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1971 Charles E. Ives: Two Works Explored Wallace G. Moon Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in Music at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program.

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Date Author CHARLES E. IVES:

TWO WORKS EXPLORED

(TITLE)

BY

WALLACE G. MOON

- .....

THESIS

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS

FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS

IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL, EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

CHARLESTON, ILLINOIS

_.. -, .. l ., •- (" l-YEA97R

I HEREBY RECOMMEND THIS THESIS BE ACCEPTED AS FULFILLING

THIS PART OF THE GRADUATE DEGREE CITED ABOVE

.�f,1f1/DATE ADVISER ��/1?/ DATE / TABLE er CONTERTS

Chapter

I • 1NTR8DUCTinN • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • l

II. TH£ LIFE ANO MtJSICAL THCUGHT . Gr c HA iU.Ls t:• l w £a • • • • • • • • • • • • 8

III, IU£5'S • EL�illEUTS uf �USICAL STYLE • , , • • 16

• • • • • • , • • 21 I 'ti. TuD WvUKS C:XPLt.;11£0 • • , , .�\. Symphony t�umber f"out' B, three Place• ift fta• tnglend

ANO CGNCLUSI CNS • • • • • • • • V. SUtHIARY • • , 63

BIBLI0GRAPHY •••• • • • , • • • • • • • • • • • • 66 CHAPTER I

INTRUJUCTILN

It is the purpose of this research .to discover what makes. Charles Ives effective as a composer, end analyze two of his symphonic works, the fourth Symphony and

Three Places in New England.

Because of the complexity of Ives• musi�, a purely beat-by-beet harmonic analysis is not feasible. Tha procedure which is followed for the analysis of both sympho nies will be obvious to the reader, end should at no time become so involved that ha will become lost in the maze of the technical terminology that often finds its home in a harmonic analysis.

Each movement will ba discussed first as a whole, that is, touching upon the high p8ints to present an overview of the movement in its entirety, how it begins and ands and what the most prominent points of interest are. After the movement has been discussed as an entity the analysis will then involve six main categories: metor, melody, harmony, tonality, texture, and form. lliithin the frame�ork of meter it will be determined whether the metrical organization is dupla, triple, quadruple, etc, and the background simple or compound i e. subdivisible by halves or thirds , and whether the move­( . ment is multimetric or polymetric.) Also what devices might have been used to obscure the metric scheme. Under the main heading of meter, tempo and rhythm will be included.

Tempo will be discussed as a factor in general mood: slow; tragic, sombre, stately, or perhaps majostic: fast; gay, frivolous, joyous, savage, or humorous. The an alysis of trhthm will deal with the complexity or flexibility involved and the variety of note values and rhythmic 2

groupings. l1lso thG prominence of the rhythmic el ement

will be discussod.

The melodic analysis will deal with the prominonca

of malady ; the relationship to texture - monophonic, homo­

phonic, or polyphonic; the general qua lities, ly ric or

dramatic; the scale basis, major, minor, modal, pentatonic,

chromatic, who le ton e, or some Gthar scale system or

unco nvent ional division of the octave; and lastly the use

of the molodic ma terial - repetition, variation, or

developmental.

Chord structure; tertian, non-tertian, inversions;

progrossian by root movement or sequence; diatonic or

chroma tic; cadence structure; polyharmony and tension are

the i�ems that the harmonic analysis will cover.

The tonal ana ly sis will deal with areas such as scale

basis: major, min o r , polytonal, bito n al , or atonal. The key scheme as well as the clarity or vagueness of key

feeling will also be discussed within the frame work of the

tonal analy sis .

Textural considarations will include a discussion

of the ho mophonic or polyphonic nature of tho m�vemants. Last, the analysis of form will deal with the basic

structure of e a c h mcvGment. Labeling it with one, or

·possibly a combination, of the following forms: ternary, sonata allegro, rondo, sectional, variational, develop­

mental, Fugal, throughcomposed, or freely composed

organization basad upon extra-musical considerations.

The life of Ives will be exam ine d to discover how he

made use of the mechanics of m usic. illhat music �eant to

C harl es Ives will also be discussed. 3

CharlHs Ivos l!J:.

were chosen inst2ad of other types of wor ks 1".l.nothor re ason for choosing the symphonies arises from. necessity:

the bulk of Ives• music is just now beginning to cc�e in to print but th8 two selected works are readi ly available.

Charles E. Ives' works , according to d. Eugone Smith, have homely titles.but are oxceedingly difficult to l understand and play. Smith also says th:::it Ives "· •• may

• 112 well be Ar.ierica's gr eat est composer •• • Elliott Carter said that fBw composers have come to grips wi th the basi c problems of musical oxµroBsian , and few have taken so deFinita a stand as does Char les Ives in his Essays Before a Sonata. Reading them, one cannot help feeling that such a man must be capable of wri ting exception­ al music.3 Carter continues by suying Ives' range is remarkably broad . �ffered to the listener; ar e the rural, homely qualities of Whi tter , the severity of Emerson, the fancy of Hawthorne, and the meditation of Thoreau.4

Eugene Smi th, Charles Ives, A Photograph { Life MagazilG. ne, October 1 , p. 31, 94 9) 4S.

3Elliott Carter, "Ives Today , His Vision and Challenge ," modern (reay, June, p. Music 1944, 21:4), 199.

4rbid. 4

Henry Bellamann, after a discussion with Iv es,

concluded him to be excessively retiring. Ona enters upon

any discussion of the man with trepidation.5 He is a

thoroughgoing Nem Englander �ith a deep love of the 6 country and for his close friends. Technically,

Bellamann says, the music is hard to classify. One page

might project him as a pure polyphonist, another a pure

harmonist, and another that of neither, or both, or some­

thing else . As to content, some say he is a mystic, others

call him a realist • . Organically the fundamentals are

exposition, developmenta and conclusion. It shou ld ba

obs erved that sometimes the development seems ta begin

immediately after the introduction of the briefist figures, at other times the development leads into the them mhich

is stated in its entirety only at the and. Harmonically,

this composer wos astonishingly ahead of his time.

Bellamann, quotes Schloe zer of Les Beaux Arts in Brussells, ss having said: "Ives has something to say. He says it

in his own way without looking around to see what others 7 are doing."

Bellamann continues by saying that it is impossible

for anyone with any kind of ear to mistake a passage of

Ives' music for the �riting of anyone else. Discussing a melodict•••a of Ives, Ballamann stated that there is an almost f anetic avoidance of anything in curve or surface of sensuous import. Never a concession to e.:J:./ listening.B

SHenry Bellamann, "Charles Ives, The man and His music,» sical �uarterly (January, 1933, 19:1), p. 47. mu Ibid. ? 6Ibid., p. 8Ibid., p. 4:J.50. 5

Vincent d' Indy once said to f;lr. Bellamann: "Why don't your �merican composers inspire themselves from their own landscape ••• instead of leaning ••• on the German walking­ 9 stick?11 Lawrence Gilman, commenting on a performance of

Ives• Fourth Symphony, answers that question with the following statement:

This music is as indubitably American in impulse and spiritusl texture as the prose of Jonatr.on Edwards ••• and, like the writing of that wrue artist and cystic, it has at times and irr esisitib le var aci t y and strength, an.d-;;un- corr upted sincerity.lo

In another article Four Symphonies by Charles Ive�

Bernard Harrmann says that the Fourth Symphony is like nothing =lse ln music. "The effect is indescribably beaut.iful. 1111

Charles Ives, scion of an old New England family, is something of a legend in American music. This is music from the bowels of the earth. It is bewildering, tender, po�erful, evocative , and at times uncomprehensibly clumsy.lL

So mrote Paul Henry Lang on the subject of Ives in an articl� in the Saturday Review, and he continued by say­ ing that what makes Ives• works more extraordinary is the date of their composition. Written before Elektra,

9 8ellamann, ibid, p.

lOibid. 51.

llsernard Herrmann, "Four Symphonies by Ives," modern Music may, June, 1945, 22:4 , p. 220. ( ) 12 11 Paul Henry Lang, '! �har las Ives, Hearing Things, The Saturday Review of Literature June, p. ( 1944), 43. 6

Le Sacre du Printernps, and Pierrot Lunaire they exhibit a talent as original as the protagonists of modern music whom Ives antednted and anticipated.

Lang, in his generous appraisal of Ives, is speak­ ing about his smaller works. A few sentences later in the same article he writes:

It is very difficult to reconcile the freshness of the songs and of the sonata �ith the lameness of the symphony, to understand how a man with Ives•s innate gifts and thorough musical training can be so helpless in the orchestral medium.13

It i� perhaps that the song is an eminently

�merican pheno�enon without any limiting factors and withaut inevitably invoking traditional stylistic features as do the quartet and symphony?

Lang is primarily concerned, in the articlos, with what Charles Ives is. more important is what ha means to us. According t8 Lang, Ives was involved with a lack of a centor, of a focus, in the life of a young century.

This relationship becomes obvious in his music. Not because of a lack of training or craftsmanship but because this lack of center was symbolic of the times.

His predicament called for a revolutionary upheaval in which his musi� could have found fulfillment. Charles Ives' music belongs to a world of revolution divested of its 14 revolutionary reality.

In presenting some ideas and writings of others on

13Ibid.

14 Ibid., p. 44. 7

Charles Ives it should be evident that ives remains an enigma. Thora are no hard facts available to help discern what Ives' music is about. Ives wrote very little about himself and did not allo� his musical life to become well known. As a result there are few authoritative and many conflicting writings about Charles Ives. Lne author's opinion will be full of praise �hile the next raan•s is filled with reservations. Perhaps this is the WnY ha Ives wanted it to be. f\fter all, Ives did not care for things( ) which were simply written and claarly understand­ able.

Lang seems to be the most opinionated among the surveyed authors as witnessed by his quotatiun on the preceeding page. Tha others seem to be unwilling to make any statement that would label the� as either 'pro' or

•con• Charles Ives.

Charles Ives, the composer, the man, has not become more understandable through the �ritings of others. Ha remains the enigma that, perhaps, has caused men like

Carter, Lang, and Bellamann to write so conflictingly about him. It is, in part, the purpose of tho following chapters to present material which will lead to positive conclusions and bring about opinions which are without reservation, be they negative or positive. CHP.PTER II

THE F E f\ NJ ri; USI C :; UGH T L LFI CHf.;RLES E. IVL ES THC Charles Ives was born in 1874 in Danbury, Connect­

icut . He has bean identified wi th the Southwest part of

New Erygland all his life, although for many years he was

successful in business in New York.

Charles• father, George, was a Civil �ar band lead­ er end teacher in Danbury; his mother was a soloist in a

Danbury church chcir , so music was«no stranger to Char les.

