A touch of Ives (featuring a bunch of questions -- not least: Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)

EARLY TUESDAY UPDATE, with (1) expanded post title; (2) added performance of "Serenity" by Donald Gramm (introduced by Aaron Copland); (3) extra-credit "Questions for Reflection" at the end; (4) smaller touches of assorted sorts here and there

IVES: "Serenity" (1919)

O, Sabbath rest of Galilee!
O, calm of hills above,
where Jesus knelt to share with Thee
the silence of eternity,
interpreted by love.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
till all our strivings cease:
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
and let our ordered lives confess,
the beauty of thy peace.

-- text by John Greenleaf Whittier

"Serenity" was arranged from a sketch of an ensemble "song" earlier than May 1911 and may well be connected to Ives's projected Whittier Overture, one of his "Men of Literature" series. He suggested this trance-like piece was best sung as a unison chant, over its repetitive chiming accompaniment figure.

-- Calum MacDonald, from his Hyperion booklet note

"Serenity" has a vocal line that hovers between just a few notes, following the natural speech rhythm of Whittier's poem in a very subtle and touching way. It's a truly inspired song. I use that word rarely, but I can use it in relation to "Serenity."

-- Aaron Copland, introducing Donald Gramm's TV performance

Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano. Nonesuch, recorded c1975

Gerald Finley, bass-baritone; Julius Drake, piano. Hyperion, recorded in All Saints Church (Durham Road), East Finchley, London, Nov. 10-12, 2004

[orch. John Adams] Thomas Hampson, baritone; members of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA, from MTT's Charles Ives: An American Journey CD, recorded live in Davies Symphony Hall, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1999

JUST ADDED: Bonus performance, introduced by Aaron Copland

Donald Gramm, having finished with his part of "Serenity," listens as Richard Cumming sculpts the song's brief but haunting final phrases.

[introduction by Aaron Copland; song at 0:20] Donald Gramm, bass-baritone; Richard Cumming, piano. TV performance (you can watch here; perhaps from NBC, Nov. 29, 1964?)

by Ken

I know this has been a long time coming, and this may seem like a modest payoff, but "Serenity" is a special kind of song, and I think there's a lot to take in from our performers, who include our new budding favorite Gerald Finley, who I promised in the last post, "Some funny things happened on the way through Ives's Holidays," would be leading us into our confrontation with Charles Ives, and one of Sunday Classics' most beloved singers, Jan DeGaetani.


WONDER WHY JAN DeGAETANI IS SO TREASURED HERE?

Glad you wondered! It's a perfect excuse to take yet another listen to this jaw-droppingly radiant performance, with some pretty amazingly concentrated and songfully articulated piano-playing by her longtime piano partner, one of America's most distinguished pianists, Gil Kalish.

STEPHEN FOSTER: "Beautiful Child of Song"

(1)
Come, I am longing to hear thee,
beautiful child of song!
Come though the hearts that are near thee
around thee devotedly throng!
Come, I am longing to hear thee,
beautiful child of song!
Beautiful child of song,
I'm longing to hear thee
carol thy lay, sweet child of song.
(2)
Come, for the spell of a fairy
dwells in thy magical voice,
and as they step light and airy,
e'en cold hearts enraptured rejoice.
Come, I am longing to hear thee,
beautiful child of song!
Beautiful child of song,
I'm longing to hear thee
carol thy lay, sweet child of song.

Jan DeGaetani, mezzo-soprano; Gilbert Kalish, piano. Nonesuch, from Jan's Songs of America CD, recorded at the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, New York City, Dec. 21-23, 1987


OKAY, BACK TO IVES

As I was saying, there's just something attention-grabbing and attention-holding-in-an-utterly-non-coercive-way about "Serenity," which Michael Tilson Thomas explains, in a booklet note for the Charles Ives: An American Journey program, is part of a group -- with the songs "Psalm 100" and "General William Booth Enters into Heaven" and the orchestral meditation The Unanswered Question -- under "the topic of religion." This topic, for Ives, is what we might call a "big-tent" one: "evok[ing] variously ardent congregationalism, the carnival spirit of the big-time revival circuit, and truly profound mystical experience." Ives, MTT notes, "appreciated the warm fellowship of organized religion, but it is his visionary expression of spirituality in a work such as The Unanswered Question that is perhaps the most personal expression of his inner thoughts."

[AFTERTHOUGHT: When I wrote the above, I thought it went without saying that Gerald F serves up plenty of vocal power. Now I'm not so sure. For the record, his is certainly the most vocally complete of our performances.]

