Posted on 06/29/2008 4:30:50 AM PDT by Apollo 13
It is Sunday and I am in the mood to probe the interest at FR for one of America's all time greatest artists and more specifically, classical composers: Charles Ives. I learned about him via composer, lyricist, and Brian Wilson collaborator Van Dyke Parks (also a true American original). And my love has, since it began in 1990 or thereabouts, never diminished). I have all of his recorded works and would not want to single out one masterpiece, they're all great, with the possible exception of the First Symphony (mainly because there's still too much Schumann and Brahms in there, and too little American quirkiness, so to speak). Some of the pieces I have thrice, because it's so lovely to compare Bernstein's, Tilson-Thomas', and Seiji Ozawa's view on them. The 'Concord Sonata' is a masterwork, a personal meditation on four American sages. Ives is a most metaphysical composer, able to translate poetry and philosphy directly into music of the first magnitude, without intermittent rationalization of it all. And he's a poet himself. I mean, just take the titles and subscripts of his works... 'Calcium Light Night', 'Central Park In The Dark', 'Three Places In New England', and many more. I love the man. Any more diehards out there?
Van Dyke Parks
Is he the one that sings or writes the music for Harold and the Purple Crayon?
Great kids music.
John Phillip Sousa no greater composer for all American music.
I do not care for Ives — hurts my ears. As does Copeland.
Classical Mysic Ping: Ives Rocks!
The Ives songs for piano and voice are some of the most haunting and difficult to perform/comprehend in the literature of the time.
THanks for posting this. There aren’t many american composers of his generation that reach his level of complexity and uniqueness. He is barely known in europe though.
Charels Ives. Any relationship to Burl Ives?
Your ears are primitive then.
Train them and educate them.
He is. He gets his main income from composing film scores and collaborated with Ry Cooder on lots of these. He also did the soundtrack for ‘Popeye’ (Robert Altman - brilliant stuff, seek out a 2nd hand LP) and ‘The Brave Little Toaster’. Great, modest, humble, and learned man. I met him two times in person - no friendlier guy in music than he.
Thanks for the post. Yes, Ives has given me enormous pleasure over the years. Especially “Three Places in New England” (and especially “Concord”).
And here’s to Van Dyke Parks as well. I loved the “Orange Crate Art” album he and Brian Wilson did some years back. Van Dyke is one of those people who should be treated as a national treasure.
His tunes are romantic and completely recognizable if one learns how to listen.
It requires a special kind of attention span, not just hearing.
It’s just like reading a book by Joyce. Dense and complex. Keep trying.
Your wife must be very gifted. I thank her for her contribution to the survival of real culture in america.
I was in the NYU Glee Club, singing some of his music when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame for Great Americans. His music was interesting, but left me cold.
...and that is Europe’s loss. Ives’ music is unique - his is not ‘linear’ in the way that most European art music is, even the difficult twelve-tone stuff and so one. Ives tried to write a music much based on ‘the voice of the people’, true democrat (in the American sense, not the liberal one); he could start with the mental image of an American feast day, or even a ship disaster, and then proceed with jotting down what occurred in his head by association... the sound of alarm bells ringing, all kinds of folks in all directions talking upset, general upheaval (in the case of a calamity), or contrariwise, with the merry sound image of children singing, interspersed with different folk tunes and standards played by numerous marching bands present at the feast. It all seems to happen simultaneously, as it does in real life (Ives disliked precious decorum), like when you try to direct your attention to everything that is happening around you at a carnival. That he really succeeded to transform all those impressions into revolutionary classical music is his triumph... and I do not know one other composer over the ages that achieved this. Compared to Ives, Frank Zappa was an amateur, and one with lots of profanity and filth to boot.
I like Ives. I’m really beginning to love the American Composer
Leroy Anderson. He had such interesting tunes as the Typewriter and the Syncopated Clock. I just bought the iTunes Arther Fiedler and the Boston pops version with also the Irish suite tunes on it. It had 21 compositions for $9.99. That’s like $0.49 per composition. You also get Sleigh Ride a famous Christmas Tune.
Your ears are primitive then.
Train them and educate them.
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Well, I guess I am just too backwards to attain your superios tastes, O, Exhalted One. Please, I beg you, forgive me for knowing what I prefer in art.
His music was interesting, but left me cold.
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Beware, aristotleman may accuse you of having primitive ears, as he did with me.
My ears are at least as primitive as the rest of me.
LOL
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