Also, experimenting with music w�s not a Charles Ives original. Cne of Ives' earliest memories of his father was of his constant efforts to reproduce the sound of the

church ba lls next door. The elder Ives finally gave up

trying, ccncluding that the tones in the bells were not in the piano. However, this did not stop George, for soon

afterward he bLilt a machine that would play "between the

cracks-" in the piano keys.15

The idea of dividing the octave into smaller

intervals than t�e semitone had occurred to others than 6 George Ives. In ffioscow, dated 1864,1 there w�o a piano built to play quarter tones, and Kar l Koenig, at the

Philadelp�ia Exposition of 1875 , demonstratod a tonometric 1 apparatus dividing four into 670 �ar ts. 7 The octaves inst rument that the elder Ivas built seemingly did not work out we ll.

15Hanry and Sidney Cowell, Char les Ives and His music (New York: Oxford University Prass , 1 , p. 955) lB. 16 Ibid., p. 19 .

17 Ibid. 9

Charles wrote, concerning this experiment, in 1925: f,:y father had a weakness for quarter-tones-­ in fact, he didn't stop even with them. He rigged

up a contrivance to suit the dictates of his own curiosity. He would pick out quartor-toncs and try to get the family to sing them. But I remember he gave thnt up, except as a means of punishment, though we got to like some of the tunes which kept to the usual s � le and had quarter-tone notes thrown in •••• � Experimental music was not the only form of music

taken in the lves's household. Young Ives was around his

father's band from the time he could walk until the death

of his father. He heard expert fiddling for dances, hymn singing, old, slow, decora ted psalm singing, the popular_ songs of Steven Foster and their relatives the minstrels,

and the music of the country fairs. Also, as far back a�

Charles could remember, a great deal of chamber music was

played by his father and friends. The sonatas, trios, and

quartets of Handel, Bach, and Beethoven were the fa�9rites;

ffiozart and Haydn were never popular with either George or Charles Ives. They were considered too sweet, too pretty, 1 or too easy on the aa rs . 9

Charlea was five when he started playing the

piano. At eight, his father, aware of his interest in

music, marched him off to take drum lessons from the drummer in his band. By the time Charles was twelve, 11e 0 was playing the snare drum in his father's band.2

18Ibid., p. 19 and 20.

19ca�ell, Charles Ives, p. 23.

2(, Ibid., p. 25. 10

Charles' music �as not confined to the drum, for his

father soon taught his son piano, violin , cornet, sight­

reading, harmony, and countarpoint all on the str ictest

academic principles . �t thirteen, Charles coraposed his first piece to

win recogni tion • It utas for band and was ti tled "Holiday 1121 .�ui ck Step. At fourteen he bacame organist at the first Baptist Church and by this time he �as composing

quite regular ly . At seventeen Char les composed an organ

fantasia entitled " Variati on s on America" that was played 2 on re cital in Danbury and Brewster , New York.2 A l i ttle later, he composed a fugue with the entr ances cf each voice

in a differen t key.

Hi s father said about the fugue: 11Char lie, it will be time enough to �r ite impr0per fugues and do it well when 23 you can write a pr oper fugue and do it well . "

By this ti me, Char les had gone through Danbury

Academy , Danbury High School, and on to Hopkins Prepar atory

School in New Haven in prepar ation for Yale.

The year 1894 brought two experiences �hi ch �ere to play a large part in the life of the twenty yoar old

Charles . l) He decided to study composi tion at Yale. 2) A

month after his matri cula ti on , his futhor died su dden ly .

2l cowell, Charles Ives, p. 27.

22 Ibid. , p. 28 •

3 2 1bid. , p. 29. 11

Ives writes obout his father at a later date:

Cne thing I am certain of, that if I have done any thing good in music it w�s first because of my . father, and cecond, bocause of my wife. 8hat sha has done for me I will not put down, because she wi ll not let me. But my father ••• not only in his teaching Fr om the technical si de, but from his influence, his personality , char acter, ond open­ mindedness and his remarkable understanding of the ways of a boy's mi nd and heert ••• I co uld not have been over ten years old wh en he would occasionally have us sing a tune like Swanna River (sic) in £-Flat while he accompanied us in the key of C ••• I do not th ink he had the possibility of polytonality in composition in mind, parti cular ly; he rather wanted to encourage the use of the ears and mind to think for themselves and be more independent in other words, to be less dependent on customs and habits.24

Hor atio Parker was Ives• composition teacher at

Yale . Ives had respect for Parker and his musi c saying that "It w�s seldom trivial .1125 iUhile at Yale, Ives

wrote his First Symph onr. It was supposed to be in O minor,

but the first subject went through about six or ei ght

different keys; so Parker made him wri te a new ona.26

Among other teachers at Yale , Ives studied unor A. R.

Shelly and Dudley uuck.

music was not the only interest for Iv es. At Yale, he seemed to be a very gregarious person. He was a member

of HeBoula, Delta Kappa Epsilon, and Wolf's Head . 27 In

241bid ., p. 29 and 30.

25 Ibid., p. 33.

26rbid.

27 p Ibid., . 35. 12

the class book of 1893, Ives was listBd under the nicknames; Dasher The spontaneous and explC.sive Ives , ( ) Lemuel (The ascetic New Englander), U uipp crotchety Quixote , and Sam The joker addicted to paradoxes(The ).28

Gddly enGugh,) Ives ( wa s not mentioned in th8 musical saction of his class in its yearbook.

As his coll ege career �as coming to an end, Ives was faced with the problem of how he should earn his living.

To give all his time to CGmposition w�s more than a temp­ tation, but the yc ung Ives was far too pra ctical. So

decided against music, in favor of a businos6 c�reer. heTo

Ives it was obvious that lhis b usiness was life insurance.

This choice co ncurred with his ideal to do the most good for the largest nur.iber of people.29 His. first job was

with the mutual Life Insurance Company as a clerk,in the actuary department. Ives was not happy being a clerk, so

in 1899 he was transferred to the Raymond Agency. Here he met Julian �yrick who soon became his lasting friend. It

was in 1906 that Ives became restless in his job, and as

a result of this rest lessness, on January 1, 1907, Ives and myrick formed a partnership and secured for themselves

an agency with the �ashington life Insuran ce Company of

New York. In June of 1908, Charles lv8s was married to Harmony Twitchell and almost immediately the horizons

brightened. Ives and myrici: were offered an agency with

their old cGmpany. This agency lasted end prospered

2a 1bid., p. 35.

29 Ibid., p. 38. 13

vary �ell until Ives' re tir 0 oen t in 1930. As example of their prosµerity, in t�eir first year they sold l,800,000 worth uf insurunce, and in their l as t year $48 million.S

In their tuenty-one years of selling insurance, they put 3 in force some i450 millions of new business . 0

Despite Ives's success in sailing, he continued to r em in faithful to his composition. every spare moment uasa dedicated to composing. The list of works completed in this eight year period seem incredible for an evening and weekend composer. They are: The symphony Holiday, the Fourth Symphony, a Set for Theatre or Chamber

Orchestra, many pieces for various instrument�, some wi th voice and cho�u�, Three Places in New England, Second

Striny � u rtet, and the Second Violin Sonat .

Becausea pe r fo r m�n ce of his works seemeda un likely,

Ives gave full rei gn to his imaginative powers; as Ives said, "abandoning himself to the nature of things and letting the tides roll thr ough him.n3l

The writing of music continued to blosso�for Ives 2 until the year 19 7 At this time, "He came downstairs one day with tears in. his eyes, and said he couldn't seem 32 to compose anymore--nothing cent w ll--nothing sounded right;=

His F l i r far co�posing never recove� rad . He seemed to be exhausteda from leading t�o lives . From this tiQe on he spent his tima revising, rerinishing, and publishing his works.

30Ibid., p. 40.

31 1bid., p. 64.

Kirkpatrick, Charles Edw2rd Ives unpublished �usic 3manuscripts2Jahn and �ther ( Libr ry of the Yale School of musi c, 19Related60 , p. Llaterials,S. a ) 14

2n [cy 19, 1954, Charlus Edward Ivas, a successful businessm8n, and n relativaly unknown composer, died.

Throu�haut his life �usic meant much to I ves. He rote a gre a deal abcut what rausic meant to him, and a fomw uotationt s fro� his writings should prGve helpful.

q �hen he WES a boy, what music meant to him can be summC''� •!rl in twu words: his

There was scmothingfather. abcut the way Father pl a ed hymns. £ven if some of the choir could read musicy readily at the rehearsals, he alwa s liked to play each part over with his horn, and yhove them get it entirely ••• through the ear, through his phrasing, tone, and general style playing. Ha had the gift of putting sogething in ofthe music, which meant more s etim s than when some people say tha rds Ha onceom gavee a concert in Danbury on the basset-horn,wo . playing songs of Schubert and Franz. He had the w..ords ri ted ••• and passed them nut through the a audience,p nwho were expected to re<..u -cllc w rds and sing silently with him. Somebody heard him playo the Erlking of Sch be t, and felt that he sang it, through the b setuhorn or trombone (I forget which ••• , and carriad him away with it without the words; as as - 1 ) Bispham did singing it . 3 �

To further show Ives's belief ir. his f�ther, he once said: He had a belie th:;t everyone :.uas born with at least a germ of musfi c al talent, and that an early appreciaticn great musi and not trivial music would help it ofgrow. He stac rted all the children of the famlly and mos of the town) ••• on Bach and Stephen F t( er. He t sent a love of music into the h· heart of manyos a boy, who might have gone without it, but for him. I feel that if I have done anyt hing good in music in any way, I owe it m st ly to him.34 o

:J3Jahn Kirkpatrick, "llhat f:l si c meant to Charles Ives" (Unpubli5hed f."usic :?oview VI,u Cornell Univer !:>ity , p. l. 1963),

34 I bid , p. 2. . 15

Although his father was a continual influencing fac­ tor in Charles' music, he was soon to adopt the New England philosophy of Transcendentalism. The following quotation is a prime exam ple of Ives's philosophy and depicts what music meant to Charles Ives:

music is one of the many ways God has of beat­ ing in on man -- his life, his i deals , his hope, his svorylhing. An inner something, a spiri t � al storm, a something else that stirs man in all of his parts (as a kind of entity) ••soul.11 It acts thr ough, or vibrales or couples up to hu an sensations in mays (or thinks or Feels) he kno�sm them. Further than this, what this inner something is which begets all this, is something no one knows, esp e c ially those who define it and use it pr imar ily to make a living. f;ll this almost nothihg' to those who urill think about� musicmeans -- no one knows �hat it is -- and·· less ha knows what thatit is, the nearer it is to musi� -- prabably.35

For most people the baffling aspect Ive�'s ffiusic of is the multiplicity of simultaneous events anL ideas in it. Ives•s. use of the materials of music is not the familiar or traditiGnal, �n the contrary, his mastery is quite imaginative and profound.

