Charles Ives

Started by Thom, April 18, 2007, 10:22:51 AM

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Guido

#120
Quote from: bhodges on September 12, 2008, 01:50:24 PM
BTW have you heard Vol. II of the songs, by Gerald Finley and Julius Drake?  I haven't yet, but plan to get it soon.

--Bruce

No I haven't nor have I heard the first volume for the songs. I have this superb set of the complete songs:


And of course that superb set by Jan DeGaetani and Gilbert Kalish - for me this remains an unbeatable Ives recording.

I am sort of ntrigued by the recently released complete songs on Naxos - I like that they have used so many singers, and any time when they could have added optional extra musicians as is often notated in Ives scores, it seems they have chosen to do so... The way they have done songs alphabetically is rather odd - the set I have above, broadly splits the song into student songs, early career, mid - mature, and late career.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Guido

Do you recommend the set you mentioned?
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

bhodges

#122
I should get that vocal disc above, especially since I like some of the musicians already, e.g., Philip Bush and Paul Sperry.

And I totally agree about the DeGaetani/Kalish--a memorable recording, and one of the first Ives recordings I ever bought (on LP!).

Quote from: Guido on September 12, 2008, 02:01:14 PM
Do you recommend the set you mentioned?

If you mean the Finley/Drake, yes, absolutely!  (With the caveat that voices are always a very personal thing.)  I love what Finley does with some of the more comedic songs--characterful but not too over-the-top--and I just like his voice in general.  You might try to hear an excerpt or two just for that reason.  (I'm hearing him at the Met this season in John Adams' Doctor Atomic.)  And Drake is excellent; he must be one of the best accompanists in the business, IMHO.

--Bruce

Guido

OK Bruce, thanks for the tip. I will keep that one in mind when I next have an Ives binge. He is one of my absolute favourite composers of course - one of my soul mate composers to use the terminology of a now not so recent thread. I agree that choosing one favourite composer is an impossible and even ludicrous task.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

bhodges

I'll jump on the "soul mate" bandwagon in this case, too!  0:)

Also, didn't mean to overlook the interesting comments by Kyle Gann that Joe posted.  (I think I saw that post around the time it came out, since I check Gann's blog now and then.)

--Bruce

Joe Barron

Guido, Bruce, I do recommend the Marine Band recording on Naxos. I have the initial release of this disk, and it's really very good. Arrangements, yes, and therefore not "pure" Ives, but the performances are tight and spirited, and since Ives liked band music and believed music was fluid and malleable, I think he would have approved. (I mention it in my e-mail to Dr. Elkus.)

karlhenning

Quote from: Joe Barron on September 12, 2008, 06:48:53 AM
Well it's available at Amazon.de for 39 euros, which is about 40 bucks.

Really? I thought somehow that the dollar's been rather weaker, and would have expected more on the order of $60.

Guido

Quote from: Joe Barron on September 12, 2008, 06:12:05 PM
Guido, Bruce, I do recommend the Marine Band recording on Naxos. I have the initial release of this disk, and it's really very good. Arrangements, yes, and therefore not "pure" Ives, but the performances are tight and spirited, and since Ives liked band music and believed music was fluid and malleable, I think he would have approved. (I mention it in my e-mail to Dr. Elkus.)

The CD came in the post today and having just listened to it, I've decided I don't think it's really my thing, though I can see it's merits. Interesting to hear though.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Joe Barron

#128
Quote from: Guido on September 15, 2008, 08:11:05 AM
The CD came in the post today and having just listened to it, I've decided I don't think it's really my thing, though I can see it's merits. Interesting to hear though.

Jeez. I have to stop making recommendations.

Joe Barron

Quote from: Joe Barron on September 15, 2008, 08:56:07 AM
Jeez. I have to stop making recommendations.

On the other hand, this might very definitely be worth looking into.  ;)

Guido

Quote from: Joe Barron on September 15, 2008, 08:56:07 AM
Jeez. I have to stop making recommendations.

Not at all! I asked for your opinion, I was thinking of getting it anyway. It's not that I pasticularly disliked, just not my thing!

QuoteOn the other hand, this might very definitely be worth looking into.

Absolutely! That looks great - Donald Berman's recordings 'The Unknown Ives' (and 'The Uncovered Ruggles') are fantastic. I really like the product description too:

QuoteCharles Ives composed nearly 200 songs throughout his life. Wiley Hitchcock, in the thorough introduction to his 2004 critical edition 129 Songs, described the Ives song canon as "the contents of a kind of scrapbook or commonplace book or chapbook, or even a desk drawer. Into such a receptacle Ives tossed irregularly, if not casually, his reactions - in the form of songs - to memories, personalities, places, events, discoveries, ideas, visions, and fantasies in his life." Whether popular tale or personal reflection, this concept of the songs as memorabilia is realized in a most powerful way: the songs emotionally and viscerally evoke memory. Captured memories real or idealized, distant or near are the materials for the music. From cosmopolitan incident (Ann Street) to pastoral stroll (The Housatonic at Stockbridge) Ives's songs describe a range of experience: a child's playtime , a commuter's observations, a courter's hope. His songs exhibit reverence for the populace and pop culture, daring adventure, and family devotion; life and death.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Joe Barron

Quote from: Guido on September 15, 2008, 11:26:23 AM
Absolutely! That looks great - Donald Berman's recordings 'The Unknown Ives' (and 'The Uncovered Ruggles') are fantastic. I really like the product description too.