"Serenity" leads off MTT's "profound mystical experience" group, and in a bit we're going to listen to The Unanswered Question. But first --

LET'S DIP INTO THE "CARNIVAL SPIRIT
OF THE BIG-TIME REVIVAL CIRCUIT"

We're going to dive into what is often described as "probably Ives's greatest song," from 1914, a setting of most of a poem whose publication in 1913 had made a splash for a determined American poet, Vachel Lindsay, who's a story in his own right, as is the subject of the song, "General" William Booth.

So who was this "General" Booth?

Per Wikipedia:

William Booth (10 April 1829 – 20 August 1912) was an English Methodist preacher who, along with his wife, Catherine, founded the Salvation Army and became its first "General" (1878–1912). The Christian movement with a quasi-military structure and government founded in 1865 has spread from London, England, to many parts of the world and is known for being one of the largest distributors of humanitarian aid. . . .

As with so many Ives works, this one comes in multiple versions. We're going to hear first something like Ives's original solo-bass-plus-piano version, in two really lovely performances -- first our friend Gerald Finley, then another of the SC special pantheon, Donald Gramm. Then we're going to hear Ives make a big show of General Booth's "entrance."

IVES: "General William Booth Enters into Heaven"

Booth led boldly with his big bass drum.
(Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)
The Saints smiled gravely and they said, “He’s come.”
(Washed in the blood of the Lamb, the blood of the Lamb.)

Walking lepers followed rank on rank,
lurching bravos from the ditches dank,
drabs from the alleyways, drug fiends pale,
minds still passion-ridden, soul flowers frail:
vermin-eaten saints with moldy breath,
unwashed legions with the ways of Death.
(Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)

Ev’ry slum had sent its half a score
the round world over. (Booth had groaned for more.)
Ev’ry banner that the wide world flies
bloomed with glory and transcendent dyes.
Big-voiced lasses made their banjos bang;
tranced, fanatical they shrieked and sang:
“Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?”

Hallelujah, Lord! It was queer to see
bull-necked convicts with that land make free.
Loons with trumpets blown a blare, blare, blare,
on, on, upward thro’ the golden air!
(Are you washed in the blood in the blood of the Lamb? in the blood of the Lamb, the Lamb, of the Lamb, the Lamb?)

Jesus came from the courthouse door,
stretched his hands above the passing poor.
Booth saw not, but led his queer ones
round and round the mighty courthouse square,
[or: round and round, round and round and round] and round and round and round and round and round.

Yet! in an instant all that blear review
marched on spotless, clad in raiment new.
The lame were straightened, withered limbs uncurled,
and blind eyes opened on a new, sweet world.
(Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?)

-- based on the poem by Vachel Lindsay

First let's have just one one singer and a piano

Gerald Finley, bass-baritone; Julius Drake, piano. Hyperion, recorded in All Saints Church (Durham Road), East Finchley, London, Nov. 10-12, 2004

Donald Gramm, bass-baritone; Richard Cumming, piano. Desto, released in 1964
Now let's bring on the bells and whistles! (And let's
face it, Ives could be a bells-and-whistles kind of guy)

Archie Drake, bass; Gregg Smith Singers, Columbia Chamber Orchestra, Gregg Smith, cond. Columbia-CBS, recorded in Legion Hall, Hollywood, May 4, 1966
Thomas Hampson, baritone; San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. RCA, from MTT's Charles Ives: An American Journey CD, recorded live in Davies Symphony Hall, Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1999

Donnie Rae Albert, baritone; Dallas Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, Andrew Litton, cond. Hyperion, recorded in the Eugene McDermott Concert Hall, Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center, Jan. 19-22, 2006

At first it may seem that "General William Booth" calls for a "power" singer, a bass or even baritone who can really throw his vocal weight into it. I think perhaps Andrew Litton's Donnie Rae Albert is our best example. (It's kind of a shame that Samuel Ramey didn't include the song in the Ives group that filled out his Argo recording of both sets of Copland Old American Song arrangements. But then, what would he have left out?) Archie Drake with Gregg Smith generates some nice punch.

As the song progresses, though, the kinder-and-gentler class of singers come into their own. Listen to what Donald Gramm does with the section beginning with "Jesus came from the courthouse door."