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Ivos makes uso of all aspects of harmony in his compositicns; consecutive mxtrome dissonances and old

familiar chcrds as l:lell es now sonorities, fraoly invent­

ed, are his tools. Ivos u�s not ccncerncd with resolving the dissonancos and was vary likely to leav� ona just

hanging up in mid air. Gnca whon Parker asked Ives to

show him one of his manuscripts, Ives shooed him song called In Parting. In this song, there occurrod onea

unresolved dissonance ending on a high E-f lat in tho key of

G r.iajor. Parker said of this, "There's no excuse for that

E-flat way up thora stopping, and the nearest 0 natural way down two octaves." Ives told his fathor about this and the

reply was,

Tall Parker that ovary dissonance doesn•t have to resolve, if it doesn't happen to Foal like it, any more than every horse should hove its tail bobbed just beceuse it's the prevailing f'ashion.37

The use of atonality is rare for Ives. He retains the feeling key by keeping constantly baf ore the

listener theof relation oF e ch chromatic tone to its tonal

center. ..

Bi-tonal chords ara a fevorite of Ives. He often

piles up a certain interval to form his chord; 'seconds

and thirds seem to be his favorite intervals.

Paracelsus - Bi-tonal chords.38

2

37 Kirkpatrick, "Charles Edward Ives," p. 3.

38 co�all, p. 160 measure number was givon by ff.r. Cowell for this example(No . ) is

.ne rule Ives sets for himself regarding harmony

is thot whatevor type of organiz2tion he has chosen to

begin �ith, he will remain constant to. For example, in

the snng ]alt �hitman he has chosen parnllel fifths and

octaves, any other interval uould viulRte his rule. 9 �hitman - Intervallic Consistency3 Jalt ---- 3

J\nother device for Ives's harmonic scher.ie is to use

tri2us of different xeys �layed simultaneously; polychord­

ali ty.

Nearer ffiy God to Thee Polychordality40 - 4 t�����m,���·��­--

Upon examining the melodies of Ives it is found that

they. are less unusual than IDhat he does illith them. He is

fond of developing a melody in sonata fashion, that is,

developing a short motif into a longer theme, and the thema into a longer nelody. OurinJ this" axtensicn, he sometimes

employs melodic inversion, retrograde, and invorted retro­

grade. He is also fond of rhythmic augmentation and dim­

inution

The. begginning point of an Ives melody more than

likely will be a quotation from some hymn, folk, or parlor

tune. These quotations, many times obvious r in in o ig ,

' to�ell, p. 161 No measure number was given by �r. Cowell' for this ( example) 4G 7r: _rb·d_i_., p. J:.Jl • 19 are almost naver disclosed in the same form ES in the original. Either the rhythm will be changed or in the middle of the tuna he will tako off into a n�w key.

Another device for creating a raelody is to take a small section from the �iddle of a tune, perhaps only two or three notes.

Jo �ay that Ives• rhythm is complex is an under­ statement of gross proportions. The unique and unuDual foatures of Ives' rhythms may be divided into several categories.

The first is concerned with metric pattorns. Such patterns as �ith irregular grcupings within the measure,5/8, 10/8, also 11/8, patterns such as

and soma fractional beats such as 5/4,are 5/2,not 7/2, uncommon9/2, to Ives' music. 6!/2 Another category of rryythm deals with unus�al accent­ uation. For instance, he will divide an measure into three plus five or into three plus three plus8/16 two which is a rumba rhythm. Incidontally, this particular rumba rhythm

Ivas used long before the dance was generally kno�n in

America.

Another41 interesting device is his use of grouping. lie makes little use of tha normal two or three grouping so often found in late nineteenth-century music. He preferred to use groups of five, seven, nine, and sometimes more units and makes uoe of them rather regularly. �s axampla: ,_��JS�. This type of grouping usually starts on th�2/2 beat; ho�evor, it may begin on an

41 1bid., p. 167. 20

off-beat causing tho group tc end some�hore betllisen bG�ts. Some of his groupings deal �ith extended lengths,

for instance, a triplet two meanures in length in 4 /4 meter. Further, Ives writes two, fcur, eight, or more notes across a 3/8 or 3/4 measure. Still another device, which is an Ives original, is

a sories of succ e ssively shorter note values, such as J., t.) > .

d, J., J,Finally, Ives sometimes leavos out meter signs of

a metric or ganiz ation as well as regular b

Physical realization in performance is less important to Ives as related to the thought that the idea can be seen 43 and heard in tho mind by a F ellow score re ader .

Turning to Ives ' use of form we discovered that he is concerned with not mak�ng the form used cle�r to the listener. He would rather create unity through such relationships of ideas, not by r.�lated motives or repeated ideas. Ives also would just as soo n have the rolationship remain in doubt and not be obvious. The following quotation points this out:

Nature loves analogy and abhors repetition and explanation. Unity is too generally concaivod of, or too easily accepted, as analogus to form and fo�m 44 as analogus to custom, and custom to habit.

42 Ibid., p. 172.

43Ibid., p. 173.

4 4charles Ives, Essays Before a Sonata (New York: The Knickerbocker Press, 1920), p. 22. CHAPTER IV TlliO �ORKS EXPLLRED Charles Ives• Symehony No. 4 was composed between the years of 1909 and 191& and is assuradly one of his most prominent works. It combines elements from many of his earlier works, however, dates for some of these earlier works ara not certain and Ives was often contradictory in his dates. Also, many of the earliest manuscripts are miss­ ing or lost.45 Since the purpose here is not to trace tha history but to analyze this work, further detailed discussion would be too time consuming, however, a summary of this background would be helpful. If more information is desired the preface to the symphony's manuscript, written by John Kirkpatrick, an Ives authority, and published by American music Publishers, Inc. of New York will supply the reader with a very thorough knowledge of the history of Ives• fourth S�mphony. A memo from Ives• autobiography of 1932 says: Fourth Symphony. This wes strated with some of the Hawthorne movement of the second piano

sonata around 1910-11 ••• It was all finished around

the end of 1916 ••• Some things in it were from other things that I had been working on before or at that time ••• The second movement ••• is in some places an orchestration of the 'Celestial Railroad' idoa rrom the second movement (which seems to ma the best, compared with the other movements, or for that mat�ar with any other thing I've done) was finished in the summer of 1915. The fugue was written just before tha entire thing was finished in 19 16, but the last movement covers a good many yaars.46

45John Kirkpatrick, ffianuecript, Fourth S�m�hony (New York: Associated [usic Publishers, Inc. l , p. vii. 6 ) 46 Ibid., p. vii. 22

In 1901 Ives wr ote an organ piece entitled,

i al tar er to fl.emor Slow ch based on Near 1 r;;y God, Thee, which is part of thG thematic idea of the prolude. Later that same year he cGmposed for soprano and organ a setting of wat chm a n , which is also found in the pr elude.

As an example of Ivos's contr adictiun in dating his work s, a fugue was wr itten in 18 97 for Horatio �arker using as its subject From Greenland 's Icy ffio un t ain s , and g11 Hail the Power of Jesus ' Name as the coun ter s ub j e c t .

In 1909 the fugue was started into an orchestral version whi ch Ives titled the First String Uuartet.

The change in dates is typical of Ives since the quartet was later transferred to the symphony , and it was no longer a part of the quar tet. " • • • its past history was nobody 's b usine ss but its own," as he d ated it by its finishing touches.

The uur movements of Ives's Fourth Symph ony be ar the f ollo�ingf. designations:

I. Frelude, Saestoso adagio

II. i'\ ll.egretto

III. Fugue, tindan t e con moto IV. Very Slo�ly , Largo maestoso

The work calls for a lar ge orchestra that i nclude s, in addition to the usual instrumentation; thr ee saxophones, five keyboard instruments; solo piano, orchostral piano f our hands, ce le s ta, organ , and optional �Ether Crgan," a large number of' p_ercussion instruments, a chorus of mi xed v�ices, ano a distant choir of five violins, viola, harp, and optional flute. 23

The first movement is scGrod for str i n gs , percussicn,

mi xed chc. r us , pian. _ , ce 1 o sta , t� n :� the adi stant c n .:1 i r ....

The msvamen L is e s sen ti 2 l ly a setting of � a t chman, Tall 46 Us of tho Night; however , the piano and law strings

begin the work mith a rather energetic motif,

f..;urth Symp., 1st f:.o v t. ; [easure l. Opening figure for String Ba ss.

5

which is immedi ately invar t�d by the uµper strings.

Fourth Symp., lst movt., �easure 2. Upper string inv er s i on.

6

� . The upper strings then usher in the "distant chr_,irs11 state-

ment of the last half of Nearer, ffiy God to Thee .

Fourth Symp ., 1st ffiovt ., reeasures 2 and 3. Fl u te and upper strings.

7 k-�-1,,L�lj.,F� �+

As the »distant choir" coRtinues its statement at measure

f ive , the first violin and solo cel lo begi n their own

s ta tem ent of In the Sweet Bye and Bye .

Fourth Sym . , 15� movt., �e sur es 5-9 . String melody . . p ·.� a � ' 8 �ffl��13J¥

46rbid., p. vii. 24

This continues with the pi ano ' s own non-committal

rhythmic pattern:

Fourth Symp. , 1st Movt., Measures 5 and 6. Piano rhythm.

9

until rehearsal number seventeen when the key of 0 is

establi shed by the entrance of the vo i ces singing Watchman

in tha new key. To secure tho r eeling of tonality the

timpani provides a D pedal point for fourteen measures.

Whi le the voices are singing, the "distant choir" con­

tinues its statemen t or Nearer, my God to Th �a . Finally

at measure twenty- seven there is a moasure of rest for

all par ts. After two measures of strings and voices only ,

all the parts become active again, e < c h wi th its own

independ ent material. The movement is closed in this

manner wi th euch part f ad in g a�ey i ndependen tly and the

•• distant choir" intoning the familiar Nearer, fily God theme.

The metric scheme for the first movement is primarily

duple-compound , making use of 6/4 and 6/8. At one point a measure of 9/8 appear s only to · b a lost in the pr ocess of frequent meter changes. The meter is further complicated

by the accenting of unusual beets and by the ttdiatant

choir" extending past the bar lines of the rest of the

or chestra.

The rhythmic element is quite complex thr o ugho ut an

Ivea composi tion and this first movement is no exception .

Although, by compari son, it is not es difficult as either

the second or fourth mo vements it cer tainly has its

rhythmic problems. Trip lets , dotted note pattorns , end

groupings or four a gainst three , two against three, and

the " dist ant choir " playing groups of five ov er the bar

line against the rest of the o r che str a rhythms -- all 25

these elo�ants are common.

�elody p lay s a lar ge part in tha Prelude . The t ext ur e of the moveme11t is polyp�1onic; h o wov er , one r.wlodic l i n e predomin:1tes.

,", fter tho first fcur r:ieasures tho firs:. violin and solo coll� hegin the st�tcnant of In the 3weet Bye and e. i:, bove t hi s i G l1 ec;r d the Near er1 God theme, r epi ti tiousJy­ ly played by �he harp, however , iLLZ' is scarcely audi ble.

