Songs - C. Ives

KTC 2508 . 2CD . 5425008374437 . 01/01/2005 . Etcetera Records

Songs - C. Ives

Composer(s):
  • Charles Ives (1874-1954)

… 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.

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Track listing

CD 1 - Songs
1 Songs My Mother Taught Me 02:10
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
2 Slow March 02:11
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
3 Dreams 03:25
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
4 Memories 02:41
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
5 Berceuse 01:34
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
6 Romanzo Di Central Park 01:55
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
7 Slugging A Vampire 00:25
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
8 Spring Song 01:19
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
9 The Cage 00:55
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
10 Autumn 03:06
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
11 The Things Our Fathers Loved 01:42
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
12 Tom Sails Away 02:57
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
13 Down East 02:45
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
14 Serenity 02:00
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
15 Maple Leaves 01:00
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
16 Like A Sick Eagle 02:16
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
17 On The Counter 01:16
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
18 The See 'R 00:45
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
19 Evening 01:38
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
20 Immortality 01:41
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
21 The Housatonic At Stockbridge 03:32
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
22 The Greatest Man 01:34
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
23 Two Little Flowers 01:24
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
24 The Side Show 00:38
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
25 1,2,3 00:28
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
26 Charlie Rutlage 02:55
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
CD 2 - Songs
1 The Circus Band 02:15
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
2 A Night Song 01:00
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
3 An Old Flame 02:04
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
4 From "Night Of Frost In May" 01:22
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
5 Ich Grolle Nicht 02:46
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
6 Feldeinsamkeit 03:04
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
7 Die Alte Mutter 01:51
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
8 Weil'auf Mir 01:52
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
9 Ilmenau 01:43
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
10 Rosamunde 02:10
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
11 Qu'il M'irait Bien 01:03
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
12 Elegie 03:38
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
13 Chanson De Florian 01:56
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
14 The Children’s Hour 02:04
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
15 Harpalus (An Ancient Pastoral) 01:10
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
16 There´S A Lane 01:18
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
17 Mirage 00:54
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
18 A Farewell To Land 01:46
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
19 Evidence 01:27
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
20 The Camp Meeting 04:07
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
21 Watchman 01:49
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
22 His Exaltation 01:57
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
23 At The River 01:35
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
24 From 'Paracelsus' 03:41
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
25 Remembrance 00:34
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
26 At Sea 01:23
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
27 Ann Street 00:59
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'
28 They Are There 02:39
artists: 'Roberta Alexander' 'Tan Crone' 'Rien de Reede'
composers: 'Charles Ives (1874-1954)'