Album

Nobody takes credit in the packaging for the basic idea behind Naxos' complete edition of the songs of Charles Ives: the distribution of the pieces among a large group of mostly young singers. But it's a great way of doing them. With a few exceptions, they are reasonable in their technical demands. They cover an enormous stylistic range, from more or less straightforward German Romantic songs to borrowings from many kinds of American vernacular music to Ives' unique musical transcendentalism. This disc, the second in the set, involves no fewer than 14 different singers (several singers get multiple songs) and five accompanists, performing songs dating from 1893, during Ives' youth, to 1921's Disclosure and The Greatest Man, at the very end of his career. The program never feels like a jumble, and in fact the singers have generally been well matched to their material. Sample by way of demonstration track 4, Dreams, with its theatrical sentimentality effectively delivered by tenor Kenneth Tarver, or the rather mysterious baritone of Robert Gardner in Down East, track 3. The recordings, though made over several months, were all done in the same venue: Sprague Hall at Yale University, lending further coherence to the whole. The only real objection here is the several pairs of Ives songs in which he set a German poem in German and then again in English—a phenomenon that's worth a disc of its own—are broken up among different discs in the series. But that won't be a problem for the many collectors and libraries who will be acquiring the entire set. And those buyers will be quite satisfied with what they're getting, at least, those with good Internet connections will be, for song texts are online only despite the fact that there was room in the booklet for 20 pages of Naxos advertising.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide

CD 1
Charles Edward Ives Composer December, S.234 Work Janna Baty Mezzo-Soprano, J.J. Penna Piano
1	December, S.234	1:10			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Disclosure, S.235 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Matthew Plenk Tenor
2	Disclosure, S.235	1:14			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Down East, S.236 Work Rob Gardner Baritone, Laura Garritson Piano
3	Down East, S.236	3:12			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Dreams, S.238 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Kenneth Tarver Tenor
4	Dreams, S.238	4:01			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Du alte Mutter (My dear old mother), S.239 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Michael Cavalieri Baritone
5	Du alte Mutter (My dear old mother), S.239	2:27			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Du bist wie eine Blume, S.240 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Tamara Mumford Mezzo-Soprano
6	Du bist wie eine Blume, S.240	1:50			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Élégie, S.242 Work Leah Wool Mezzo-Soprano, J.J. Penna Piano
7	Élégie, S.242	4:56			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer The Ending Year, S.243 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Sara Jakubiak Soprano
8	The Ending Year, S.243	3:02			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Evening, S.244 Work Mary Phillips Mezzo-Soprano, J.J. Penna Piano
9	Evening, S.244	2:05			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Evidence, S.245 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Matthew Plenk Tenor
10	Evidence, S.245	1:44			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Weil' auf mir (Eyes so dark), S.387 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Matthew Plenk Tenor
11	Weil' auf mir (Eyes so dark), S.387	2:09			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Far from my heav'nly home, S.246 Work Tamara Mumford Mezzo-Soprano, Frederick Teardo Organ
12	Far from my heav'nly home, S.246	4:28			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Far in the wood, S.247 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Lielle Berman Soprano
13	Far in the wood, S.247	1:46			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer A Farewell to Land, S.248 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Leah Wool Mezzo-Soprano
14	A Farewell to Land, S.248	1:53			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer La Fede, S.249 Work Leah Wool Mezzo-Soprano, J.J. Penna Piano
15	La Fede, S.249	0:54			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Feldeinsamkeit (In Summer Fields), S. 250 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Michael Cavalieri Baritone
16	Feldeinsamkeit (In Summer Fields), S. 250	2:56			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Flag Song, S.251 Work Eric Trudel Piano, David Pittsinger Bass
17	Flag Song, S.251	2:23			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Forward into Light (derived from S.143), S.252 Work Jennifer Casey Cabot Soprano, Eric Trudel Piano
18	Forward into Light (derived from S.143), S.252	4:00			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Friendship, S.253 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Matthew Plenk Tenor
19	Friendship, S.253	3:23			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Frühlingslied, S.254 Work Heather Buck Soprano, Eric Trudel Piano
20	Frühlingslied, S.254	2:06			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer General William Booth Enters into Heaven, S.255 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, David Pittsinger Bass
21	General William Booth Enters into Heaven, S.255	5:37			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer God Bless and Keep Thee, S.256 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, David Pittsinger Bass
22	God Bless and Keep Thee, S.256	2:30			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Grace, S.257 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Tamara Mumford Mezzo-Soprano
23	Grace, S.257	1:39			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Grantchester, S.258 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Michael Cavalieri Baritone
24	Grantchester, S.258	3:12			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer The Greatest Man, S.259 Work Douglas Dickson Piano, Michael Cavalieri Baritone
25	The Greatest Man, S.259	1:25			$0.99
Charles Edward Ives Composer Gruss, S.260 Work Eric Trudel Piano, Sumi Kittelberger Soprano
26	Gruss, S.260	1:35			$0.99