That p ar ti c ular melodic idea i s cGntinued for t we l v e mor a m e a sures . ;.\ t this puint the voices enter UJith the ill a t c hm a n theme, and it is this melody that pr ovides the melodic i n t erest for the duration of t he movement. It sh�uld no� go un not i ced , however , that Lhe harp is contin­ uously pr oviding the Nearer, my God motif above the voices Watchman.

The sonorities i n v o lved are quite di sson an t , thus er ecting much t e n si on . These dis sonan c e s are not pre­ pared, rather they seam to j ust h ap p en . The first release of t e n sio n does not occur �nti l fo ur measures after the voices start with the Jatchman theme . It i s at this point that the firs� cade n ce appear s, establi�hing the key of o.

However , it should be p oi nt ed out that this caden ce happens only in the voi ce part. The r emaining instrument s con t i n ue cr e a t i n g disso nan t h ar mo ni e s , i mmedi a t e ly setting the next four measures of ten s i o n into a c ti on . It is then s ubdued once again by the p o i n t of cadence in the vocal line.

This pa tt er n of underlying tension, brou gh t to rest on ly by the v o ca l line every four measures, continues until measure thir ty-four in th e score. �t this point the ten­ sion is maintained until the mov emen t comes to an end by 26

fa di ng soft l y away .

However , Ives is noL sa ti s fi ed to end in peace in

the key 0F D, as is illustr o � ed by the orchestr8's Final

chor d .

Feurth 5ymp., lst fi; ovt., l.ieasur e 41. Final chord

10

Thus he has the "distant cho ir " intone their "old Favorite"

Nearer 1 Go to Thee. I r;.y Fourth � rovt., chcir motif. Symp .l lst 11

1he fi�st mo v emen t is Prelude, just as Ives labeled

it, divided inLo :;. hr ae seclions consisting of four ,

twelve, and �wenty-Four me�aures.

Cf the second movement , hir�patrick has wr itten:

The novament is not a scher zo in an ac cep t ed sonse of wor d, but r a ther a comedy in the sense

that Hawthorne's Ce les t i a l Railroad is a comedy ••• in �hich an exci Ling, easy , and worldly pr o gr ess throu�h life is contr�sted wi �h :he trials of the Pilgr i ms in their journey through the swamp s and

rough co un tr y . The occasional slow opiso d es -­ Pilgr i ms hymns -- are co n s tan t ly crowded out an d overwhel�ed by th e former . The dr eam , or fan ta sy , ends wi th an interruption of �eality -- t he F cur th of July in Concord -- brass bands, drum corps, etc.47

The second m�vement i s scored for piccolo , flutes ,

clarinets, bassocns, or ches � ral piano: prime and secondo, cornets, t= umpets in tr omb ones , tuba, celesta, solo C,

4 7 . ___Ib"d 1 ., p. v l.l.· • _ 1 27 piano, strings, and percussion : t rian gl e , high and low bells, timpani , indian dr um , snare drum , bass drum , cymbal, and light and heuvy gongs. ranging This mov em en t is a · huga conflict of moods from a rather quiet, co ntemplative nature to that of loud, exub er ant noise . Ives planned all or these conflicts with great detail except one : the chance conflict at measure forty-three of the score. It is here that a second conductor leads woodwinds, brasses, orchestral piano, solo p ian o , and timpani at an allesr o usually raster tempo, !f.!., while the strings, tbe remaining( instruments,) and p er cus s ion continue to plod along in their ad agio tempo,

E.E!.2.• set ear lier et measure thirty-eight. Soon a 11 break ... down" occur s and the members of the fest group stop to wait for the slow group to catch up so they may join in again. They do so, at measure fifty-five, but attacking more vi olently than before.

As usual• Ives' thematic con te nt co.neists of several familiar tunes mi lling around simultaneously or close together , with straight or di$torted, loud or soft, high or low tones, mo st or which ar e unfamiliar to this writer. The texture of the entire movement is so complex however , that it is impossible through listening, to detect but a small portion of all the myriad things that happen in it. There are passages where liter ally every­ body in this large orchestra plays hia own independent material.

Ives• use of meter in the second movement cover s the gamut . Duple, triple, compound, multimetric rroquent change of meter , polymetric, and fractional meter&( are used. ) 28

As example of polymetrics one need go no further than the opening chord of this movement. The bassoons are in 7/4 with the =70; the basses have no meter

signature but their J �a o, and the rast cf the orchestra is playing in 6/8 with Jthe J. =50. The one use of fractional meter can bo found five measures after number twenty-seven, page sixty-three, where at this point Ives uses a 4�/4 meter change from 3/4. As to why Ives uses this meter signature instead of 9/8 (editors' choice), one cannot be sure. Perhaps "Rollo" would have preferred 9/e.48

� Ives' use of tempo-changes as a structural device in the second mcvement is rather obvious. Ranging From a

slow Largo to a rather quick Allegr o there ar e no less thPn twenty-five changes in tempo. There ar e places where two different tempi are used simultaneously . Tempo , also, enters as a factor in the 9eneral mood, if on� is to follow Ives programmatic statement of this movement. Gr , as example , one may cite the slow sections refferring to the quite contemplative nature of man as opposed to the fast sections representing the noisy wor ld closing in on man and shutting him off From the closeness of God.

The rhythmic aspect, e.s always, is quite prominent and very complex. Never allowing the rhythm to become fixed or rigid, Ives fills the page with dotted patterns, odd rhythmic groupings, and a variety of note values all

of which lead to a rather unusual rhythmic mixture.

4811 Rollo" and Ives did not get along. "Rollo'' symbolizes the social music enthusiaets. 29

The us� of melodic ma erial in the second movement

involu3s snor t fragments r a th or t h an a complete stata-

rnants of old hymn or folk tunes. Columbia, the Gem of

the Ucean . ffiar ching Through Ge o rgi a , In the S we a t Bye and

and the Sri ti sh Grenadiers are "':he only tunes stated

�'in enoug h lengt.-. so the.:. one C..;UJ.� r ea di ly recognize the melody, although there ar e many sna tches of di f f er e n t tunes wandering in nnd out , e i th er s tr ai gh t or distorted, through­ out the en tiro mo veme n t.

In relati o nship to te xtu r e , the me lodi c fragments

contribute to the densi ty creating a greater di f f i cul ty of r eco gni tio n than normal. It is n2t polyphony in the traditional �eaning but polyphony in the Ives sense whi ch only he really under stands .

Tha h ar mo ni c elements in the s econ d movement are as

unconventional as every other asp ect thot Ives employs, and at times they appear almost subservient io ths form of

the movement.

As in the f�rst movemen t , pclychordal s�unds r e i gn supreme with quar t er- t Q ne and illh u le tone pasSOJeS throllin in f�r go� d measure.

Fourth Symp., 2nd rnovt., r!leasuTes 6 and 7 . i1iano pulychords and qu�rter-tones. 30

The caden ce structure is not relian t on a tonic­ dominant relationship but rethar a tension-release prin­

cip le . This type of cadence occurs by two means ; one

dynamic, From soft to loud; movt., Piano cadence. Fourth Symp. , 2nd measure 42 and 43. • A�to . 13 :- -�-=JP :# ���-iiU.£ �Rc;.-� -_1 \ - - ��� ?P? -';j-. . � ' - - ---���� ��- the other a n as co mbinati o harmonic-rhythmic--\ cadence. Fourth movt., Syme ., 2nd measure 260 and 261. Piano cadence .

14

i-: There does appear in the score ona purely harr.ionic

cad�nce for the entire orchestra along with several in ternal

cadences usually fo un g in the brass pErts. Four th movt., measure Symp., 2nd 197 and 198 . Cadence fo und in several p�rJ � \ . 15 ��- In the sacono movement, the tonality Ives has chosen

to make us' of i� .extremely vague. The movement begins a and ends with the sama di sr eg rd ror key . This va�ueness is accomplished by an extreme use of dissonance, chromatici sm,

quarter-tones, end the avoidance ·of key feeling.

The only reel sense of tonali ty occurs at mPa$ure

138 of the score, page seventy-one, where the dominant­

tonic relationship is found F to 8-f lat (sea example above)".

Also, the examination of the timpani part reveals that it 31

is providing an F2 to F3 octave ped al po int thr oughout the entire second movement. The pert strays only twice to a note other than f and that note is an E. Perhaps this prov ides the tonality that "Rollo" might mi ss . The orchestral texture of the second movement is very thick . Ives., aware of this f3ct, and being very concerned with propar balance, went to great detai l in mar king every par t exactly the way he wan ted it to sound.

Ives' concern for proper balance is evident in the scale of importance he assigns for each instr ument. The scale runs from A to f �nd the instruments assigned to their respect v e letters are: A.i Bassaa

B. Gongs, sol piano

c. High bells,o bassoon

D. Orchestral piano primo

E. Celesta

f. Clarinets, violins I and II, orchestral p�ano secondo

No other movement is marked in such detai l.

The form of the second movement is sectional and is derived from its programmatic aspects , that aspect being the questi ons of man as to the what and why of existence .

Each section does not necessarily take on new material, but changes in d n amic and timbre. Ther e are twenty-two sections representingy s man •a effort to get close to God as the n oisy world shu ts him out each time . In addition to dynamics and orchestration, tempo also determines the beginning of each n ew sec t on . i 32

The third movement is scored for s tr i ngs, Flute,

clarinet, horn, trombo ne, and timpani . The

instrumentation rests, howeveorganr , , upon . the s trings and the

other instruments enter only when the music rises to dynamic

climaxes. An interesting role is played by tha organ . Its

part enters rather dramatically at measuro f orty-six but

only for one measure, falling silent again until moasure

eighty-four , it takes up role of d ubling

othor orchestral�here parts. the o the

�hile the second movement is all turmoil and con­

fusion, the thi r d movement is its antithesis. The strict

academi c procedur es of a fugue in C major , "••• the reaction of life into formalism and ritual,11 49 is the second answer to the Prelude 's question of wh a and why. Once again

Ives turns to hymn tunes to providet the thematic material,

this time choosing from Greenland's Icy mountains { subject and All Hail the Power of Jasua • Name {countar subject). )

The trombones make the last quotation as, five measures from the and, they super-impose a s ection from the carol Joy to the Uorld.

Four th Symp ., 3r d movt., measures 116-118 . Trombone me l dy. o 16 1v=t -cr e . Ir r r � I 0· - ·;·- The c�llo bogins the fugue su bject �ith the viola presenting the answer at measure fcur in the subdominant.

Both parts than proce ed to spin their way along unti l the

491bid. 33

horn makes its entrance at measure nine once again in the

tonic. At measure fourteen the first violins make their

answer in the dominant followed by the first episode at

measure nineteen. Tha episode lasts until measure

twenty-seven, at which point the first violins once again

take up the subject, but this time the countersubjact is

added in tha horn .

moasura thirty-one provides a new episodic period

as the viola begins wi th the subject and at the same time the oountersubject is heard in the first violin section .

