148-402: A Symphony: New England Holidays , also known as A New England Holiday Symphony or simply a Holiday Symphony , is a composition for orchestra written by Charles Ives . It took Ives from 1897 to 1913 to complete all four movements. The four movements in order are: The movements coincide with each season; winter, spring, summer, and fall, respectively. While together these pieces are called
296-569: A US Army bandleader in the American Civil War , and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Ives (née Parmelee, January 2, 1849 or 1850 – January 25, 1929). The Iveses, descended from founding colonists of Connecticut, were one of Danbury's leading families, and they were prominent in business and civic improvement. They were similarly active in progressive social movements of the 19th century, including the abolition of slavery. George Ives directed bands, choirs, and orchestras, and taught music theory and
444-482: A cornet , three trombones and tuba , timpani , snare drum , bass drum and cymbals , xylophone , 2 players on different pitches of bells , piano , and strings , including three solo "extra" violins . Ives wrote The Fourth of July intending it to exemplify the excitement a boy feels during the Fourth of July celebrations and the freedom felt on that special day. He begins the piece with strings entering quietly;
592-502: A 20th amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would authorize citizens to submit legislative proposals to Congress. Members of Congress would then cull the proposals, selecting 10 each year as referendums for popular vote by the nation's electorate. He even had printed at his own expense several thousand copies of a pamphlet on behalf of his proposed amendment. The pamphlet proclaimed the need to curtail "THE EFFECTS OF TOO MUCH POLITICS IN OUR representative DEMOCRACY". He planned to distribute
740-663: A bassoonist. Plucked The word bassoon comes from French basson and from Italian bassone ( basso with the augmentative suffix -one ). However, the Italian name for the same instrument is fagotto , in Spanish, Dutch, Danish, Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croatian and Romanian it is fagot , and in German Fagott . Fagot is an Old French word meaning a bundle of sticks. The dulcian came to be known as fagotto in Italy. However,
888-440: A boy, he writes "Taps" into Decoration Day . "Taps" is coupled with " Nearer, My God, to Thee " played by the strings. Ives uses "Taps" to pave a way from the despairing section to the elated section. "On the last note of 'Taps' the music begins to surge into a drumbeat that crescendos until with a sudden cut we are in the middle of the march back to town, and the pealing melody of 'Second Regiment'". Ives follows this jubilation with
1036-556: A cold, dreary night in February. "Dissonant mostly whole-tone chords rise and fall in parallel motion to suggest the snow drifts and the hills." The allegro part in the middle of the piece reflects old barn-dance tunes; "Multiple overlapping dissonant ostinatos evoke the hubbub of the crowd." The barn dance contains the image of a country fiddling ; a memorial to John Starr, a folk artist who died in 1890 at age 48. The piece ends with "the sleepy players intoning ' Goodnight, Ladies ', then
1184-490: A commentary on his own organ technique at that age. Ives moved to New Haven, Connecticut , in 1893, enrolling in the Hopkins School , where he captained the baseball team. In September 1894, Ives entered Yale University , studying under Horatio Parker . Here he composed in a choral style similar to his mentor, writing church music and even an 1896 campaign song for William McKinley . On November 4, 1894, his father died,
1332-629: A complement to the electronic synthesizer bass lines typically found in this genre. The Cartoon Network animated series Over the Garden Wall features a bassoon in episode 6 entitled "Lullaby in Frogland", where the main character is encouraged to play the bassoon to impress a group of frogs. The character Jan Bellows in the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building is a professional bassoonist. The bassoon
1480-576: A concert series devoted to the complete songs of Ives. Musicologist David Gray Porter reconstructed a piano concerto, the "Emerson" Concerto , from Ives's sketches. A recording of the work was released by Naxos Records . American singer and composer Frank Zappa included Charles Ives in a list of influences that he presented in the liner notes of his debut album Freak Out! (1966). Ives continues to influence contemporary composers, arrangers and musicians. Planet Arts Records released Mists: Charles Ives for Jazz Orchestra . Ives befriended and encouraged
1628-511: A crushing blow to him, but to a large degree, he continued the musical experimentation he had begun with him. His brother Moss later became a lawyer. At Yale, Ives was a prominent figure; he was a member of HeBoule, Delta Kappa Epsilon (Phi chapter) and Wolf's Head Society , and sat as chairman of the Ivy Committee . He enjoyed sports at Yale and played on the varsity American football team. Michael C. Murphy, his coach, once remarked that it
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#17328835284941776-411: A cylindrical shape during the forming stage. On the bark portion, the reed maker binds on one, two, or three coils or loops of brass wire to aid in the final forming process. The exact placement of these loops can vary somewhat depending on the reed maker. The bound reed blank is then wrapped with thick cotton or linen thread to protect it, and a conical steel mandrel (which sometimes has been heated in
1924-463: A double reed fitted to a metal crook, obliquely drilled tone holes and a conical bore that doubles back on itself. The origins of the dulcian are obscure, but by the mid-16th century it was available in as many as eight different sizes, from soprano to great bass. A full consort of dulcians was a rarity; its primary function seems to have been to provide the bass in the typical wind band of the time, either loud ( shawms ) or soft ( recorders ), indicating
2072-738: A fan of his music who began to edit and promote it. Most notably, Harrison conducted the premiere of the Symphony No. 3, The Camp Meeting (1904) in 1946. The next year, it won Ives the Pulitzer Prize for Music . He gave the prize money away (half of it to Harrison), saying "prizes are for boys, and I'm all grown up". Ives was a generous financial supporter of twentieth-century music, often financing works that were written by other composers. This he did in secret, telling his beneficiaries that his wife wanted him to do so. Nicolas Slonimsky said in 1971, "He financed my entire career". At this time, Ives
2220-416: A flame) is quickly inserted in between the blades. Using a special pair of pliers, the reed maker presses down the cane, making it conform to the shape of the mandrel. (The steam generated by the heated mandrel causes the cane to permanently assume the shape of the mandrel.) The upper portion of the cavity thus created is called the "throat", and its shape has an influence on the final playing characteristics of
2368-554: A folklike simplicity and grace that Ives rarely allowed himself in orchestral music." Ives tried to incorporate Puritan qualities into the music. Major and minor chords a step apart were meant to "represent the sternness and strength and austerity of the Puritan character." The piece also contains "a scythe or reaping harvest theme which is a kind of off-beat, off-key counterpoint." Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives ( / aɪ v z / ; October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954)
2516-572: A huge impact on Ives's compositions, especially after he died in November 1894. Ives lived in Danbury throughout his childhood, a town which holds many of the life experiences that inspired him to compose a Holiday Symphony . New England Holidays exemplifies "multi-tonality in the reharmonization of borrowed music ... and [mixing of] several keys." This work is notorious for its quotations, in particular its complex overlapping of multiple sources. Without
2664-464: A lot of music for bassoon" in the run-up to its recording. The rock band Better Than Ezra took their name from a passage in Ernest Hemingway 's A Moveable Feast in which the author comments that listening to an annoyingly talkative person is still "better than Ezra learning how to play the bassoon", referring to Ezra Pound . British psychedelic / progressive rock band Knifeworld features