We haven't done anything like justice to Donald Gramm, though we did hear his wonderful performances of a substantial portion of the bass solos from the Book of the Month Club's Classics Record Library's 1955 Boston Handel and Haydn Society recording of Handel's Messiah. I see there's a seemingly heaven-sent bounty of Gramm performances, audio as well as video, including the complete Messiah recording, posted on YouTube by kadoguy (and including a playlist of them).

NOTE: I think we'll be spending more time with the Ives songs.


IN THE "PROFOUND MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE" GROUP, WE WERE GOING TO LISTEN TO THE UNANSWERED QUESTION

Let's get some help here from Paul C. Echols's booklet note for a Sony MTT CD that includes both the original and revised versions of The Unanswered Question and Central Park in the Dark, along with the whole of the Holidays Symphony:

The Unanswered Question and Central Park in the Dark, both composed for chamber orchestra in 1906, were paired together by Ives as: "I. 'A Contemplation of a Serious Matter' or 'The Unasnwered Perennial Question'; II. 'A Contemplation fo Nothing Serious' or 'Central Park in the Dark in The Good Old Summer Time.' " Although the composer's description would seem to link them by opposition, both works actually employ the same compositional process -- Ives's most celebrated innovation -- in which different musical textures, moving at different rates of time, are juxtaposed. In The Unanswered Question there are three spatially separated disjunct elements: a slow-moving, virtually pulseless diatonic string background, over which a trumpet statement is sounded seven times, alternating with a eries of contrapuntal, chromatic woodwind phrases that become progressively faster, louder, and more dissonant.

From this CD we're going to hear both ersions of The Unanswered Question. Here's Paul again, first about the differences between the versions, then about the piece itself as we finally know it:

Prior to having the work professionally copied sometime ca. 1930-35, Ives made a second, revised version of The Unanswered Question, adding numerous details and altering the woodwind and trumpet phrases. And in a note appended to the revised score, he provided a visionary program for the work:

"The strings play ppp throughout with no change in tempo. They are to represent 'The Silences of the Druids -- who Know, See, and Hear Nothing.' The trumpet intones 'The Perennial Question of Existence,' and states it in the same tone of voice each time. But the hunt for 'The Invisible Answer' undertaken by the flutes and other human beings becomes gradually more active. . . . The 'Fighting Answerers,' as the time goes on, and after a 'secret conference,' seem to realize a futility, and begin to mock 'The Question' --the strife is over for the moment. After they disappear, 'The Question' is asked for the last time, and the 'Silences' are heard beyond in 'Undisturbed Solitude.' "

IVES: The Unanswered Question

Original version (1906)

Revised version (1930-35)

Adolf Herseth, trumpet; Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, cond. CBS-Sony, recorded in Medinah Temple, May 10-12, 1986

I know we should probably hear Central Park in the Dark now as well, but we're not finished with The Unanswered Question yet -- believe it or not, these are the works that got me into trouble when I planned to complete the Holidays Symphony and move away from Ives -- so maybe we should hold off. Well, we've got clips. Maybe there's no harm dropping one or two in.

Okay, how about that proto-Ivesian Leonard Bernstein's two recordings, from 1962 and 1988? The 1962 one has one of the stranger conducting credits I've seen (note that Lenny isn't even credited as "conductor," just supervisor; the conductors of record, Maurice Peress and Seiji Ozawa, were his Philharmonic assistant conductors at the time), which I think we can understand from Paul Echols's explanation of the structural principle of both Unanswered Question -- a piece, by the way, that you may recall Lenny took very seriously -- and Central Park.

IVES: Central Park in the Dark


New York Philharmonic, Maurice Peress and Seiji Ozawa, cond., "under the supervision of Leonard Bernstein." Columbia-CBS-Sony, recorded in Manhattan Center, May 7, 1962

New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein, cond. DG, recorded live in Avery Fisher Hall, Nov. 22, 1988


UP NEXT: I THINK WE CAN FINISH UP WITH IVES

We've got what has to be Ives's most rousing song -- in, let's see, three versions -- plus some other songs, and more on The Unanswered Question and Central Park in the Dark, and maybe we can finally do the whole of the Holidays Symphony.

MEANWHILE, A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION
(No pressure, but feel free to comment if you wish)

(1) Any thoughts on the song performances? (I've intentionally pulled punches on a particular performer, who doesn't sing his songs badly but really doesn't seem to me much "with it.")

(2) Any thoughts on this "unanswered question" of Ives's? Lenny B certainly thought he knew what it is, and made a huge deal of it, and he could be right. But I think there's a general more-general understanding. I just wonder: If we don't know what the question is, isn't it almost more unasked than unanswered?

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