The first half of the countersubject is then repeated until

the grand cadence on the subdominat at measure for ty-eight.

The episode is started again on the last beat of

measure forty-eight suggesting a developmental section

to the fugue and relentlessly( fprges ahead further and

further away ) from tho home key of C major . At measure

ninety-nine a complete breakdown of tonality is expected,

but at measure unison horn and trombone, wi th great 102 9mphasis, force the tonality b·ack to G at measure 104. Finally at m�asure 105 the tonic is heard.

Fourth ymp , 3rd ffiovt., ffieasuro 99 . Lack of tonality In organS part..

17

fourth 3r d movt., measures and 104 . Return to tonalltySym. p., 103

18

. . 34

The last beat of measure begins the stratto

Fourth Symp. , 3r d mo v t., Measures 106-108 . Stretto in str ngs . i 19

before the augmentation of the subject begins at meas ure 109 . As the subject is drawing to a close the trombones rather energetically intone Joy to the World as the move­ ment closes on a peaceful amen cadence . Fourth Symp., 3r d �ovt., measures 120 and 121. Plage l ca e ce . d n •

20

The metor chosen for the fuguo is duplo and s tays

quite metrically rogular for tho duration of the �ovamant .

Only on two occasions does Ives stray from the 4/2 meter .

One change occurs at moasure forty-six where a 5/4 meter

appears for one measure, and the other occurs at measura

103 whare one measure of 6/2 meter appears.

Ives chasa Andante modorato for the tempo an d it

sets a rather stately mood. There are two changes in the

tempo ; maestoso and pi� mga etoso. Both changes are well

placed in the movement as they happen the beginning of

tha stretto and augmentation respectivelyat .

In the previous movements the thythmic element was

always complex. In the fugue , its existenc� is bare ly noticeable. It begins simply and ro�ains so throughout

the entire movement.

The melodic interest is in the fugue statement and

answer. For this Ives chose From Greenland '& Icy mountains 35

and All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name. Ives ' fugue

presents the cust�mary exposition and goes on to include

such typical d evice s as stretto end augmentation. The ver tical structure is tertian . The chord

progression emphasizes the tonic, subdaminant, and

dominant chords.

The tcnality of the fugue is C major . Ives movos

through the subdominant and then to the dominant unti l a

deceptive cadence occurs at measure for t y-ei ght . The

composition then works its way back ta the tonic which

arrives at measure 105.

Two measures later the stretto begins in the tonic

but lasts for only three measures. The augmentation then

be gins, in the t o ni c , and continues unti l the end of the

composition, which closes with a plagel cadence.

The orchestrntion of the f u gue t with horns and

trombones often doubling the strings in statements of the

subjactt is hardly Baroque in offset , and the coloristio

element is carried still further by the doubling of flutes

wi th clarinets and organ with violas and double basses.

Dynamics ar o caraFully chosen for this fugue with

the level of sound mostly pi ano . It builds to a rather

grand forti ssimo ot the deceptive cadence only to return

again to pi ano. This does not las t long, for only two

measures of pi ano pass before it begins to build again.

The dynamics continue to build to a for tis simo at meesure

ninety-eight and 104 at which time the tonic key appears.

The dynamic level then diminishes until the conclusion, ei anissima, of the composition. 36

Of tho fourth movement , Kirkpatrick says:

As the eye, in looking at a vie�, may focus on the sky, clouds, or distant ou t li nes , y et se n s e the color and form of the foreground, s ens e the distant outlines and color , so , in some similar �ay , can the listener chonse to arrange in his mi nd the relation of the rhythm c, harmonic, and other ma�eriel ••• Th8 li st en er may choose which he wi sh e s to in . so i his mind as pri mal hbld

The fourth movement, like the first, h�_-:s a hymn t un e

a.s its p r edo mi nan t melodic in9redient, N e arer, r.1y God to

Thee . It also has a ch or us to sing it, just as IBa t chman �as

sung . It, too, has a di stant cho ir , · le s s th e viola and

flute. However , the complexity or den s i t y of the fourth

wovement is f ar removed from that of the first. In fact,

it is mora closely related to the second movement.

The i s trument ation for the last movement is gigantic

i n scop�. nIn addition to the chor us and di stan t choir , ther e is a "battery unit" which consists of snare drum , ti mpani ,

cymbal, bass dr um , and gong; and f'inally the of these go th eir own �ndependant ways. main orchestra. Al l The mov eoant opens with the b at te y unit play i ng , vary softly , an intricate rhy t hm the r tempo of a slo• march . in

Fnur tb Syiap., 4th movt ., mea s ur es 1-8 . Battery uni t rhythm.

2

0 • 5 I bid , p • 13 • 37

After eight measuras the doublo basses onter wi th a strange

sounding �e arer , �Y God, to Thea which leads into ano ther link with the Prelude. lC. ' F J 3ymp., 4th r.'l ovt., ff. easur es 9 and Bass mot .: .L'. <;""f ·• 1'1&.a. 0#�/fltCO _ --A..-_ _ 22 . � -· ' . -��� ���f&O�· ti!=� occurs when the basses are joined by the cellos Th·· _nk. and orchestral piano in the semitonet-minor third opening

or the first statement

Fourth Sym2•• 4th [ovt., measure 13 . Statement of fir st theme .

23

and its immedi ate inversion by the up1 �r ctrings . Fourth Symp., 4th movt., measure 14 . Inversion of first the11a.

24

.Gradually the texture thickens; sono.ri ties , rhythms ,

mater� and pi tches gr o� until every instrument is on his

own. However , the obvious. contrasts that were as preva­

lent in the secono mo � emen t ar e mi ssing as this mo vement

becomes an avalanche of glorious so und , f llling t h.e air

with a my sterious Nearer, ffiy God, tc Thee .

As tha movement begins to fade out, the chor us soft­ ly sings the hymn tune while the instruments, one by one ,

f�ll silent. � hi la the movement began with its lowest

·instrument, the double bass , it &Ads w1 th the highest. The last tcnes are scored for the bells, c�lesta , and

violin ending the composi tion wi thout any sense of secur­

ity. Perhaps man's questions are aever answered. 38

h th t first T e f our mu veman , as will as the end second, is filled wi th metric pr oblems . Polymatric, duple, triple,

compound, and fractional metors �re eoployed with frequent changes; twenty-six time changes in ninety measur s. Ives' usual device for obscuring tho metric scheme arG efound;

staggered bar lines, t y i n g ever bar li0es, and consistently accenting unusual beats of the measure. The prominence of the rhythmic element is quite obvious and the more complex, Ives Feels, the batter. It is by no means rigid except in one instance . The basses , at measure for ty, begin an ostineto type pattern Qhich persists until the end of the movement. With this one the h h exception r yt mic �cheme is quite flexible. fourth Symp ., 4th ffi ovt., ffi easures 40-42 . Cstinato pattern in string bass.

25

e A variety uf note v a lues, tri p l ts, dotted patterns, and odd rhythmic groupings all make their prosence known

thr�ughout the duration of the lest movement. that o for this The hymn tune Ives ch s e movement

ramains in short fragments for the lar ges t part of this

mo vement .

fourth Symp ., 4th ffi ovt., measures 24-26. Fragmented luts. melody in f

26

©If' -· . 39

The melody is well hiddin un der the maze of sound until m.easure The trump ets wi th soprano an.d alto

voices takeseven chargety. at this poin t, and the melody then re­

mains prominent unti l the last note is sounded. The brasses ce.2s.s to t.aJ

me a sur e seventy-eitht, as a ch oi r of soprano · •l to, and . t e n or I, I I, an d I I I take up the m e lo.d y at th;i s point. The choir th en pr oce eds to carry the melody• in an interest- , ing polyphonic satting, to its end at me asur e eig;ity·-eight. Fourth 4th movt., e as r es 80-82. Choral m u polyphony , Symp.,

27

Ives's use of the hymn tu n is rather interosting.

e ' Ives may well heve borrowed a page from d I n d y an d the Ishta� V aria t i ons . Usi ng the whole ste p , minor thi r d pat·� ern fr::im the hyr.m to unify the movement.� and allow-

ing the actual tune to be hear d in its fu lness only at the

waning nor..e is quite interesting. � :i:!; •

f our th Sy mp • , , 4 th r::o v t • , ffi:&a stir es 1-' • V�r j ation motif.

• 28

• The h

fourth 4th movt., measura 24. Solo pian9 polychords. Symp .,

29 40

In creating tension for this fourth movement Ives makes use of many dissonances; both unprepared and unresolved .

Fourth Symp. , Measure 6. Dissonances unreso lved •

.cl� ;!

30

Tension for Ives is primal in this movement and it is not lat down for one moment .

�hat effect does this vagueness of harmony _and sure­

ness of tension have on tonality? Very little , because

there is not any feeling of tonality or key . Polytonality

occupies the largest share of this movement. However ,

there are sect"i ons where a five tone U1hole-tone scale pre­ dominates�

fourth Sym.p ••. �th filovt., meaeure ll. Violin III whole­

tona scale. 31

Also, at measure forty the basses begin an ostinato motion

downward in a scale t:.at is un conventionel!y divided which tentatively establishes a tonality .

Fourth Syme. , 4th roovt., measures 40-42. Ostinato in string

as.a. - .

32b l'1i "f&r �JJ� Iii#. .' lip They not remain ir, the same scale long enough, however ,

to determinedt> what tonality. they are pointing towards. The texture or the fourth movement is qui te thick. A

hybrid cGmbination of hcmophonic and polyphonic factors

make for an interesting effect. There are times in this 41

mova·ment iuhan thirty-seven different parts are going on at the same ti•·e, whi le other times only a few par ts are active.

At .times homophony appear es to r ule the movement, when th e tr umpets and voices are. carr ying the melodic material an d the other par ts merely provided the necessary

ch or da l structure.

fourth 4th movt., measures 72 and 73. Homophony in voiceSy mp.and , trumpet.

33

. . -

This only las. �s fc:- a short period of time because th e five part vocal choir pr e sen ts their polyphonic setLing of the hymn tune and the o ther parts saem unnecessary . mo:wt ., fileasuroe o h on in 4th ?S-8·0. P lyp y fovoiurthces. Symp·. , .--1--

34

All this shifting of parts leads into the question of fOJ"• of the fourth movement. Although the fo r m is not

clear ., it .ans\:ler's e asily to the de.s:c.ription of a theme anQ vai-,i�tions. The first variation is fo und at the opening stataarent of' bas.sea .

4th movt., ea ure 1-4 . Variatio.n hymn Fourth Symp . , m s s of tune . 42

Each subsequent variation is tossed from instrument to

instrument; either in a new rhythm F our th svre •• 4th Movt ., measure 24 . Variation on hymn tune in ute. f 36

star ing on no te . or t a nem , Fourth Symp ., 4th movt., measures 22 ·and 23. Variation on hy mn tune in piano.