2812-451: A lyric tenor have meant that tenor clef is very commonly employed in its literature after the Baroque , partly to avoid excessive ledger lines , and, beginning in the 20th century, treble clef is also seen for similar reasons. Like other woodwind instruments, the lowest note is fixed, but A 1 is possible with a special extension to the instrument—see " Extended techniques " below. Although
2960-488: A note written by her husband. The note had originally been written in 1944 when Schoenberg was living in Los Angeles and teaching at UCLA. It said: "There is a great Man living in this Country – a composer. He has solved the problem how to preserve one's self-esteem and to learn [ sic ]. He responds to negligence by contempt. He is not forced to accept praise or blame. His name is Ives." Ives reportedly also won
3108-497: A number of instruments. Charles got his influences by sitting in the Danbury town square and listening to his father's marching band and other bands on other sides of the square simultaneously . His father taught him and his brother (Joseph) Moss Ives (February 5, 1876 – April 7, 1939 ) music, teaching harmony and counterpoint and guided his first compositions; George took an open-minded approach to theory, encouraging him to experiment in bitonal and polytonal harmonizations. It
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#17328835284943256-530: A performer of free jazz , is one of the few jazz musicians to play only bassoon; Michael Rabinowitz , the Spanish bassoonist Javier Abad , and James Lassen , an American resident in Bergen , Norway, are others. Katherine Young plays the bassoon in the ensembles of Anthony Braxton . Lindsay Cooper , Paul Hanson , the Brazilian bassoonist Alexandre Silvério , Trent Jacobs and Daniel Smith are also currently using
3404-566: A place in modern bassoon playing, particularly in France, where it originated. Buffet-model bassoons are currently made in Paris by Buffet Crampon and the atelier Ducasse (Romainville, France). The Selmer Company stopped fabrication of French system bassoons around the year 2012. Some players, for example the late Gerald Corey in Canada, have learned to play both types and will alternate between them depending on
3552-560: A poorly played Buffet can sound buzzy and nasal, but good players succeed in producing a warm, expressive sound. Though the United Kingdom once favored the French system, Buffet-system instruments are no longer made there and the last prominent British player of the French system retired in the 1980s. However, with continued use in some regions and its distinctive tone, the Buffet continues to have
3700-531: A porch in a rocking chair smoking a pipe looking out over the landscape which goes into the distance and imagines that as that person who is anyone is sitting there doing nothing that he is hearing his own symphony. This I think is for all intents and purposes the goal of music. I doubt whether we can find a higher goal namely that art and our involvement in it will somehow introduce us to the very life that we are living and that we will be able without scores without performers and so forth simply to sit still to listen to
3848-653: A prolific composer until he suffered another of several heart attacks in 1918, after which he composed very little. He wrote his last piece, the song "Sunrise", in August 1926. In 1922, Ives published his 114 Songs , which represents the breadth of his work as a composer—it includes art songs , songs he wrote as a teenager and young man, and highly dissonant songs such as "The Majority". According to his wife, one day in early 1927, Ives came downstairs with tears in his eyes. He could compose no more, he said; "nothing sounds right". There have been numerous theories advanced to explain
3996-574: A recital celebrating the Fourth of July. He composed four numbered symphonies as well as a number of works with the word 'Symphony' in their titles, as well as The Unanswered Question (1908), written for the unusual combination of trumpet, four flutes, and string quartet. The Unanswered Question was influenced by the New England writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau . Around 1910, Ives began composing his most accomplished works, including
4144-449: A remarkable ability to vary dynamics to suit the need. Otherwise, dulcian technique was rather primitive, with eight finger holes and two keys, indicating that it could play in only a limited number of key signatures. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the baroque bassoon was a newly invented instrument, rather than a simple modification of the old dulcian. The dulcian was not immediately supplanted, but continued to be used well into
4292-445: A role as a virtuosic, expressive, solo instrument. In fact, it was very much considered an instrument that could be used in almost any circumstance. The comparison of the bassoon's sound to the human voice continued on during this time, as much of the pedagogy surrounded emulating this sound. Giuseppe Verdi used the instrument's lyrical, singing voice to evoke emotion in pieces such as his Messa da Requiem . Eugene Jancourt compared
4440-412: A slight bevel must be created at the tip with a knife, although there is also a machine that can perform this function. Other adjustments with the reed knife may be necessary, depending on the hardness, the profile of the cane, and the requirements of the player. The reed opening may also need to be adjusted by squeezing either the first or second wire with the pliers. Additional material may be removed from
4588-416: A special disc included with the reissue of the 1960 recording of the second symphony and the "Fourth of July" movement from Ives's Holiday Symphony . Another pioneering Ives recording, undertaken during the 1950s, was the first complete set of the four violin sonatas, performed by Minneapolis Symphony concertmaster Rafael Druian and John Simms. Leopold Stokowski took on Symphony No. 4 in 1965, regarding
A Symphony: New England Holidays - Misplaced Pages Continue
4736-402: A spike similar to those used for the cello or the bass clarinet is attached to the bottom of the boot joint and rests on the floor. It is possible to play while standing up if the player uses a neck strap or similar harness, or if the seat strap is tied to the belt. Sometimes a device called a balance hanger is used when playing in a standing position. This is installed between the instrument and
4884-410: A symphony, they may be played individually and thought of as separate works. As Ives dictates in his Memos : There is no special musical connection among these four movements ... which leads me to observe that quite a number of larger forms (symphonies, sonatas, suites, etc.) may not always necessarily form, or were originally intended to form, such a complete organic whole that the breath of unity
5032-443: A variety of concerti and bassoon and piano pieces written, such as John Williams 's Five Sacred Trees and André Previn 's Sonata for bassoon and piano . There were also "performance" pieces such as Peter Schickele 's Sonata Abassoonata , which required the bassoonist to be both a musician and an actor. The bassoon quartet became prominent at this time, with pieces such as Daniel Dorff 's It Takes Four to Tango . The bassoon
5180-499: A web in which we cannot clearly perceive anything..." leading to "the possibility of not knowing what's happening..." Cage wrote that "more and more... I think this experience of non-knowledge is more useful and more important to us than the Renaissance notion of knowing A B C D E F..." Cage also praised Ives's "understanding... of inactivity and of silence..." and recalled having read an essay in which: [Ives] sees someone sitting on
5328-616: A young Elliott Carter . In addition, Phil Lesh , bassist of the Grateful Dead , described Ives as one of his two musical heroes. Jazz musician Albert Ayler also named Charles Ives as an influence in a 1970 interview with Swing Journal . American microtonal musician and composer Johnny Reinhard reconstructed and performed Universe symphony in 1996. The Unanswered Ives is an hour-long film documentary directed by Anne-Kathrin Peitz and produced by Accentus Music (Leipzig, Germany). This
5476-408: Is a non-transposing instrument and typically its music is written in the bass and tenor clefs , and sometimes in the treble. There are two forms of modern bassoon: the Buffet (or French) and Heckel (or German) systems. It is typically played while sitting using a seat strap, but can be played while standing if the player has a harness to hold the instrument. Sound is produced by rolling both lips over