What the product description fails to note is the lovely job Susan Narucki did on "When the Moon," another collection of Ives songs.

Guido

#132
Oh yes that fantastic CD with all the small Sets. I had forgotten she was on that. Great CD, and great singing - I particularly like her reading of The Incantation and Mists. She also sings Ruggles' Prayer on the Berman Uncovered Ruggles CD.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Joe Barron

#133
Guido, i have just ordered two recordings of Ives's SQs, one by the Lydian Qurtet (out of print, cheap), and the one by the Blair on Naxos. I'll get back to you.

Guido

Cheers Joe. I like the Naxos one very much, especially their playing of the first quartet. I've always thought that, were it not for Ives' later masterpiece in the genre the work would be much more famous - it's a really great piece and one that I return to often. Exactly the same is true of Ives' first piano sonata - a superb piece somewhat overshadowed by it's sequel which just happens to be one of the greatest pieces of Piano music ever written...

The Lydian Quartet is one I haven't heard.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Guido

http://www.amazon.com/Charles-Ives-Three-Orchestral-Sets/dp/B001716IVQ

Joe - did you see that Porter responded to your review? Interesting what he says, but as you say the piece just doesn't match up to Ives' earlier efforts. The comments on his review are interesting too.
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Joe Barron

Yeah, I saw it. It didn't change my mind about the reconstruction.

Guido

#137
Just a quick question - where in the first movement of the first symphony is that infamous passage that cycles through something like 8 keys?

It's such a charming and thoroughly lovely work and one of the few romantic symphonies that I don't feel like turning off after one movement!
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away

Joe Barron

#138
Ives House faces crisis after ceiling collapse
Emergency closes historic home, curbs Ives Day celebration
By John Pirro
Staff Writer
Danbury News Times

DANBURY -- For years, officials at the Danbury Museum and Historical Society have tightly restricted access to the Charles Ives homestead on Mountainville Avenue, acutely aware of the fragile condition of the nearly 220-year-old house where the noted composer was born in 1874.

The two-story Dutch Colonial was open one day a year, for the annual Ives Day celebration sponsored by the Danbury Music Centre to mark Ives' birthday, and occasionally, museum Director of Operations Levi Newsome said, for a fast tour by an out-of-state visitor.

But now, it appears the house will remain closed for the foreseeable future after part of the ceiling collapsed last week. No one was in the house when an approximately six-foot section of plaster came down in the first-floor parlor, said Newsome, who discovered the damage Friday.

The closure injected a sour note into Sunday's Ives Day celebration.

"A lot of people came from some pretty far distances to be here today," said Nancy Sudik, executive director of the Music Centre. "But we don't want to see anyone get hurt."

More than a dozen Ives fans had to content themselves with a tour of the outside of the house, and glimpses of the interior through the windows.

Other parts of the celebration, including a hike up Pine Mountain, where Ives was inspired to compose some of his music, a brief performance by the Rag Tag Players at the Ives grave site in Wooster Cemetery, and a concert at the Music Centre, went forward as planned.

Newsome found the problem when he arrived at the house with a cleaning crew to prepare it for the event.

"I was shocked to see it," said Newsome, who first feared the damage had been caused by a water leak. But a quick inspection of the second floor put that concern to rest, and it now appears that the collapse was simply the result of the house's age.

"We always knew that it needed to be renovated, but we've been concentrating on other projects," Newsome said.

The house, originally built on Main Street in 1790, has been moved twice in its existence. In 1923, the property on which it was located was bought by the Danbury National Bank, and the house was relocated to Chapel Place, a short distance away. In 1966, it was moved to Mountainville Avenue and was opened to the public after being renovated in 1992.

Ives lived in the house with his parents until 1879, when the family moved to Stevens Street.

A number of Ives enthusiasts said restoration of the house should now be a priority.

"This is so important to the heritage of Danbury," said Danbury Music Centre member Gene Finger.

Newsome said museum Executive Director Brigid Guertin, who is expected back soon from maternity leave, was aware of the collapse and has been making inquiries about possible grants for possible renovation.

Sudik and Larry Deming, who have been organizing the Ives events for several years, said they would be willing to take participate in any fund raising activities.

"The Music Centre is going to help get it done," Deming said.

I've been hoping they woudl do some fundraising to restore the house. If they do, they can count on me for as contribution.


Guido

#139
How can the Naxos Song series be running to six volumes, when another comlete songs set is only four CDs? Also, I'm a bit sceptical as to how good an idea the alphabetical ordering of the songs is. It's not an awful idea, but it's just odd. And not Ivesian odd!
Geologist.

The large print giveth, and the small print taketh away