Marshall Ives

Charles Ives's Quotations: Manner or Substance?
Author(s): Dennis Marshall

Source: Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Spring - Summer, 1968), pp. 45-56
Published by: Perspectives of New Music
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CHARLES IVES'S QUOTATIONS:
MANNER OR SUBSTANCE?
DENNIS MARSHALL
ONE OF IVES'S most frequently mentioned compositional

extensive use of borrowed material; he draws upon the vast
temporary social music-hymn tunes, patriotic songs, r
songs-as "raw material" for his works. Little has been s
about the relationship of these borrowed elements to the
structure. It has been generally assumed that this previo
material is used principally for its programmatic signif
these borrowed tunes bear little or no musical relationship t
to the composition as a whole.
However, in his Essays Before a Sonata (first published by
a preface to his Second Pianoforte Sonata: "Concord, Mass., 1
composer seems to hint at the possibility that this borrowed
take on a much more fundamental musical role. In the
elaborates on the dualism present in any art work between i
"substance" and its more superficial, external "manner."
that an "overinsistence upon the national in art" may ca
posers to borrow from local musical sources merely for surf
the other hand, he then gives examples of how such materia
part of the real substance of an artist's work:
The man "born down to Babbit's Corners" may find

in the simple but acute Gospel hymns of the New En
meetin' " of a generation or so ago. He finds in them-s
vigor, a depth of feeling, a natural-soil rhythm, a since
but inartistic-which, in spite of a vociferous sentimen
him nearer the "Christ of the people" than does the Te
greatest cathedral .... If the Yankee can reflect the fe
which "his gospels" were sung-the fervency of "Aunt
scrubbed her life away for her brother's ten orphans, the
which this woman, after a fourteen-hour work day on the
hitch up and drive five miles through the mud and r
1 Charles Ives, Essays Before a Sonata and Other Writings, ed. Howard
York, 1962), p. 75.
2 Ibid., pp. 78-79.
. 45 ?
PERSPECTIVES OF NEW MUSIC
meetin'," her one articulate outlet for the fullness o

-if he can reflect the fervency of such a spirit, he m
color that will do all the world good. If his musi
spirit by being a part with itself, it will come some
-and it will be American, too .... In other words, if local color,
national color, any color, is a true pigment of the universal color, it is a
divine quality, it is a part of substance in art-not of manner.3
A closer examination of Ives's compositions reveals that his use of bor-

rowed material is indeed at the very core of his compositional thought.
The two scherzo movements of his First Piano Sonata, completed in 1909,
illustrate this fundamental role which borrowed elements play in the over-
all design. The many motivic and structural interrelationships which unite
this pair of symmetrically placed second and fourth movements in the
five-movement sonata justify considering them as a single scherzo, inter-
rupted by the central third movement (a rhapsodic series of variations on
"What a Friend We Have in Jesus"). Each half of the scherzo is further
divided into two sections, labeled by the composer IIA, IIB, IVA, and
IVB. Three of these are arrangements from a Set of Four Ragtime Pieces for
small orchestra which Ives completed in 1904.4 He originally intended to
use all four early ragtime pieces in the sonata, but around 1909 he re-
placed the third piece with a newly composed section IVA.5 This section,
probably one of the last parts of the sonata to be composed, is also har-
monically and rhythmically the most advanced. The ragtime piece dis-
carded from the sonata was later used in the Second Orchestral Set (finished
in 1915).6
As a young man starting his career in the insurance business in New
York City, Charles Ives had enjoyed spending an occasional Saturday
night playing ragtime piano in some local beer garden,7 and this exuber-
ance is reflected in the interrupted scherzo. But this scherzo also reflects
another kind of exuberance: that of the New England "prayer meetin',"
and the composer utilizes three Gospel hymn tunes in the scherzo: "I
Hear Thy Welcome Voice," "Bringing in the Sheaves," and "Happy
Day" (Exx. la, Ib, and Ic).
This combination of ragtime and hymn tunes may seem incongruous-
perhaps even a bit sacrilegious-to some, but Ives is expressing not ridi-
cule, but intense admiration. He feels, with the New England Trans-
3 Ibid., pp. 80-81.

