Songs - C. Ives

… Alexander’s [performance] is stunning, at times operatic and at times ridiculous – as it should be for Ives. She sings these songs like they just occurred to her … Classical Pulse Like a Sick Eagle sets the voice keening in slow quarter-tone slides to evoke the deathly exhaustion of a stricken bird … I liked, too, the Dolly Parton manner she assumes at the beginning of Charlie Rutlage … the recording is excellent. Gramophone Nowhere is the existence of a characteristically American quality in Ives's music better demonstrated than in his songs. Though related to the late 18th and early 19th centuries' Central European idiom, if they are performed with the subtleties of the European vocal tradition, the result will be absolutely unnatural. The specifically American qualities and unmistakable individuality need an interpretor shaped by the informal and comparatively steady cadences of American speech. One of the main elements that contribute to their American character is the use of quotations from hymns, war songs, popular songs and ragtime. All this he used to reach his main goal: making the details of his texts as vivid and as realistic as possible. The extraordinary diversity of Ives's music is easily seen in his album of 114 Songs, but it was not until the 1950s that his importance as a composer was fully recognized. All of the songs on this record are from the 114 Songs, except Slugging A Vampire, and who can sing these better than American soprano Roberta Alexander? Among the most compelling singing actresses of our time, Roberta Alexander enjoys international renown for her riveting, incisive characterizations, miraculous vocal and dramatic range. She has performed principal roles at the major operahouses around the globe. Equally esteemed as an orchestral soloist, Ms. Alexander enjoyed success with distinguished conductors as Ashkenazy, Haitink and Harnoncourt with diverse repertoire. An uncommonly communicative recitalist, Ms. Alexander has offered acclaimed programs in the best concert halls all over the world. She is an especially ardent and persuasive interpreter of American masterworks. Her voluminous discography on Etcetera, Philips, Sony, Teldec and BMG reflects her astonishing mastery of varied vocal style. Tan Crone studied with Nellie Wagenaar, Nadia Boulanger and Rudolf Serkin. After living several years in New England, and making tours of North and South America as solo pianist and as accompanist, she returned to The Netherlands continuing to appear widely through Europe.