37

Finally , when the movement nears its comp letion the th eme is hear d in its entire ty by the truml-i..: Ls �nd voices. Fou rth Symp ., 4th movt ., measur es 72 and 73. V�riation on hy mn tu ne in woica and trumpet.

38 \ ,w: ! J. . '

However , there is another var i ati c n yet to be heard, that of the rive voice choir and �i th this variation th e move­ ment comes to an end . Fourth 4th tiiovt., Vari ti n on Symp ., fila.a.su.r as 78-80. a o hymn tune in voices.

39 43

Thr ee Places in New Englan d was co mp o se d between the ye�rs 1903 and 19 14 . So me ti ne s referred to as A New England Symphony, it is a prime example of Ives•s

rich, cr e a ti v e pe r iod . The symph�ny consists of thr e e movements, each assi gned a sub ti t le : »The St � Gaudens in Bos ton Common" Co l . Shew and �is e gimen t ,

"Putnam's Car.ip, Reddin( g, Co nnec t i cu t ,"Calored and "T Rhe Housatonic)

at Stockbridge.11 With each mo ve ment there i s-.: a lso a

programmatic element in that each has a story or p oem -

The thr ee movements hav e the fo llowin g tempo i ndi ca ticna: - I • Very sloely II. Allegr o (Quick step- t�ll'le. Ahout 126- J ) . ·� III. 1i dagi o raolto .Abput

a�d is orchastratgd (Vpicttrycolo alj)•, flute,ly ,: oboa,so -JEnglish) far _...... - . horn, clarinet , b3�-soon, florn·&-, - trumps\;&., t:;:-ombcnes, tuba,

s trings , percussion , piano, organ ad lib.

The first movement ti,eginsand very softly with the s tr i n gs, piano, tymp ani , and fl�ta. . •. Three � ace s in New Englatj!i, l�t movt ., �easur e l. Cpening chord . l

40

The i n t ar val of th e minor third in the Flu te and piano is of importance far it be�omes the in Le:val used throughout the mc. \Jement. The purpose fur the minc.;r third is that t his

interval is the starting inLorval for th8 two tunes that

Ives hes ch;.;sen f Jr this movement: mar c hi ng Thru Georgi a

and "I •m omin g " from Old .Slack Joe. C 44

This rather nostalgic m0 .d set in Lhe b egi nning remains pr�minent thr;Jugi1out wi th ...i nly a fei.a brief in­

terruptions : at m e as �r a thir ty-five, t�e baasos, cel lo , and piano oa3in a lhr�bbing 03tinato pas3age,

Three P lac.es i.n New inglan d, .LSt �;;ovt •, L,ea s�re C stinato . . _ _ - - � 41 W'f}£$ , fi1

ar.d at the c limax to th e movement which begins at measure sixty an d ands at

Keasure 60 . Climax

42

ff Thr ea ,: laces in New C:: ngl ann lst f:lo vt.1 r·oasure, 63. Climax s r n . rn t i gs

43 ?

As the mnva�ent c�mes to a clo se with the strings

an a IV-I cadence , the viola and piano s11p8rimpose the

mi no r third in t er v a l above tho cadence giving a mysteri­ o us air to the ending .

Three P laces. in New England, lst F.ovt., me.a sure B:S• �inor t hi r d inter�al.

·-··----

441 45

Tempo i s a factor in settin the mo od for the first g movement. It is v ery slow and carries an air of t h o past. There are seven tempo none allows the mood to

roa lly change • chagges but

. ree Places in New �ngland, ls f'f.ov t. , ft� easur e 10. lJ:i Tempo chan_ ges ·mo to t =60-69 ) Vi ola . 'Jolu ( J 45 �� The prominenc� of th e melodic element in the first

movement i s obvious in that it is never dr c pp e d or covered by the accompanying ports.

The general quality then would be a r ath er lyric

present tion or the me.lady ste.nding out above the accom­ panime nt.a

Three Places in New Engl and , s t mo v t., measure 66 . Flute melody. 1 ·

·:� .-· 46 Wf �� S v flr 11Jr 1 r fJ... rcir £:liij . . � The scale basis for the melody when h eard in a

repiti tious , sequential manner so · as not to lo' �· the ef­ fect of the mi nor third interval.

Three Placos i n New Engl and, 1st ffi ovt., Measures 5-7. R epeate d minor third.

47

Although the sonori y in th e first mc vement is no t

as h ar sh as Ives � polyharraony s ti ll is thA sometimes uses, r ule. The opening ch o r d will serve as examplo of th� s ; a a-sharp minor triad super impose d or an �-minor triad, with the flute and piano s ounding a minor h ir d on B and 0 t 46

natura l .

Th rae Places in N ew E nq l an d , 1 s t m10 V t., Measure 1. p :r . -�- olyharmony . ------� . ' : . . . ' •i - 1 ., 48 w ,__� . � � .. - " .. -

. .J- - .. - . . • L• � -. Thi s s t y le of writ in g is maintaine d thr sughout the first movement and ends with tha same itea, a c�sharp major

triad under a 8-minor triad.

in New England, lst movt., measure 83. ThrP o lyeeh a Placesr mony

4 9

many added tones as we l l as unprepared, unreso lved. dissonances ar e present. Three Places in New England, !st novt ., Measure 56 . Dissonance.

50

The t c na li ty upon first look is dicta ted by the basses and tympani as they appee.r to point to A-minor .

Three Places in New England , 1st movt., measure 1. Tonality . 47

However, at measures twenty-ono and twenty-two , there is

a cadence in G major . Three Places in New England , 1st movt., measures 21-22 . cadence (harmonic). .

52

Only for that moment, however , d9es a G pr evail; because a new tonallty immediately begins.

It is not long, however, ur.til A minor reappears

(measure thirty-five) and remains in the timpani as a pedal

point until the end of the movement. There the C sharp

minor triad appea� a in a cadence and th e tonality is no

longer clear. rhis type of writing is the rule for Ives

and not the exc�ption .

The tonali ty is a purely Ives tonality, filled with chromaticism, extensive key changes, and a definitive

abs�nce of a clear tcnal concept.

The texture· for the most part is clear instead of

the usual conglomerate of sound. The first movement is

primarily homophonic in texture . Gnly at measure sixty­

thr ee, �here the principal climax occurs, does the texture

become dense .

Three Places in New E ngl and, lst movt ., measure 63. Dense texture.

� The rest of the movement is concerned. with one or two instruments carry i ng the melody and the balance of the 48

orchestr a providing Lne accumpeniment. Thr ee Places in England, 1st 73. f, •• I l'lo , - Homophony . -�,New ...... �;. - ,- measure

54

The f�rm used , ?.gain typically Ive$ien, is freely

secticnalized based upon extra-musical ideas . There are .• f i v a sect i c n s to.' .the fir st ·. � o v emen t , a 11 b Z! sad up c n the same idea but var i ad to soma de�ree. The f i"r::st section

deals intirely with t�e min�r third motif and lasts For

twenty-three mea.sures.· · The motif is treated sequen tially

until the cudenca occurs at measure twenty-two; two

measures later , tho second section begins. The sec�nd section deals wi th tho quote frcm

Old Black and lasts un til measure thirty-five. . Black Joe ·Joeie still the conc rn of section threo as af:.1.9.

complete ch�nge of paC$ occu�rs.

�T �h�r �e�a�P� l� :..:.ac�e�s-=i�n;._;.N�e�:;_�w E�n -g�l -a .n .,.d , lst Movt., measure 66. Pace change . --��--� r 55

This sectiwn lasts until measure sixty-si x and it is in

this section that the grand climax happens at measure six­

ty-three. As the fourth section begins, the plantive sound

of the flute is heard playing the tune marching

Georgi a. Thru

Three Places in New £no.land, 1st M� vt., me�sure 66. r lute melody .

56 49

This section lasts fGr only ten measures. Juring this

time, at measure seventy-three, the basscons an� cellos

int�na the Gld Black Joe quotation, �t which point the last section is ready to begin. This it dues at me asure

seventy-six and like its opening, this lase &ac tion con-

cerns itsGlf with the min0r third even tc the point of

having this interval super imposed over the final chord.

Three Places in New England, 1st ffiovt•• measure 83. Minor third Interval

57

The last sectiun is loyal to the chosen interval, but with this one exception: a cello solo plays the mirror of

Marching Thru Gsorgia at measure seventy-nine . Three Places in New England , lst Movt. , Measure 79 . Mirror of melody. ------n 5 sa �,�# �lfGH While the first �ovement is all serentiy attd qui et­

ness, the SBCbnd movement o,ffarsi the anti thesis. It begins chaotically and ends with as much , if not more canf�sion

than it began �i th.

The first five measures are introductory material.

Each instrument begins in its upper register at either

forte or fortissimo and plays a downward scale passag·a for two measures. At the end of the fifth meas ur e, there occurs a clear , precise cadence which sets the tonal­

ity in B flat. ' Three Places iW New England, 2nd. movt ., measure 5-6. Tonali ty .

59 50

the measure six begins the first section with simple, strings quoting British Grenadiers and in a t straighrforwar d way . However , at measure twelve n� to partici­ atmosphere changes ae every instrument begins idea. The pate, each with ita own melodic and rhythmic at which confusion continues until measure sixty-three, kedly and time the double basses slow the pace down mar E; the close the section with e vary soft, low open

relaxation, however , is short-lived.

measure sixty-eight signals the start of more tur-

moil which builds in anxiety up to the anding chord. The

brutal att�ck is relaxed only once, as the strings at

measure 114 have a rather humorous little inter lude,

with a dominant-tonic cadence that at this stage is a little

too obvious, if not out of place ror an lV9S composi tion .

Three Places in New England, 2nd ffi ovt., measure 114 . Harmon c cadence . i

60

The mom�nt of repose provided by the strings lasts

for only a short time as the forces begin to re�roup for

their final splash of sound. It comes to an end with

every instrument playing a rrrr except the bassoon , which has a and the piano , which plays a f'ffff.

!f.!.,As is usual wi th Ives, duple , triple, and compound

meters find their way into his music. Th� second move­

ment is no exception as there appears 4/4 , 7/4 , 3/4 , and

9/8 meter . The second movement is not very rnultime tric and 51

when the changes do occur th e movement is basically in 4/4) th.$y las t for only one( measure. The only example

of p o lymet er appears in the percussion and piano, and Ives has provided an ossia p ar t to lessen the difficulty.

