Charles Ives: First Violin Sonata

Charles Ives was an American composer who is known for a number of compositional innovations that anticipated many of the later musical developments of the 20th century. 

Charles Ives (1874 - 1954)
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His First Violin Sonata is not necessarily his most modernist and forward-thinking work, but is nevertheless very striking, even to the modern ear. He wrote the following of his First Violin Sonata:

"This sonata is in part a general impression, or kind of reflection and remembrance of the peoples' outdoor gatherings in which men got up and said what they thought, regardless of the consequences-of holiday celebrations and camp meetings in the 80's and 90's - suggesting some of the songs, tunes, and hymns, together with some of the sounds of nature joining in from the mountains in some of the old Connecticut farm towns.

The first movement may, in a way, suggest something that nature and human nature would sing out to each other -sometimes. The second movement, a mood when "The Old Oaken Bucket" and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching" would come over the hills, trying to relive the sadness of the old Civil War Days. And the third movement, the hymns and the actions at the farmers' camp meeting inciting them to 'work for the night is coming.'"

Listen to it here:

DHM YouTube

Charles Ives
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This blog is intended to be educational and to share knowledge about music. Daily Hit of Music does not claim to own anything contained in this post and declares its sources openly. 

The following sources were used for this blog post: Encyclopaedia Britannica, musicweb-international.com 

Image sources can be found in the image captions. 

Recordings can be found on YouTube by clicking the 'DHM YouTube Playlist' links.