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Listening Report to Charles Ives – Central Park in the Dark

 

The music piece Central Park in the Dark by Charles Ives creates a mysterious and enigmatic atmosphere. The first time I heard it, I imagined a black and white movie where a young woman walks alone through the park and gets followed by a stranger. This piece created a spooky feeling for me and gave me goosebumps, because of the tension it develops. It is almost like you are in the position of a watcher and you know something is about to happen, even though you do not know what and when.

As the music precedes, a story continues to be told in my head. The young woman is on her way home and takes a shortcut through the dimly lit Central Park, not realizing at first that she is not alone. The tension builds up from minute to minute and with the addition of other instruments such as the piano, the strange feeling of persecution and danger also increases. The crescendo of the instruments gives a sense of chaos and at the same time, it feels as if the woman is getting closer to the exciting New York nightlife and with it, possible security and more people who could see her pursuer. The rising melody and the trumpets remind me of a jazz club in the middle of vibrating New York City.
It is also a bit reminiscent of the zoo in Central Park or a circus that the woman passes by. I immediately pictured some elephants when the trumpets became louder. And as the ensemble is heating up, my anxiety and stress got even worse and more intense just because of the mental image. It could have been a silent film or just a montage of the stranger following the women while no voices are heard. In that case you would wait for her to finally see her persecutor and then you would expect her to scream in fear. This music piece is very intriguing to me because of the inspiration and thoughts that it is creating in my head.

The last part of the music feels similar to the beginning of the piece. As if the woman got away and the stranger is now the one sitting alone on a bench under a flickering light. It gives a sad and melancholic feeling and I almost have some empathy with the persecutor. The music is giving me a variety of different emotions and I really enjoyed listening to this piece.

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