Thr ee Places 2nd fliovt., i1;easur e 68 . Po ymetrics. l 61

Of cour s e , this Cl: Ji Ce of polymeter anc the omnipresent accen ting of unusual beats of the measure is tho typical Ives way to obscure the metric sch eme. I The choi c e of tempo, Allegr b, for the second move- ment is wise if fo llowing the programmati c aspect of the movem ent . (The young boy , on the four th of July , goes

to a pinic only to wander a·eay from the crowd. Stopping to rest on a hillside, he falls asleep and dreams of

soldiers marching up the side of the hill to a popular

tune of the day • . The little boy then awakes, and hear­

ing the children 's song s he races down the hill to join in the games and dances .) .The Allegr o tempo is r eplac ed ' thro ugbo ut· the . ,and this happens at

measureonly ori1o esi xty-five where moveA nd antmer?te moder ate is '{ndiceted .

Thi s lasts un ti l measure ninety where, by slight incr eas ­

es, the taapo r e t ur ns to A1legr o moderato . The tallpo is gradually increased until, at the concluding seven m easur es, "con ruoco (as fast as pleyable )n br ings the

movement a climactic ending . TGIDpo is a f act·or in forma to only to a slight degree because the ' ' progral mmaticstructull'e. ideas butdi ctate the form of this movement. 52

Ives covers the area of rhyth�ic ideas in this

movement as the rhy-;.,hmic alGment remains pror.ilnont c:t

all times . In general, the rhythm is cumplex, each

measure being filled wi th dotted patterns, triplet figures,

and unusual groupings as well as a greot vuriety of note

values.

There ar o three placos in the scor e where Ives

makes tasteful use of a rhythmi c cadence , providing for

much incerest . Cne occurs at measuros thir ty-five and

thirty-six in the strings,

Three Places in New England , 2nd movt ,, measures 35-36 . Rhythmic cadence.

62

another et measures 124-125 in all instruments except the

percu ssio n and piano , Three Places in New England, 2nd movt ., measures 124-12 5. c ca e nce. Rhythmi d

63

and finally at measures 141�143 in the braso section .

Three Places in New England, 2nd Movt ., measures 141-143. R ythmi c cadence. h

64

··· - - ·... ··· .. · · ·--· ---- 53

Each one of t'.1es:: cadencos provides an i n ter l u de between sections.

Anothor intara�ting use of rhythm is f0und at measure sixty - e ighi . wherG the piano brutally pounds out its ostinato pat tern ug3inst the rast of. tho orchestra.

Three ,... lac es in New England, 2nd movt ., Cstinato . . measure. 68 . . 65 ·ws1�--t4-*t-ha

The rhythmic struggle between the orchestra and piano

finally breaks ap art at measure eighty-five ond every

part returns to its rhythmic compatibili �y wh ich was shared

earlier .

Three , laces in New England, 2nd ff. ovt., .frieasure Rhythmic cadence . 85. . . � ..

66

t 't t The abo v o example is ty�ical of the chenge of pace that Ives likes to make use of. ·, his type of pace change happens four times during tha span of t he socond muvement.

The impor tance of the melodic element in the second

r.io vement is quite obvious . As in Ives • other com�·ositions, the second moveffie nt is constructed frGm some quoted song,

ei ther folk , patriotic, hymn , or parlor tune . In this

case, the muvoment is based upon the British Gr enadiers,

with br i e f quotetions of other patriotic songs appear ing

only momentarily throughout the movement. 54

In r?:lntions11.i.p tc dw texture, tr19 melodic idea

has two rcles; one is homoph�ny which usually occurs dur­

ing the meiments whm1 t:-ie er ch es tr a ti on is less dense :

Three i laces in r� ew £ngland, 2nd L:ovt., l;'! e usur es 6 an d 7. Hon�ophuny (�tr ings . )

67

the oth2r i s poly�h .ny .

Thr ea µlace� in l� eu: En land, 2nd l�CJ V t., f;.easures 14 and 15 . Polyphony strings and ... flute . )

68

when the melody i s clear ly und erstandable the scale

b asis is major :

Three �laces in New England, 2nd L.o vt. • ff.easure�··G-11. ffiajor scale in strings .

but overall the progr ossi�n cf the �elodic mnteri�l is

chromatic. modi fication, variation , nnd s e quentia l

treatment of the �elody adds to �his chromaticism. 55

The mel�dy is net developed in the true sense, but

it is heard i n different keys, in slight rhythmic varia­

tions perhaps, or may be p layed differ ently by t�o instru­ ments simultan eously.

The chcrd structure is basically tertian wi th ex­

treme use, as always, of inversions, alterations , omi tted

members , and pQ lyharmony . The vertical sonorities rely upon ro � t ffi�vement and sequence , starting in a diatonic

manner and beccming progr e s sive ly more chromatic unti l the final dash of ch r o ati ci sm which ends the second mo ve­

. m men t e Ives Traditional harmonic cad enc s ar e rare in an composition. Whan th ey ar e used they usually serve to

release tensioA bui lt from the constant use of extrema dissonances and not to satisfy the needs of tonality. Hol!le ver , in this seco.nd move·n1ent there ar e f'Lwe harmc:.nic cadences in addition to the rhythmic cadences discussed c previously� Ea h time a harmcnic cadenc� occurs it marks or a the beginn1ng of now me lodic material r �tl' r:'., ·ta -a quote of Brit Grenadiers. n Three Places i!�in Net1 E gl a d , 2nd m�vt�; J.:east•"t"'&a 6 and 7. m e lody intr�d��ing a new nsection. 1 0  � Ei"B ri ;ey� . Several times throughout the second movement a

major tonali ty is r e co gniz ed , but only briafly. As soon i as one to n al ty becomes a r e ali ty , Ives i mmediate ly be­

s , gins to stack c or ds of dif ferent i oo t add chr omahicism

different h e , in i n str um n t s and sometimes changes the 56

original melcL.ly t�J ubscure Lha first tunalit.y and move on

to another , usually bitonal.

The absence then of a clear tonal c o n cept, or feeling

of key is absolute as it is in the gr�atest portion of Ive s '

music. The ruason for this is his uDe of chromaticism. the

harmonic dissonances, and tho extensive , extended

modulations.

Th e texture of this movement altornates between

homophony and polyphony . In one instance there is a melody

with a repeeted chordal accompaniment,

Three Flacas in New England, 2nd �ovt ., �easures 6 and 7. Homophony strings . { )

71

and in another two ma lo dies wi th chordal accompnni · �J h t.

Thr oe Places in New England 2nd movt ., Me a s r e 27 and 28. , u s Polyphony s trings and tu a . ( b )

72

This type Gf �lternation is constant during the span of th� second movement.

The form of this movement is sectional, based upon

extremusical considerations and coupled with a quasi theme

and variation. Thora is an introduction consisting of five

measures which cadences into the fir st section at lettor 8

of the score. The tonali ty, except the opening of section

one, which is a B-f lat , never adheres to any one key . It 51 is rather Ives• brand of "Near Tonali ty . The first

l 5 I ves ' b r and o f " Near Tone l i t y " i s hi s n over adhering to one kay but continually touching upon one key to mislead the listener . 57

section lasts until measure twenty-five whero it cadences

in G on the first half of boat one. The remains of t�onty-five and measure twonty-six then introduce the

second soction �t letter D, which has returned to 8-flat.

The socond soction is short as it lasts until moasurs thirty­

six whore the third section begins at letter E and lasts

until measu4 o sixty-three whero the couble bassos close with

a vary soft low £-natural. Letter G at mea�ure sixty-four , signals tho beginning of the fourth section which is the longest of all, lasting until measure 126. The kay signature has changed to no sharps or flats, but neither C major or A-minor is recognizable. At measur e ninety-one after a change in the rhythmic pace the British Grenadiers is playsd by the flute. This sub-section lasts until

measure 106. The instruments et this point are unleashed

to go their own merry ways and do so until letter m. At thiD point, the violins begin very softly , the last sub-section. This little section gr ows in excitement until tha rhythmic cedance et measure 125 sets up the next major section. For the fifth major section the key signature is

changed to A-flat, �hich is follow rather closely for Ives, especially in the double basses. Cnce again British Grenadiers is heard very prominently in several parts.

As this soction ccmes to a closo at letter P, Ives• disregar d for key signatures is evident as the fifth section cadencos (V-I ) in the key of F-major . Immediately following this harmonic cadence, the brass section begins 58

the devilish rhythmic cadonce introducing the last major

section.

Distorted quotations make up this section un til letter

T at which time any resemblance of melody is totally lost.

All barriers of rhy thm and dynamics are let down for one

final barrage of sound as the movement comes to its and .

The third movement begins with the strings playing

vary softly, (£-Pppp) and very slowly , �dagi o molto, a

lulling rhythmic introduction.

Three Places in New England , 3rd Movt ., measure l. }11 � introduction. Rh' to

�� _b9�?,i§J-J.,,W3.=i-_- - 'ti! :��� }_;.,- ����EE� Cl��·- �o�F;;��� 13 �� Ff1-----. ::f@�6�-��= -�- •:;i_p� .-e::.3 ---==�� �::1=:=4��-k_-Jf!ij!. .._ :::::i:::::lt::::i � ���� ����- .� · 3�-�·-�i======� .. --�+-==�====��§�� This atmospherei;r-::--'-t= - remainsr--;J.-.:: prominent as an :;:p;;:;acco�mpani� ment figure =====::t:;: almoct the entire movement . At measure thirty-thrse;;;:::=

fortharo is a cr escendo, however , th8t bui lds during the last

nine m�asures to a ffff in all parts. While part of the

orchestr a is holding the last chord, tho second and

fourth violins, second viola, cello , and double basses

enter at B.1?.2• A� the orchestra stops sounding thair last chord, the quar tet of strings is heard, very softly,

playing their last chord and the las t chord of the movem9nt

end composition.

Three Places in New England, 3rd Movt., measure 44. Strin gs la st chord.

74

~.. . 59

Unliko all the other movements analyzed , this move­

ment has on1y one meter signature, which is 4/4 . It

persi sts throughout the movement with one exception: one

measure of occurring at measure nineteen . There is nu

use of pLJlymetric5/4 , s or multimetrics to obscure the metric

scheme and all the bar lines are synchronized as wall.

Tlwre is little syncopation, nor is there the

frequent use of varied note values usually found in an

Ives cumposi ti•on.

The means by l:Jhich -:he me tric scheme is ob::;cured is

the odd rhy thmi c gr oupinos found mostly in the str ings,

and in this respect tho rhythm is complex.

Thraa Places in New E:naland, 3rd movt., measure l. Cdd rhythmic groupi ngs. f{1$J�2�': 75 ��3==r=?em�;JO:

The tempo is quite slow, Adagi o molto :SO, and

helps to create a rather my stic, undulating atmosphere

throughout the movoment; except for the lest nine measures.

Th e tempo begins to speed up at this poin t, and at measure

thir ty-nine there is an Allegr o con brio indication which lasts until the penultimate mea3ure. Tho strings at this

paint sound what wi ll be the final two chords in the

original �dagi a molto tempo.

The melody chosen is one of those very lyric,

cantabile hymn tunes which first appears alternating

between the French horn and the English horn. The melody

begins on the last eight beat in measure six in the French 60

h o r n p ar t and �t moasure nine Jn beat four tho English horn

takes up th8 last half of the melody.