5624-438: Is an impressionistic piece "featuring complex harmony scored mostly for many-stranded strings." It was arranged for strings , including an offstage violin , horn , flute (doubling piccolo ), a set of bells , and Jew's harps . Washington’s Birthday was finished in 1909, then rescored and published in 1913. The performance time of this piece is eleven to twelve minutes. For the first part of this piece, Ives aimed to create
5772-407: Is doubled back on itself. There are also short-reach bassoons made for the benefit of young or petite players. A modern beginner's bassoon is generally made of maple , with medium-hardness types such as sycamore maple and sugar maple preferred. Less-expensive models are also made of materials such as polypropylene and ebonite , primarily for student and outdoor use. Metal bassoons were made in
5920-645: Is evidence that Ives backdated his scores to sound more modern than he really was. This was first proposed by Maynard Solomon , an advocate of Ives's music. This has, in turn, generated some controversy and puzzlement. Note: Because Ives often made several different versions of the same piece, and because his work was generally ignored during his life, it is often difficult to put exact dates on his compositions. The dates given here are sometimes best guesses. There have also been controversial speculations that he purposefully misdated his own pieces earlier or later than actually written. Ives proposed in 1920 that there be
6068-607: Is found in Heckel bassoons, but the Buffet is considered by some to have a more vocal and expressive quality. The conductor John Foulds lamented in 1934 the dominance of the Heckel-style bassoon, considering them too homogeneous in sound with the horn . The modern Buffet system has 22 keys with its range being the same as the Heckel; although Buffet instruments have greater facility in the upper registers , reaching E 5 and F 5 with far greater ease and less air resistance. Compared to
A Symphony: New England Holidays - Misplaced Pages Continue
6216-421: Is held diagonally in front of the player, but unlike the flute, oboe and clarinet, it cannot be easily supported by the player's hands alone. Some means of additional support is usually required; the most common ones are a seat strap attached to the base of the boot joint, which is laid across the chair seat prior to sitting down, or a neck strap or shoulder harness attached to the top of the boot joint. Occasionally
6364-546: Is infrequently used as a jazz instrument and rarely seen in a jazz ensemble . It first began appearing in the 1920s, when Garvin Bushell began incorporating the bassoon in his performances. Specific calls for its use occurred in Paul Whiteman 's group, the unusual octets of Alec Wilder , and a few other session appearances. The next few decades saw the instrument used only sporadically, as symphonic jazz fell out of favor, but
6512-417: Is no exception. This sound has been utilised effectively in writing for Buffet bassoon, but is less inclined to blend than the tone of the Heckel bassoon. As with all bassoons, the tone varies considerably, depending on individual instrument, reed, and performer. In the hands of a lesser player, the Heckel bassoon can sound flat and woody, but good players succeed in producing a vibrant, singing tone. Conversely,
6660-588: Is primarily played in France, Belgium, and parts of Latin America . A number of other types of bassoons have been constructed by various instrument makers, such as the rare Galandronome . Owing to the ubiquity of the Heckel system in English-speaking countries, references in English to the contemporary bassoon always mean the Heckel system, with the Buffet system being explicitly qualified where it appears. The design of
6808-487: Is smothered all out if one or two movements are played separately sometimes. Holiday Symphony exemplifies Ives's varied, unique use of dissonance that gave his works a more dynamic range of emotion. "Each [movement] expresses its particular scene and feeling ... [using] the mingling of stylistic voices, the meta-style, that had become second nature to Ives. They all contain the shared pattern of splicing introverted slow music and extroverted fast music." Charles Ives got
6956-541: The Holiday Symphony and Three Places in New England . The Piano Sonata No. 2, Concord, Mass (known as the Concord Sonata ), was one of his most notable pieces. He started work on this in 1911 and completed most of it in 1915. However, it was not until 1920 that the piece was published. His revised version was not released until 1947. This piece contains one of the most striking examples of his experimentation. In
7104-500: The Charles Ives Prize . Ives's career and dedication to music began when he started playing drums in his father's band at a young age. Ives published a large collection of songs, many of which had piano parts. He composed two string quartets and other works of chamber music , though he is now best known for his orchestral music . His work as an organist led him to write Variations on "America" in 1891, which he premiered at
7252-729: The English horn , two solo violins and a solo viola , the high and low bells , and a trumpet imitating a military bugle . Ives was inspired to write Decoration Day after listening to his father's marching band play on Decoration Day . The marching band would march from the Soldiers' Monument at the center of Danbury to Wooster Cemetery, and there Ives would play " Taps ". The band would leave often playing Reeves's "Second Regiment Connecticut National Guard March". "'Decoration Day' begins with an extended meditative section, mostly for strings," symbolizing morning and "the awakening of memory". Ives has
7400-582: The Revolutionary War , bassoonists were found in wind bands that gave public performances. By 1800, there was at least one bassoon in the United States Marine Band. In South America, the bassoon also appeared in small orchestras, bands, and military musique (similar to Harmonie ensembles). The role of the bassoon during the Romantic era varied between a role as a supportive bass instrument and
7548-632: The actuarial department of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York . In 1899, Ives moved to employment with the insurance agency Charles H. Raymond & Co., where he stayed until 1906. In 1907, upon the failure of Raymond & Co., he and his friend Julian Myrick formed their own insurance agency Ives & Co., which later became Ives & Myrick, where he remained until he retired. During his career as an insurance executive and actuary, Ives devised creative ways to structure life-insurance packages for people of means, which laid
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#17328835284947696-446: The 1650s, Hotteterre conceived the bassoon in four sections (bell, bass joint, boot and wing joint), an arrangement that allowed greater accuracy in machining the bore compared to the one-piece dulcian. He also extended the compass down to B ♭ by adding two keys . An alternate view maintains Hotteterre was one of several craftsmen responsible for the development of the early bassoon. These may have included additional members of
7844-504: The 18th century by Bach and others; and, presumably for reasons of interchangeability, repertoire from this time is very unlikely to go beyond the smaller compass of the dulcian. The man most likely responsible for developing the true bassoon was Martin Hotteterre ( d. 1712), who may also have invented the three-piece flûte traversière ( transverse flute ) and the hautbois ( baroque oboe ). Some historians believe that sometime in
7992-554: The 1950s, the expatriate English pianist Lloyd Powell played a series of concerts including all of Ives's piano works, at the University of British Columbia . Recognition of Ives's music steadily increased. He received praise from Arnold Schoenberg , who regarded him as a monument to artistic integrity, and from the New York School of William Schuman . Shortly after Schoenberg's death (three years before Ives died), his widow found
8140-635: The 1960s saw artists such as Yusef Lateef and Chick Corea incorporate bassoon into their recordings. Lateef's diverse and eclectic instrumentation saw the bassoon as a natural addition (see, e.g., The Centaur and the Phoenix (1960) which features bassoon as part of a 6-man horn section, including a few solos) while Corea employed the bassoon in combination with flautist Hubert Laws . More recently, Illinois Jacquet , Ray Pizzi , Frank Tiberi , and Marshall Allen have both doubled on bassoon in addition to their saxophone performances. Bassoonist Karen Borca ,
