Page 257 - (DK) The Classical Music Book - Big Ideas Simply Explained

MODERN 1900–1950 255

See also: St. Matthew Passion 98–105 ■ Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune 228–231 ■ Le Sacre de printemps 246–251 ■
A Child of Our Time 284–285 ■ Appalachian Spring 286–287

Henry Cowell, who worked with Ives,
was one of the most innovative of the
experimental composers, as evidenced
by his Mosaic Quartet (1935).

music—Ives began working on his
gigantic Fourth Symphony, the
apotheosis of his entire output. The
influence of the Transcendentalists
continued here, as Ives based the
second movement (“Comedy”) on
Hawthorne’s short story “The
Celestial Railroad”—a reworking of
John Bunyan’s allegorical work, The
Pilgrim’s Progress. “The Celestial
Railroad” tells of a railway journey
from the chaos and mundaneness
of everyday life.
second movement, Ives gathered triumph—before moving into a
Layered complexity a variety of sources to make his quieter passage. The first two
Ives’s multilayered composition famous layers: hymns, and gospel movements premiered in New York
style was at its best in his Fourth tunes, brass bands, and popular in 1927 and were the only parts of
Symphony, in which simultaneous, songs to represent small-town life; his great symphony that Ives heard
cacophonous eruptions of sound as well as atonality, polyrhythms, performed in concert. The simple
place the listener alongside the and grinding dissonances to third movement (the fugue) and the
pilgrims as fellow travelers inside convey Hawthorne’s “iron horse” fourth, a rhythmically challenging
that train. Ives also utilized lighter, locomotive heaving into motion. piece that required an extra
“offstage” sounds—ethereal flutes, The first movement, scored for a percussion ensemble, did not
a few strings, harp, a quarter-tone chamber orchestra, begins boldly— premiere until 1965, 11 years
piano, and women’s voices. In the maestoso, played with majesty and after the composer’s death. ■

Charles Edward Ives Born in Danbury, Connecticut, in resulted in an outburst of
1874, Ives was schooled by his experimental compositions,
father in band music, church mostly written before 1915.
hymns, and the music of J.S. Bach. Many of Ives’s pieces, however,
After four years of musical studies did not reach a wider audience
at Yale, he joined the Mutual Life until later in his life, after hand
Insurance Company and remained tremors and diabetes had forced
in the insurance business for the him to retire from composition.
next 31 years. Ives believed that He died of a stroke in 1954.
his insurance work was an
important life experience that Other key works
contributed to his compositions.
Ives also worked part time 1904–1913 Holidays symphony
as an organist in New York City 1906 The Unanswered Question
and spent every spare moment 1910–1914 Three Places in
composing. In 1908, Ives married New England
Harmony Twichell. Her influence 1911–1915 Concord Sonata

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