Hymn

"Hymn: Largo cantabile", S. 84/1, sometimes also referred to as "Largo cantabile: Hymn" and often shortened as "Hymn", is a composition by American composer Charles Ives written in 1904. Grouped in the suite A Set of Three Short Pieces, it is published and commonly performed as a standalone work. 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. According to Ives's inscriptions in early manuscripts, it was written in Morristown, New Jersey, in August 1904. It was performed privately and "for fun" as early as December 1904, but was not premiered formally at around the time of composition. Ives decided to include the "Hymn" in his suite A Set of Three Short Pieces, which was made from material he composed between 1903 and 1908. There is much speculation as to when the pieces were grouped together: sources vary from 1914 and 1935. The date of the first performance is also unknown. Correspondence between Ives and Arthur Cohn on July 27, 1935, indicates the three pieces were probably meant to be performed with "Hallowe'en". Another possible first performance of the "Hymn" was made by Bernard Hermann, when he wrote to Ives on October 26, 1937, that "in about two weeks, I think I will be able to do your Two Pieces for Strings, the Largo ('Hymn') and 'Hallowe'en' on a Friday program, but I will surely write you when I know definitely."