8288-402: The 1960s, Giles Brindley began to develop what he called the "logical bassoon", which aimed to improve intonation and evenness of tone through use of an electrically activated mechanism, making possible key combinations too complex for the human hand to manage. Brindley's logical bassoon was never marketed. The Buffet system bassoon achieved its basic acoustical properties somewhat earlier than
8436-550: The 20th century, the Heckel-style German model of bassoon dominated the field. Heckel himself had made over 1,100 instruments by the turn of the 20th century (serial numbers begin at 3,000), and the British makers' instruments were no longer desirable for the changing pitch requirements of the symphony orchestra, remaining primarily in military band use. Except for a brief 1940s wartime conversion to ball bearing manufacture,
8584-470: The 20th century. Sources of Ives's tonal imagery included hymn tunes and traditional songs ; he also incorporated melodies of the town band at holiday parade, the fiddlers at Saturday night dances, patriotic songs, sentimental parlor ballads, and the melodies of Stephen Foster . Ives was born in Danbury, Connecticut , on October 20, 1874, the son of George (Edward) Ives (August 3, 1845 – November 4, 1894),
8732-455: The Dark ). In 1991, Connecticut 's legislature designated Ives as that state's official composer. The Scottish baritone Henry Herford began a survey of Ives's songs in 1990, but this remains incomplete. The record company involved ( Unicorn-Kanchana ) collapsed. Pianist-composer and Wesleyan University professor Neely Bruce has made a life's study of Ives. To date, he has staged seven parts of
8880-399: The Heckel bassoon, Buffet system bassoons have a narrower bore and simpler mechanism, requiring different, and often more complex fingerings for many notes. Switching between Heckel and Buffet, or vice versa, requires extensive retraining. French woodwind instruments' tone in general exhibits a certain amount of "edge", with more of a vocal quality than is usual elsewhere, and the Buffet bassoon
9028-413: The Heckel concern has produced instruments continuously to the present day. Heckel bassoons are considered by many to be the best, although a range of Heckel-style instruments is available from several other manufacturers, all with slightly different playing characteristics. Because its mechanism is primitive compared to most modern woodwinds, makers have occasionally attempted to "reinvent" the bassoon. In
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#17328835284949176-443: The Heckel. Thereafter, it continued to develop in a more conservative manner. While the early history of the Heckel bassoon included a complete overhaul of the instrument in both acoustics and key work, the development of the Buffet system consisted primarily of incremental improvements to the key work. This minimalist approach of the Buffet deprived it of improved consistency of intonation, ease of operation, and increased power, which
9324-488: The Hotteterre family, as well as other French makers active around the same time. No original French bassoon from this period survives, but if it did, it would most likely resemble the earliest extant bassoons of Johann Christoph Denner and Richard Haka from the 1680s. Sometime around 1700, a fourth key ( G♯ ) was added, and it was for this type of instrument that composers such as Antonio Vivaldi , Bach, and Georg Philipp Telemann wrote their demanding music. A fifth key, for
9472-596: The Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall . In 1951, Leonard Bernstein conducted the world premiere of Ives's Symphony No. 2 in a broadcast concert by the New York Philharmonic. The Iveses heard the performance on their cook's radio and were amazed at the audience's warm reception to the music. Bernstein continued to conduct Ives's music and made a number of recordings with the Philharmonic for Columbia Records. He honored Ives on one of his televised youth concerts and in
9620-449: The Republic ", " Sailor's Hornpipe ", " Battle Cry of Freedom ", The White Cockade, " Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! "， " The Girl I Left Behind Me ", “ Hail, Columbia ", " Garryowen ", " The Irish Washerwoman ", " My Country, 'Tis of Thee ", John Stafford Smith 's " The Star-Spangled Banner " Vincenzo Bellini 's Katy Darling and Henry Clay Work's Kingdom Coming . Thanksgiving and Forefathers' Day
9768-866: The Roman fasces , a standard of bound sticks with an axe. A further discrepancy lies in the fact that the dulcian was carved out of a single block of wood—in other words, a single "stick" and not a bundle. The range of the bassoon begins at B ♭ 1 (the first one below the bass staff ) and extends upward over three octaves , roughly to the G above the treble staff (G 5 ). However, most writing for bassoon rarely calls for notes above C 5 or D 5 ; even Stravinsky 's opening solo in The Rite of Spring only ascends to D 5 . Notes higher than this are possible, but seldom written, as they are difficult to produce (often requiring specific reed design features to ensure reliability), and at any rate are quite homogeneous in timbre to
9916-571: The admiration of Gustav Mahler , who said that he was a true musical revolutionary. Mahler was said to have talked of premiering Ives's third symphony with the New York Philharmonic , but he died in 1911 before conducting this premiere. The source of this account was Ives; since Mahler died, there was no way to verify whether he had seen the score of the symphony or decided to perform it in the 1911–12 season. Ives regularly attended New York Philharmonic concerts and probably heard Mahler conduct
10064-535: The aforementioned players separated from the orchestra play as if they are alone, in what he calls "shadow lines". The music slowly unfolds, yielding an eerie mix of major and minor keys. Ives begins to incorporate his memories of Decoration Day into his piece by transforming " Marching Through Georgia " into the mournful " Tenting on the Old Camp Ground ". At this point, we are back in the cemetery where his father's marching band stops, and just as Ives played "Taps" as
10212-463: The bass part, but also to accompany the voice and harp, play in pairs with clarinets and horns in Harmonie , and to play in "nearly all types of music," including concerti, which were much more common than the sonatas of the previous era. Both Cugnier and Étienne Ozi emphasized the importance of the bassoon's similarity to the singing voice. The role of the bassoon in the orchestra varied depending on
10360-502: The bassline due to its sonorous low register, the capabilities of wind instruments grew as technology advanced during the Classical era . This allowed the instrument to play in more keys than the dulcian. Joseph Haydn took advantage of this in his Symphony No. 45 ( "Farewell Symphony "), in which the bassoon plays in F-sharp minor. Following with these advances, composers also began to exploit
10508-508: The bassoon for its staccato ability in his work, and often wrote his three bassoon parts in thirds to evoke a darker sound with noticeable tone color. In Modest Mussorgsky 's Night on Bald Mountain , the bassoons play fortissimo alongside other bass instruments in order to evoke "the voice of the Devil." At this point in time, the development of the bassoon slowed. Rather than making large leaps in technological improvements, tiny imperfections in
10656-461: The bassoon for its unique color, flexibility, and virtuosic ability, rather than for its perfunctory ability to double the bass line. Those who did this include Ludwig van Beethoven in his three Duos for Clarinet and Bassoon (WoO 27) for clarinet and bassoon and Niccolo Paganini in his duets for violin and bassoon. In his Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, K. 191 , W. A. Mozart utilized all aspects of
10804-449: The bassoon in jazz. French bassoonists Jean-Jacques Decreux and Alexandre Ouzounoff have both recorded jazz, exploiting the flexibility of the Buffet system instrument to good effect. In conjunction with the use of electronic pickups and amplification, the instrument began to be used more somewhat in jazz and rock settings. However, the bassoon is still quite rare as a regular member of rock bands. Several 1960s pop music hits feature
10952-424: The bassoon playing of Chloe Herrington, who also plays for experimental chamber rock orchestra Chrome Hoof . Fiona Apple featured the bassoon in the opening track of her 2004 album Extraordinary Machine . In 2016, the bassoon was featured on the album Gang Signs and Prayers by UK "grime" artist Stormzy . Played by UK bassoonist Louise Watson, the bassoon is heard in the tracks "Cold" and "Mr Skeng" as
