Tuesday, March 4, 2014

TUESDAY, MARCH 4, 2014

QUOTE:
"Art is a kind of illness."
AUTHOR: Giacomo Puccini
MEANING OF THE QUOTE:
"A true artist is addicted to his art."








COMPOSER
IVES
SEE HOW
MUSIC AND LITERATURE
INTERCONNECT

Charles Ives came from New England

and often wrote his music about the

famous people and events

that came from there.

The Old North Bridge: Concord, Massachusetts

The four movements of the Concord Sonata

are titled "Emerson," "Hawthorne," "The Alcotts," 

and "Thoreau" after four famous American authors

who lived from approximately 1840-1860.

Ives did not originally conceive the

Concord Sonata as a four-movement work for

solo piano but rather as four separate orchestral

works, part of a collection he had dubbed

"Men of Literature."

Emerson, Hawthorne, Thoreau,
and the Alcotts all lived near each other in
Concord, Massachusetts and espoused
in their writings.
Author's Ridge
They were all buried at what is called 
"Authors Ridge" in Concord's
Map of Authors Ridge, Concord MA
19. Henry David Thoreau
20. Nathaniel & Sophia Hawthorne
21. Alcott Family
23. Ralph Waldo Emerson & Family
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
"CONCORD"
Complete
Gilbert Kalish, Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTOSRjD57EM
I: Emerson
II: Hawthorne
III: The Alcotts
III: Thoreau
The sonata is built on two motifs.
One, epic in nature, consisting of three
repeated notes and a drop of a third
to the fourth note; similar to
the opening motif of Beethoven's
Fifth Symphony.
Beethoven’s Fifth Rewritten
In one of the most thrilling
 passages from "Emerson," Ives
 reharmonizes the famous motive;
 he takes Beethoven, and dirties him up,
with a glorious bluesy intensity.
BEETHOVEEN SYMPHONY NO. 5
Movement 1
Arturo Toscanini, Conductor
"Ives drew a connection between the philosophy
of Emerson and the compositions of Beethoven,
ending his Essay on Emerson by writing: There
is an 'oracle' at the beginning of the Fifth
Symphony—in those four notes lies one of
Beethoven’s greatest messages. We would
place its translation above the relentlessness
of fate knocking at the door...and strive to bring
it toward the spiritual message of Emerson’s
revelations—even to the ‘common heart’ of
Concord— the Soul of humanity knocking at
the door of the Divine mysteries, radiant in
the faith that it will be opened—and that
the human will become the Divine."

The second motif is lyrical and moves mostly

in conjunct motion. There is usually some

interweaving of the two, whenever they appear.
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
"CONCORD" I: EMERSON
John Kirkpatrick, Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AyG0GU199U
DSC01406
Bush: Emerson's House
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Wayside: Hawthorne's House
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
"CONCORD" II: HAWTHORNE
John Kirkpatrick, Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F0tLr0IG4M
Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Orchard House: Alcott's Home
PIANO SONATA NO. 2
"CONCORD" III: THE ALCOTTS
John Kirkpatrick, Piano
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8aSTvtKDGM

PIANO SONATA NO. 2
"CONCORD" III: THE ALCOTTS
Charles Ives, Piano
Charles Ives begins this piece with a
4-note motive (as Beethoven does in his
 5th Sympony) and then uses it, often
in variation, as the basis for the rest
of the composition.

Compare the introduction of Ives' piece
with the beginning of "Every Little Kiss"
by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
The melody of the song is based on the
introduction which was borrowed from Ives.
Posted by at
Labels: