"How dear to the heart are the scenes of my childhood, when fond recollections present them to view." Thus read the opening lines of "The Old Oaken Bucket," the traditional tune that forms the centerpiece of the second movement of Ives' First Sonata for violin and piano (1902 - 08). It may well be that these lines embody the nostalgic musical collage that comprises the entire work; Ives' wistfully nostalgic yet stubbornly fragmentary style frequently evokes jumbled memories and fleeting images.

The sonata's first movement is full of familiar gestures underpinned by unfamiliar harmonies. The piano's angular counterpoint as the movement opens contrasts with the more lyrical mode of the violin. Certain recognizable figures emerge from the texture to provide a sporadic sense of harmonic orientation, only to sink back into the tonally ambiguous background. As the movement progresses, the interplay of the two instruments becomes more intricate. Strains of "The Shining Shore" and "Bringing in the Sheaves" rise to the surface before the movement returns to the pensive material of the opening.

The second movement opens with a lush, plaintive melody in the violin, supported by careful chordal accompaniment in the piano. Even as it ventures further and further from the familiar, the movement remains colored by a bittersweet warmth and reverence. The final movement opens with a march that draws upon Lowell Mason's "Work, for the Night is Coming." Another Mason hymn, "Watchman, Tell Us of the Night," appears frequently during the subsequent andante cantabile section. The sonata briefly regains momentum before fading to a quiet close.

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