11100-423: The bassoon was capable of expressing "the worthy, the virile, the solemn, the great, the sublime, composure, mildness, intimacy, emotion, longing, heartfulness, reverence, and soulful ardour." In G.F. Brandt's performance of Carl Maria von Weber 's Concerto for Bassoon in F Major, Op. 75 (J. 127) it was also likened to the human voice. In France, Pierre Cugnier described the bassoon's role as encompassing not only
11248-443: The bassoon's expressiveness with its contrasts in register, staccato playing, and expressive sound, and was especially noted for its singing quality in the second movement. This concerto is often considered one of the most important works in all of the bassoon's repertoire, even today. The bassoon's similarity to the human voice, in addition to its newfound virtuosic ability, was another quality many composers took advantage of during
11396-525: The bassoon, including " The Tears of a Clown " by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles (the bassoonist was Charles R. Sirard ), " Jennifer Juniper " by Donovan , " 59th Street Bridge Song " by Harpers Bizarre , and the oompah bassoon underlying The New Vaudeville Band 's " Winchester Cathedral ". From 1974 to 1978, the bassoon was played by Lindsay Cooper in the British avant-garde band Henry Cow . The Leonard Nimoy song " The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins " features
11544-594: The bassoon. In the 1970s it was played, in the British medieval/ progressive rock band Gryphon , by Brian Gulland, as well as by the American band Ambrosia , where it was played by drummer Burleigh Drummond. The Belgian Rock in Opposition -band Univers Zero is also known for its use of the bassoon. More recently, These New Puritans 's 2010 album Hidden makes heavy use of the instrument throughout; their principal songwriter, Jack Barnett, claimed repeatedly to be "writing
11692-431: The boot joint are connected at the bottom of the instrument with a U-shaped metal connector. Both bore and tone holes are precision-machined, and each instrument is finished by hand for proper tuning. The walls of the bassoon are thicker at various points along the bore; here, the tone holes are drilled at an angle to the axis of the bore, which reduces the distance between the holes on the exterior. This ensures coverage by
11840-402: The boot; the boot (or butt) (4) , at the bottom of the instrument and folding over on itself; the wing joint (or tenor joint) (3) , which extends from boot to bocal; and the bocal (or crook) (2) , a crooked metal tube that attaches the wing joint to a reed (1) ( listen ). The bore of the bassoon is conical, like that of the oboe and the saxophone , and the two adjoining bores of
11988-428: The bottom of the reed and that the reed maintains its shape. The wrapping itself is often sealed with Duco or clear nail varnish (polish). Electrical tape can also be used as a wrapping for amateur reed makers. The bulge in the wrapping is sometimes referred to as the "Turk's head"—it serves as a convenient handle when inserting the reed on the bocal. Alternatively, hot glue, epoxy , or heat shrink wrap may be used to seal
12136-475: The cardinal symptom of heart attack." Following his recovery from the 1907 attack, Ives entered into one of the most creative periods of his life as a composer. In 1908, he married Harmony Twichell, daughter of Congregational minister Joseph Twichell and his wife, Julia Harmony Cushman. The young couple moved into their own apartment in New York. Ives had a successful career in insurance. He also continued to be
12284-568: The classical era. After 1730, the German bassoon's range expended up to B♭ 4 , and much higher with the French instrument. Technological advances also caused the bassoon's tenor register sound to become more resonant, and playing in this register grew in popularity, especially in the Austro-Germanic musical world. Pedagogues such as Josef Frohlich instructed students to practice scales, thirds, and fourths as vocal students would. In 1829, he wrote that
12432-621: The conductor. After seeing a copy of Ives's self-published 114 Songs during the 1930s, Copland published a newspaper article praising the collection. Ives began to acquire some public recognition during the 1930s, with performances of a chamber orchestra version of his Three Places in New England , both in the US and on tour in Europe by conductor Nicolas Slonimsky. The Town Hall (New York City) premiered his Concord Sonata in 1939, featuring pianist John Kirkpatrick . This received favorable commentary in
12580-690: The country. In the Viennese orchestra the instrument offered a three-dimensional sound to the ensemble by doubling other instruments such as violins, as heard in Mozart's overture to The Marriage of Figaro , K 492. where it plays a rather technical part alongside the strings. He also wrote for the bassoon to change its timbre depending on which instrument it was paired with; warmer with clarinets, hollow with flutes, and dark and dignified with violins. In Germany and Scandinavian countries, orchestras typically featured only two bassoons. But in France, orchestras increased
12728-411: The desired thickness, or profiled , by removing material from the bark side. This can be done by hand with a file; more frequently it is done with a machine or tool designed for the purpose. After the profiled cane has soaked once again it is folded over in the middle. Prior to soaking, the reed maker will have lightly scored the bark with parallel lines with a knife; this ensures that the cane will assume
12876-411: The dulcian advanced technologically and was able to achieve more virtuosity, composers such as Joseph Bodin de Boismortier , Johann Ernst Galliard , Johann Friedrich Fasch and Georg Philipp Telemann wrote demanding solo and ensemble music for the instrument. Antonio Vivaldi brought it to prominence by featuring it in thirty-nine concerti . While the bassoon was still often used to give clarity to
13024-642: The fifth movement. Paul Dukas utilized the staccato to depict the image of two brooms coming to life in The Sorcerer's Apprentice . It was common for there to be only two bassoons in German orchestras. Austrian and British military bands also only carried two bassoons, and were mainly used for accompaniment and offbeat playing. In France, Hector Berlioz also made it fashionable to use more than two bassoons; he often scored for three or four, and at time wrote for up to eight such as in his l'Impériale . At this point, composers expected bassoons to be as virtuosic as
13172-401: The fingers of the average adult hand. Playing is facilitated by closing the distance between the widely spaced holes with a complex system of key work, which extends throughout nearly the entire length of the instrument. The overall height of the bassoon stretches to 1.34 m (4 ft 5 in) tall, but the total sounding length is 2.54 m (8 ft 4 in) considering that the tube
13320-425: The first of several "heart attacks" (as he and his family called them) that he had throughout his life. These attacks may have been psychological in origin rather than physical. Stuart Feder questions the legitimacy of these heart attacks, as he could not find any medical confirmation of them in previous reports. According to Feder, "For the only reliable information tells us that he suffered from palpitations, not pain,
13468-513: The foundation of the modern practice of estate planning . His Life Insurance with Relation to Inheritance Tax , published in 1918, was well received. As a result of this he achieved considerable fame in the insurance industry of his time, with many of his business peers surprised to learn that he was also a composer. In his spare time, he composed music and, until his marriage, worked as an organist in Danbury and New Haven as well as Bloomfield, New Jersey , and New York City. In 1907, Ives suffered
13616-431: The idea to write a holiday symphony during the summer of 1905. He wanted to write each movement as if it were based on a grown man's memory of his childhood holidays. "Here are melodies like icons, resonating with memory and history, with war, childhood, community, and nation." Ives constructed these movements based on personal memories from his past, including his father, George Ives, and the town of Danbury . His father had
13764-413: The instrument's function were corrected. The instrument became quite versatile throughout the twentieth century; the instrument was at this point able to play three octaves, a variety of different trills, and maintained stable intonation across all registers and dynamic levels. The pedagogy among bassoonists varied among different countries, and so the overall instrument itself played a variety of roles. As
