The Ives/Flute Project: Week 3

Rather than rely completely on my ears alone in judging the importance of the flute parts in Ives’ music, I decided to read about what others’ thoughts were in Vivian Perlis’ book, Charles Ives Remembered: An Oral History.  I found some intriguing tidbits in reading the interviews Ms. Perlis conducted:  1. There were numerous problems in editing & preparing Ives’ scores for performances. 2. Ives’ brother played the flute, but not very well.  3. Vocalist Mary Bell gave specific performance practice suggestions for Mists.  4. Some compositions or movements of compositions were originally intended for chamber orchestra because Ives preferred writing for this kind of ensemble.  5. Ives used the term “shadow counterpoint” as a way to describe a compositional technique used with the flute (and other instruments) in his compositions.  

The tapes for these interviews are at Yale, and I will want to listen to the entire interview of the following people:  Bernard Hermann, Nicolas Slominsky, and Lou Harrison. These three men had the most to share about performance practice, compositional techniques, and score preparation in regards to chamber orchestra music.  

Another book I read this week was Charles Ives & Aaron Copland: A Listener’s Guide, by Daniel Felsenfeld.  I thought it would be helpful to see another’s point of view on how to listen to Ives’ music, what to listen for, and questions to ask myself about the music.  Also, since the book came with a CD, I thought it would be interesting to see what works the author chose to represent Ives and who recorded & conducted the music.  This book was written not necessarily for a trained musician, but more for the music lover who wants to explore the music of Ives & Copland.  

Lastly, I listened to The Orchestral Music of Charles Ives: World Premieres & First Editions, recorded by Orchestra New England in 1990, and conducted by James Sinclair.  Orchestra New England was originally the Yale Theatre Orchestra in which Sinclair conducted in 1974 for Old Songs Deranged: 13 First Recordings for Theatre Orchestra.  Several of the works on this CD are Charles Ives Society critical editions, realized or edited by James Sinclair or Kenneth Singleton.  The program booklet gives detailed background information about each piece and how the editions or realizations came about.  

All the performances are excellent - well balanced, with multiple layers of simultaneous textures heard clearly. Solos are pronounced.  Listening to this CD made me think about how important it is to hear multiple performances of the same piece before making judgements about the flute and/or piccolo parts.  Furthermore, the critical edition approved by the Ives Society features the flute substantially more in Three Places in New England, than any other recording of that piece I’ve heard so far.  As a result, I need to keep in mind not only the quality of the performance, but also, what edition of a piece is being played.  

As I move forward this week, my plan is to keep listening to premiere performances, listening for the flute’s importance, and comparing these to other performances.  I also intend to begin reading Ives’ Memos, noting specific references to the flute, what pieces may have been intended to feature the flute and why, background information about these works, and thoughts from Ives on performance practice.  Lastly, I am compiling a "to do" list for my return visit to Yale this November, as I find things I will need to research that only can be discovered in the Ives Collection there.