Three Places in Now England, 3rd movt., [easurcs 6-10. r.� e lady

76 �ht1flcr-rb

This ia cone in a very haunting manner as the strings ebb

and Flow in accompaniment of the me lody. The melody remains

quite µ:.:eminent until mel:lsure nineteen at which time it is

last during an interlude that is very garbled. i.\t measure

twenty-two the melody is on c e again stated but this time

by the violins.

Thr oe Places in New England, 3rd r.� o vt., rr. ea-sures 22-26.

l'r:elody .

77

The win instrumunts

accompanimen� t. This idea is followe d through unti l

me. sure thir t y - one at UJhich point another inte1·lude begins .

The trumpet begins to play bits of the melody until

f i n al ly at measur e th ir ty-n ine the hymn tune i s heard

distinctively above the rest of the or ch estr a, �hich by this time is at the -fff level.

The me lody has a major scale basis and diatonic in

nature. It is, of ccufsa , us e d 1� a r3petitious manner

and never devlopad. 61

The type of harmony used in Lhu third raovomont is

reminiscent of that of the late nineteen th-century Franch

Impressionists.

Three Places in New England, 3rd �ovt., �easure 39 . Piano, chromati cism and root progreosion.

78

The only time a cadence occurs is ot tho vary last chord,

Three f-Jlaces in New England , 3rd r110vt ., f.ieasw:a 44 . Harmonic cadence.

79

and there it is lof t unreso lved. Tho trsutr.wnt of

dissonance is through non-chord tones and the absence of

pt t!parotion .

This movement is one of the finest example of Ives'

approach to 2tonality . Perhaps tho bost �ay to describe

his api)roach is that he mcda tonality mere fluid, th:_.i__ is to say , �hila still obsarving a tonal center , he combinod a free use of all the twelve notes of the chromatic scale.

In this p�rticul8r instan ce, tha tonali ty would appear to

be C-sharp. The roeson for t11is i ;::; thc�t the duuble b..isses and or gan pedal sustains a C-sharp for pr actically the

entire movemen t. To further au g ment this, at m c�cur e

thirty-one tho timpani begins a roll on c-sharp which lasts

until the penultim�te measure where the full orchestra

stops playing. 62

The �exture of this last movement is homophonic in

nature throughout with the exception of the last �ine

measures. The haunti ng melody is heard distinctively a­

bove the maze of �hromaticism in the accompanying parts.

Unlike the other movements, it does not become cloudy and

filled with myriad events, but remains clear with cnly

minor exceptions .

The form is freely based upon extra-musical con­

siderations and the theme and v ar iati on form . There is

an introducti on f �llowed by f�ur sections, each divided

by a short interlude. The first section begins at me asure

six and fedes into the first interlude at measure fif en.

Section two begins a� measure seventeer. and once movete the

melody is heard clearly and than fGdes into the second

interlude at measure twenty-one. The violins begin section

three at measure twenty-three as they intone the haunting

melody. After another two measure interlude the fourth

section begins at measure thirty-six where the trumpets take their turn at the melody. They carry the movement to

its close at meaeure forty-two �ith the exception of the

final cadence by the strings. CH:\PH:::R V

SLJr11flll.\. RY ;d�O

In summar y, the wri ter CLNCLUSI�will viewjNS the two symphonies

as whole units, disucssing t he ir place , as well as that of

Charles Ives, in musical his t o ry .

�ei ther wor k was conceived as a coh er ent whole:

each of the movements has its own history. Each b egan as

something else. Uith this consider5tiun in mind ther e is

an enigma as to why Ives tried to make il appear 3S

though they we re the outgrowth of one programmatic aspect .

In fact, this programmatic aspect seems ta be the result of an afterthought. The programs have very little, if any , relevance to the symphoni es as musical compositions. Ives was not a symphonist because of the fact that each movement i s e s sen tial ly an individual piece . This factor does, however , cr e a t e an interesting point . These symphonies are no t t hen a climax to a c o mpo ser ' s life but rather a co l l e cti o n of his efforts throughout his maturity as a composer , which he then selected and revised and placed them in the best possible form.

Neither symphony sheds any new light on Ives but reiterates what he had tried to do from t he b e ginni n g, m i xi n g i ncompat i b l e s with greet pleasure just to wi t n e s s the outcome. Ives is a ccmposer whose music is filled wi th con tradictory styles and attitudes. This all adds

to the improbability of knowing for cer tain what he or his music really stood fer .

To bring more light to �his ar ea, one must take into consideration the fact that Ives is reluctant tc work with original material. In the entire two symphonies there are 64

no original themes, ui th faw oxceptions, all prominent molodic material comas from borro"ed familiar tunea. Thia eeecas e rather impersonal via11J ror a composer .

'..i hy did Ives choose fami liar folk and hymn t.un oe to c�aa ::.a his ruulSic? Pal'hapa it is part cf his. deli ght in JJdxi ng inc�mputiblcs, or it aey be an expression ot hie trar1ac&fid&ntalist.ic philosophy. Theeui, howavor , are extr amua.i cal. It cuu.ld Mll c\.. tllat Iv-.s felt that it

�as much· easis� to follow a familiar tune through the intricate muoicel $·tructura of hia �orka �ind ther e fore allow the listoaer to con centr ate &noro deep ly on tha molodic ale�ont being t�isted W1d distor tad . In ap&aa reapocts, parhaps thia is llahat Ivea meant when he aaid that hu W\:.S not cun.carned with "something th'1t. heppana , but tho way aomething happ o.ns . '' ;�a for tho tunes themeslvoa, they .seem t(.; h•lVG no appur ant rala vanco to the �ork•, nor do thoy have any re leti onahip to each other . They aeem to have boon choaon ea to thal.r rolati-.;n3iiip tu Ivoa• p4traoncl li fe hia any -- that r�vorite tunes so to apeak. At rats i� app ears eny other tune uaould hava dono uat ea wsll.

If •ll that is required toJ create a wor k of art 1$ to wr ite many disparate thin�a at the aeuao time. Ivee' posi tion aa a composer ia lo�erod, but it daoa no t urake a difference ir a l1atenar knowa how many tunes �ere uaed in bo th eymphcnias and what their titlos are.

The harmoniea in both symphonies are non-functional except th� third movement of the routth nor ia their( progras::sion controlled. Thoi·e tire �ymphoDY)mo.monta or, poly­ toneli ty and bi ton ali ty . but tho� really asem to be a by-pr oduct or sopar ata horizontal lines which create a barrage of unproµarod , unr eso lved diasonancea. 65

The most interesting aspect of Ives ' music is found in the intGrplay of the many independent rhythmic end metric happeninqs. These are original thematic ideas and are plnnned very car efully by Ives. They aro quite exciting and carefully controlled as to when tl1oy �11c.uld happen.

However , fer the most part these intoracticns are lost in the maze of sound and cannot bo truly e1;preciatod.

At any rate , Ives all by himself uevelopod new con­ cepts and techniques in composition. Long before his music was known , soma of his ideas app eared in Eur�pa , ospecially the bi tonality and atonality whi ch Schoenberg was to develop su highly . There ar e other techniques, too, for e�ample the polymotrics and metric modulation that must have been influential to men like Sessions and Carter . Ha foreshadowed Ruggles with his dissonances and tone clusters as well. But it is these chordal and structural concepts that make a place in history for Charles Ives and not the music itself.

The Fourth Symph ony and Three Places in Na\u Englam.d represent soven sin�ular historical examples. It should not be denied thnt both are rather fascinating works of art and make tremendous impact upon the listener . Howover , in the final analysi s, the many contradictions in style 3nd ar tistry result in the w�iter being not able to accept these works as genuine pieces of first-r ate cr aftsmanship. SUM l\u:ttJ.ri. Ji il1Qtfl '.4 • � Yoi"'kt l!.. . • l\ct tc-n. l.t SWt!&Co., lne:.1 19(1,i lfl. ,tba 1tmlth,ta;nt.ax� cc�11, r-�o,.ry unJ ..:ii®-r. �ta� 'fC'tk: .. xt�l'Q !Jt.Jtv-t•LtrGtt&tl o1, J,t�1r:•21••, ins 115$. t·vaiifth ,tt!t. tfan�en, Peter �. Jtt tn.trBihf!�&on iiians tlr:e t ,;;·nt i\ 11 :tn i:�Gann , t ne., ¥1Dt&1., l·M.1A·I· �f:i·� 196'1.

N.etlj; Vllftk: Tho· I veo. , Cl'l�·rlaa �. tr· ·r.i�Ut'�,ck• &;,o w�081,1- lr1,fti! 19' 20,!, 11}� §JJIU\$rl•

:.;�tt,chli•, :)tr••Ph• �!!:lfWll8• f�a• Y0*·� 1 ';.� . 111 . t·Jo.r to.a Dl!t l Co ., lnc., lt>U. '1:!JPXlll$. 67

BIBLI CGRAPHY

Per i o dical s

Bellamann. Henry . "Charles Ives, The man and His Mu si c , » 19 (.January, 1933), 1. Quarterly, Vol. musical, Bella man n Henry . •rhe music C har les Ives� " Pro ffiusi ca , Vc l. 5 (March, April, 1927of ), l.

Carter , Elliott. "The Case of mr . Ives: i!Jinter Nites," modern music, Vol. 16 (march, April, 1939 ), 3.

Carter , Elliott. "Ives Today , His Vision and Challenge," lf:odern Vo l . 21 (may , Jun e, n�us!.£, 1944), 4. Cowell, Henry. "four Little �nown C omposer s , " Aesthete, Vol. l (hugust, 1928 ), 3.

Cowell, Henry. "Three Native Composers: Ives, Ruggles , Harris," The Ne� F reeman (may 3, 1930) .

Herrmann, Bernar d. "Four Symphonies by Ives,'' fJ1odern y music, Vol. 22 ( ma , June, 1925), 4.

Kirkpatrick, John . "2hat �usic Mean t to C h arles Ives," �usic Review, VI , Cornell University (1963).

Lang, Paul Henry . "Char les Ives, Hear ing Things," The S� turday Review of Li terature (June, 1944 ).

Seagler , C harle s. "Char les Ives and Car Ruggles ," The ffiagazine of Art (July , 1939). 1

Smi th, u. E ug ene . "Char les I v es � Photogr aph ,� Li fe t magazine (�ctober 31, 1949; .

Solnimsky, Nicolas. "Charles Ives, musical Rebel," Americas ( September , 1953).

Taubman , H. »Po s ter ity Catches Up �ith Charles Ives, An Intarview, " New York Times Ma�azi ne (October 23, 19 9). 4 60

BIBLILG�APHY

Gther References

Kirkpatrick, John . Preface to the Fourth

(Cornall University , October 3, 196 • New York: Associated music Publishers, Inc. , 1965 .