13912-471: The keywork. Subsequent articles further developed his ideas. His employment at Schott gave him the freedom to construct and test instruments according to these new designs, and he published the results in Caecilia , Schott's house journal. Almenräder continued publishing and building instruments until his death in 1846, and Ludwig van Beethoven himself requested one of the newly made instruments after hearing of
14060-433: The little fingers of each hand. The back of the instrument (nearest the player) has twelve or more keys to be controlled by the thumbs, the exact number varying depending on model. To stabilize the right hand, many bassoonists use an adjustable comma-shaped apparatus called a "crutch", or a hand rest, which mounts to the boot joint. The crutch is secured with a thumb screw, which also allows the distance that it protrudes from
14208-452: The low E ♭ , was added during the first half of the 18th century. Notable makers of the 4-key and 5-key baroque bassoon include J.H. Eichentopf ( c. 1678–1769 ), J. Poerschmann (1680–1757), Thomas Stanesby Jr . (1668–1734), G.H. Scherer (1703–1778), and Prudent Thieriot (1732–1786). Increasing demands on capabilities of instruments and players in the 19th century—particularly larger concert halls requiring greater volume and
14356-480: The major New York newspapers. Later, around the time of Ives's death in 1954, Kirkpatrick teamed with soprano Helen Boatwright for the first extended recorded recital of Ives's songs for the obscure Overtone label (Overtone Records catalog number 7). They recorded a new selection of songs for the Ives Centennial Collection that Columbia Records published in 1974. In the 1940s, Ives met Lou Harrison ,
14504-710: The mid-1900s, broadcasting and recording grew in popularity, allowing for new opportunities for bassoonists, and leading to a slow decline of live performances. Much of the new music for bassoon in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, often included extended techniques and was written for solo or chamber settings. One piece that included extended techniques was Luciano Berio 's Sequenza XII , which called for microtonal fingerings, glissandos, and timbral trills. Double and triple tonguing, flutter tonguing, multiphonics, quarter-tones, and singing are all utilized in Bruno Bartolozzi 's Concertazioni. There were also
14652-407: The modern bassoon owes a great deal to the performer, teacher, and composer Carl Almenräder . Assisted by the German acoustic researcher Gottfried Weber , he developed the 17-key bassoon with a range spanning four octaves. Almenräder's improvements to the bassoon began with an 1823 treatise describing ways of improving intonation , response, and technical ease of playing by augmenting and rearranging
14800-523: The more unusual recordings, made in New York City in 1943, features Ives playing the piano and singing the words to his popular World War I song "They Are There!", which he composed in 1917. He revised it in 1942–43 for World War II . Ives's piano recordings were later issued in 1974 by Columbia Records on a special LP set for his centenary. New World Records issued 42 tracks of his recordings on CD on April 1, 2006, as Ives Plays Ives . In Canada in
14948-545: The multi-finger trills used in Stravinsky's Octet . In the twentieth century, the bassoon was less of a concerto soloist, and when it was, the accompanying ensemble was made softer and quieter. In addition, it was no longer used in marching bands, though still existed in concert bands with one or two of them. Orchestral repertoire remained very much the same Austro-Germanic tradition throughout most Western countries. It mostly appeared in solo, chamber, and symphonic settings. By
15096-440: The music from the beginning of the piece. The score of Decoration Day was published for the first time in 1989. The Fourth of July was completely scored for full orchestra in the summer of 1912. The piece lasts six to seven minutes, and is scored for two flutes , one or two piccolos , an optional two or three fifes , two oboes , two or three clarinets , two bassoons and contrabassoon , four horns , three trumpets and
15244-481: The music seems to dissolve in the mind" as "a solo violin plays reminiscences of the fiddle tunes, representing memories of the dance that echoes in the minds of the young folk as they head home." Washington's Birthday was the first piece by Ives to be recorded in 1934 when Slonimsky conducted the Pan-America Orchestra for New Music Quarterly Recordings. Decoration Day was completed in 1912. Ives arranged
15392-422: The neck strap, and shifts the point of support closer to the center of gravity, adjusting the distribution of weight between the two hands. The bassoon is played with both hands in a stationary position, the left above the right, with five main finger holes on the front of the instrument (nearest the audience) plus a sixth that is activated by an open-standing key. Five additional keys on the front are controlled by
15540-421: The number to four in the latter half of the nineteenth century. In England, the bassoonist's role varied depending on the ensemble. Johann Christian Bach wrote two concertos for solo bassoon, and it also appeared in more supportive roles such as accompanying church choirs after the Puritan revolution destroyed most church organs. In the American colonies, the bassoon was typically seen in a chamber setting. After
15688-508: The other wind instruments, as they often wrote solos challenging the range and technique of the instrument. Examples of this include Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 's bassoon solo and cadenza following the clarinet in Sheherazade , Op. 35 and in Richard Wagner 's Tannhäuser , which required the bassoonist to triple tongue and also play up to the top of its range at an E 5 . Wagner also used
15836-413: The pamphlets at the 1920 Republican National Convention, but they arrived from the printer after the convention had ended. It is stated in the biographical film A Good Dissonance Like a Man that the first of Ives's crippling heart attacks occurred as a result of a World War I -era argument with a young Franklin D. Roosevelt over his idea of issuing of war bonds in amounts as low as $ 50 each. Roosevelt
15984-486: The papers. In 1831, Almenräder left Schott to start his own factory with a partner, Johann Adam Heckel . Heckel and two generations of descendants continued to refine the bassoon, and their instruments became the standard, with other makers following. Because of their superior singing tone quality (an improvement upon one of the main drawbacks of the Almenräder instruments), the Heckel instruments competed for prominence with
16132-794: The past but have not been produced by any major manufacturer since 1889. The art of reed-making has been practiced for several hundred years, some of the earliest known reeds having been made for the dulcian, a predecessor of the bassoon. Current methods of reed-making consist of a set of basic methods; however, individual bassoonists' playing styles vary greatly and thus require that reeds be customized to best suit their respective bassoonist. Advanced players usually make their own reeds to this end. With regards to commercially made reeds, many companies and individuals offer pre-made reeds for sale, but players often find that such reeds still require adjustments to suit their particular playing style. Modern bassoon reeds, made of Arundo donax cane, are often made by
16280-455: The piece for full orchestra, and it lasts about nine to ten minutes. The piece is scored for 2 flutes with optional piccolo , 2 oboes and solo English horn , 2 clarinets and optional E-flat clarinet , 2 bassoons , 4 horns , 2 or 3 trumpets , 3 trombones , tuba , timpani , snare drum , bass drum with attached cymbals , high bells or celesta , low bells , and strings. Numerous instruments are called on to play offstage, including
16428-423: The players themselves, although beginner bassoonists tend to buy their reeds from professional reed makers or use reeds made by their teachers. Reeds begin with a length of tube cane that is split into three or four pieces using a tool called a cane splitter. The cane is then trimmed and gouged to the desired thickness, leaving the bark attached. After soaking, the gouged cane is cut to the proper shape and milled to
