluebird Photography UK / Jan Becke