16576-581: The plethora of quotation, Holiday Symphony would lose its ability to call forth memories and emotions. The first three movements of Holiday Symphony were performed in the United States and Europe in 1931 and 1932 under the direction of Nicolas Slonimsky . "The concerts created great excitement: laughter, protest, enthusiasm. Ives's music never occupied more than a single modest spot on each pair of programs, but several important critics singled it out for serious and admiring comment." Washington's Birthday
16724-406: The primary tone hole pitches are a pitched perfect 5th lower than other non-transposing Western woodwinds (effectively an octave beneath English horn ) the bassoon is non- transposing , meaning that notes sounded match the written pitch. The bassoon disassembles into six main pieces, including the reed . The bell (6) , extending upward; the bass joint (or long joint) (5) , connecting the bell and
16872-405: The reed and blowing direct air pressure to cause the reed to vibrate. Its fingering system can be quite complex when compared to those of other instruments. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral , concert band , and chamber music literature, and is occasionally heard in pop, rock, and jazz settings as well. One who plays a bassoon is called
17020-424: The reed. The lower, mostly cylindrical portion will be reamed out with a special tool called a reamer, allowing the reed to fit on the bocal. After the reed has dried, the wires are tightened around the reed, which has shrunk after drying, or replaced completely. The lower part is sealed (a nitrocellulose -based cement such as Duco may be used) and then wrapped with thread to ensure both that no air leaks out through
17168-433: The reformed Wiener system, a Boehm -style bassoon, and a completely keyed instrument devised by Charles-Joseph Sax , father of Adolphe Sax . F.W. Kruspe implemented a latecomer attempt in 1893 to reform the fingering system, but it failed to catch on. Other attempts to improve the instrument included a 24-keyed model and a single-reed mouthpiece , but both these had adverse effects on tone and were abandoned. Coming into
17316-524: The repertoire. Prior to 1760, the early ancestor of the bassoon was the dulcian . It was used to reinforce the bass line in wind ensembles called consorts . However, its use in concert orchestras was sporadic until the late 17th century when double reeds began to make their way into standard instrumentation. Increasing use of the dulcian as a basso continuo instrument meant that it began to be included in opera orchestras, in works such as those by Reinhard Keiser and Jean-Baptiste Lully . Meanwhile, as
17464-485: The rhythmic complexities in his major orchestral works made them daunting challenges even decades after they were composed. Early supporters of Ives's music included Henry Cowell , Elliott Carter , and Aaron Copland . Cowell's periodical New Music published a substantial number of Ives's scores (with his approval). But for nearly 40 years, Ives had few performances of his music that he did not personally arrange or financially back. He generally used Nicolas Slonimsky as
17612-411: The rise of virtuoso composer-performers—spurred further refinement. Increased sophistication, both in manufacturing techniques and acoustical knowledge, made possible great improvements in the instrument's playability. The modern bassoon exists in two distinct primary forms, the Buffet (or "French") system and the Heckel ("German") system. Most of the world plays the Heckel system, while the Buffet system
17760-400: The same pitches on cor anglais, which can produce them with relative ease. French bassoon has greater facility in the extreme high register, and so repertoire written for it is somewhat likelier to include very high notes, although repertoire for French system can be executed on German system without alterations and vice versa. The extensive high register of the bassoon and its frequent role as
17908-485: The second movement , he instructed the pianist to use a 14 + 3 ⁄ 4 in (37 cm) piece of wood to create a massive cluster chord. The piece also amply demonstrates Ives's fondness for musical quotation : the opening bars of Beethoven 's Fifth Symphony are quoted in each movement. Sinclair's catalogue also notes less obvious quotations of Beethoven's Hammerklavier Sonata and various other works. Another notable piece of orchestral music Ives completed
18056-429: The sides (the "channels") or tip to balance the reed. Additionally, if the "e" in the bass clef staff is sagging in pitch, it may be necessary to "clip" the reed by removing 1–2 mm (0.039–0.079 in) from its length using a pair of very sharp scissors or the equivalent. Music historians generally consider the dulcian to be the forerunner of the modern bassoon, as the two instruments share many characteristics:
18204-494: The silence of his late years. It seems as mysterious as the last several decades of the life of Jean Sibelius , who stopped composing at almost the same time. While Ives had stopped composing, and was increasingly plagued by health problems, he continued to revise and refine his earlier work, as well as oversee premieres of his music. After continuing health problems, including diabetes , in 1930 he retired from his insurance business. Although he had more time to devote to music, he
18352-789: The sound and rhythmic intensity amplify steadily. This segues into the parade-like material of " Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean ", followed by fireworks, simulated by Ives's sketch of "The General Slocum". The movement ends peacefully with the imagery of falling sparks, signaling the end of the Fourth of July. It was thought to be one of Ives's most challenging pieces; the overlapping of an abundance of quotations creates heightened dissonance . More quotations that can be found within The Fourth of July are " Yankee Doodle ", " Dixie ", " Battle Cry of Freedom ", Henry Clay Work 's " Marching Through Georgia ", " Battle Hymn of
18500-480: The sounds which surround us and hear them as music." (Cage refers to the essay as the one "which [Ives] wrote that follows his One Hundred and Thirteen Songs", probably referring to the "Postface to 114 Songs". ) Conductor Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic won a Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance for Ives's Complete Symphonies ( Deutsche Grammophon , recorded in 2020). There
18648-508: The staccato sound of the bassoon, as heard in Sergei Prokofiev 's Humorous Scherzo . In Sergei Prokofiev 's Peter and the Wolf , the part of the grandfather is played by the bassoon. In orchestral settings, most orchestras from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present have three or four bassoonists, with the fourth typically covering contrabassoon as well. Greater emphasis on
18796-400: The tube of the reed. The thread wrapping (commonly known as a "Turban" due to the criss-crossing fabric) is still more common in commercially sold reeds. To finish the reed, the end of the reed blank, originally at the center of the unfolded piece of cane, is cut off, creating an opening. The blades above the first wire are now roughly 27–30 mm (1.1–1.2 in) long. For the reed to play,
18944-460: The two string quartets during the 1960s. In the early 21st century, conductor Michael Tilson Thomas is an enthusiastic exponent of Ives's symphonies, as is composer and biographer Jan Swafford . Ives's work is regularly programmed in Europe. He has also inspired pictorial artists, most notably Eduardo Paolozzi , who entitled one of his 1970s sets of prints Calcium Light Night , each print being named for an Ives piece (including Central Park in
19092-504: The use of timbre, vibrato, and phrasing began to appear in bassoon pedagogy, and many followed Marcel Tabuteau 's philosophy on musical phrasing. Vibrato began to be used in ensemble playing, depending on the phrasing of the music. The bassoon was, and currently is, expected to be fluent with other woodwinds in terms of virtuosity and technique. Examples of this include the cadenza for bassoons in Maurice Ravel 's Rapsodie espagnole and
19240-587: The use of vibrato on the bassoon to that of singers, and Luigi Orselli wrote that the bassoon blended well with human voice. He also noted the function of the bassoon in the French orchestra at the time, which served to support the sound of the viola, reinforce staccato sound, and double the bass, clarinet, flute, and oboe. Emphasis also began to be placed on the unique sound of the bassoon's staccato, which might be described as quite short and aggressive, such as in Hector Berlioz 's Symphonie fantastique , Op. 14 in
19388-483: The usual etymology that equates fagotto with "bundle of sticks" is somewhat misleading, as the latter term did not come into general use until later. However an early English variation, "faget", was used as early as 1450 to refer to firewood, which is 100 years before the earliest recorded use of the dulcian (1550). Further citation is needed to prove the lack of relation between the meaning "bundle of sticks" and "fagotto" (Italian) or variants. Some think that it may resemble
19536-566: The work as "the heart of the Ives problem". The Carnegie Hall world premiere by the American Symphony Orchestra led to the first recording of the music. Another promoter of his was choral conductor Gregg Smith, who made a series of recordings of his shorter works during the 1960s. These included the first stereo recordings of the psalm settings and arrangements of many short pieces for theater orchestra. The Juilliard String Quartet recorded
19684-449: Was a "crying shame" that he spent so much time at music as otherwise he could have been a champion sprinter. His works Calcium Light Night and Yale-Princeton Football Game show the influence of college and sports on Ives's composition. He wrote his Symphony No. 1 as his senior thesis under Parker's supervision. Ives continued his work as a church organist until May 1902. Soon after he graduated from Yale in 1898, he started work in
19832-680: Was a common theme in previous eras, the bassoon was valued by composers for its unique voice, and its use rose higher in pitch. A famous example of this is the beginning of Igor Stravinsky 's Rite of Spring in which the bassoon plays in its highest register in order to mimic the Russian Dentsivka . Composers also wrote for the bassoon's middle register, such as in Stravinsky's "Berceuse" in The Firebird and Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 by Jean Sibelius . They also continued to highlight
19980-415: Was also among the first composers to engage in a systematic program of experimental music , with musical techniques including polytonality , polyrhythm , tone clusters , aleatory elements, and quarter tones . His experimentation foreshadowed many musical innovations that were later more widely adopted during the 20th century. Hence, he is often regarded as the leading American composer of art music of
20128-521: Was also promoted by Bernard Herrmann , who worked as a conductor at CBS and in 1940 became principal conductor of the CBS Symphony Orchestra . While there, he championed Ives's music. When they met, Herrmann confessed that he had tried his hand at performing the Concord Sonata . Ives, who avoided the radio and the phonograph, agreed to make a series of piano recordings from 1933 to 1943. One of
20276-474: Was an American modernist composer, actuary and businessman. Ives was among the earliest renowned American composers to achieve recognition on a global scale. His music was largely ignored during his early career, and many of his works went unperformed for many years. Later in life, the quality of his music was publicly recognized through the efforts of contemporaries like Henry Cowell and Lou Harrison , and he came to be regarded as an "American original". He
20424-456: Was chairman of a war bonds committee on which Ives served, and he "scorned the idea of anything so useless as a $ 50 bond". Roosevelt changed his mind about small contributions as seen many years later when he endorsed the March of Dimes to combat poliomyelitis. Charles Ives and his wife Harmony (née Twichell) Ives were the subjects of the opera Harmony (2021) by Robert Carl and Russell Banks, which
20572-609: Was due to his health problems as well as his shifting ideas of the work. Ives's music was largely ignored during his life, particularly during the years in which he actively composed. Many of his published works went unperformed even many years after his death in 1954. However, his reputation in more recent years has greatly increased. The Juilliard School commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of his death by performing his music over six days in 2004. His musical experiments, including his increasing use of dissonance , were not well received by his contemporaries. The difficulties in performing
20720-604: Was exploring the 1960s during the heyday of Strauss and Debussy . Polytonality ; atonality ; tone clusters ; perspectivistic effects; chance ; statistical composition; permutation; add-a-part, practical-joke, and improvisatory music: these were Ives’s discoveries a half-century ago as he quietly set about devouring the contemporary cake before the rest of us even found a seat at the same table." John Cage expressed his admiration for Ives in "Two Statements on Ives", writing "I think that Ives's relevance increases as time goes on" and stating that "his contribution to American music
20868-471: Was from him that Ives also learned the music of Stephen Foster . He became a church organist at the age of 14 and wrote various hymns and songs for church services, including his Variations on "America" , which he wrote for a Fourth of July concert in Brewster, New York . It is considered challenging even by modern concert organists, but he famously spoke of it as being "as much fun as playing baseball ",
21016-455: Was his Symphony No. 4 , which he worked on this from 1910 to 1916, with further revisions in the 1920s. This four-movement symphony is notable for its complexity and vast orchestra. A complete performance of the work was not given until 1965, half a century after it was completed and over a decade after Ives's death. Ives left behind material for an unfinished Universe Symphony , which he was unable to complete despite two decades of work. This
21164-494: Was in every sense 'not only spiritual, by also concretely musical.' Nowadays everything I hear by Ives delights me." Cage recalled that during the 1930s, he was "not interested in Ives because of the inclusion in his music of aspects of American folk and popular material". but that once he began to focus on indeterminacy, he "was able to approach Ives in an entirely different... spirit." Cage noted that Ives "knew that if sound sources came from different points in space that that fact
21312-431: Was in itself interesting. Nobody before him had thought about this..." and stated that "the freedom that he gave to a performer saying Do this or do that according to your choice is directly in line with present indeterminate music." Cage also expressed his interest in what he called the "mud of Ives", by which he meant "the part that is not referential..." from which arises a "complex superimposition [of] lines that makes
21460-501: Was premiered by the Seagle Festival in August 2021. Charles Ives was played by baritone Joel Clemens and Harmony Twitchell was played by soprano Victoria Erickson. Bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity. It
21608-477: Was released in 2018 and shown on Swedish and German television stations; it features interviews with Jan Swafford , John Adams , James Sinclair and Jack Cooper . In 1965, Ives won a Grammy Award for his composition Symphony No. 4 and the American Symphony Orchestra won for their recording of the work. Ives had previously been nominated in 1964 for "New England Holidays" and in 1960 for Symphony No. 2. Igor Stravinsky praised Ives. In 1966 he said: "[Ives]
21756-886: Was the first movement in Holiday Symphony to be written. Ives started writing it as two organ pieces, a prelude and a postlude, in 1887 for a Thanksgiving church service; this is one of the reasons why it seems so conservative compared to the other three movements. He finished arranging Thanksgiving and Forefathers' Day in 1904 as one orchestral movement. The piece is scored for 2 or 3 flutes , piccolo , 2 oboes , 2 or 3 clarinets , 2 or 3 bassoons , contrabassoon , 4 or 5 horns , 3 or 4 trumpets , 3 or 4 trombones and tuba , timpani , 2 or 3 players on different pitches of bells , 1 or 2 players on different pitches of chimes , celeste , piano and strings , as well as an offstage choir , and an optional offstage band of 4 horns , trombone , and contrabassoon . "The middle section has
21904-475: Was unable to write any new music. During the 1940s, he revised his Concord Sonata , publishing it in 1947 (an earlier version of the sonata and the accompanying prose volume, Essays Before a Sonata were privately printed in 1920). Ives died of a stroke in 1954 in New York City. His widow, who died in 1969 at age 92, bequeathed the royalties from his music to the American Academy of Arts and Letters for
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