4 John Kirkpatrick, A Temporary Mimeographed Catalogue of the Music Manuscripts of
Charles Edward Ives (1874-1954) given by Mrs. Ives to the Library of the Tale School of Music,
September 1955, Yale University, 1960, p. 40.
5 Ibid., p. 85.
6 Ibid., p. 18.
7 Henry Cowell and Sidney Cowell, Charles Ives and His Music (New York, 1955), p. 40.
. 46 ?
CHARLES IVES'S QUOTATIONS
I Hear Thy Welcome Voice

Lewis Hartsough
iI
rj
Chorus
II I
.;- , J. . I I -- I I I !A J
Ex. la
cendentalists, "that all occupations of man's body and soul in

diversity come from but one mind and soul!"8 Thus Ives is not me
unafraid to draw upon the whole of his varied musical experiences for
in his compositions; he actually feels obligated to do so. He writes i
Essays:
If he (this poet, composer, and laborer) ... is willing to use or learn to

use (or at least if he is not afraid of trying to use) whatever he can of any
and all lessons of the infinite that humanity has received and thrown to
man, that nature has exposed and sacrificed, that life and death have
translated-if he accepts all and sympathizes with all, is influenced by
all (whether consciously or subconsciously, drastically or humbly,
8 Ives, Essays Before a Sonata and Other Writings, p. 96.
0 47 ?
audibly or inaudibly) whether it be all the virtue o

evil of Heaven-and all, even at one time, even in
may be that the value of his substance, and its value
art, to all art, even to the Common Soul, is growi
nearer and nearer to perfect truths-whatever the
they may be.9
Bringing in the Sheaves

George A. Minor
I I ii i i Ii
Chorus
... I I
, -p- 1 , J I- 1-0-- - 1 -09,
vi
A-own" Poolr mr-m" "

I-GIN I I I 1 0 i .
Ex. lb
Ives's choosing to ignore the traditional boundaries of "sacred" a

"secular" reminds the present writer of the medieval musicians who fou
nothing improper about singing a motet with a sacred Latin text in
voice part and a secular French text in another.
1 Ibid., p. 92.
? 48 -
The most obvious characteristic shared by the three hymn tunes u

in this scherzo is their formal structure, a series of verses, each followed
the repeated chorus (or refrain). Ives uses this as a model for the four r
time pieces, each of which also exhibits the verse-chorus structure. (
formal similarity is more than likely not a coincidence: of the over fift
hymn tunes which John Kirkpatrick has traced in the music of Ives
Happy Day
from Edward F. Rimbault
L.. I J.-or : I . , I ,
so M t
" ! i - I I Y? i r" L rP
Chorus
A&Ike dw ILA,
I I I I r--
P. 4, r I " I
A- hi I I
r" r r r r r "? r r r r r r
I" ~ ," " P' .. ....
i ? ? ,? , V r' 1" I r l r l I I
r i 1 .. r . ?" r - "
F [ I I I t I r
Ex. Ic
only fifteen utilize the verse-chorus structure, and the hymn tunes used
the other movements of the sonata are not based on this formal plan.)
Each of the four chorus sections of the scherzo is based on the refrain of
the same hymn tune, "I Hear Thy Welcome Voice" (see Ex. l a). The
'O Kirkpatrick, A Temporary Mimeographed Catalogue, pp. 264-65.
? 49 ?
chorus of movement IIA presents all but the fin

tune's chorus, accompanied by a ragtime-inspired rhy
The chorus of movement IIB (Ex. 3) makes use of onl
melody; in the published score (page 19) Ives descr
impromptu affair" and has included suggestions for
of playing the second and fourth measures.
Chorus
Andante
Sv v v
_v
v
f...
marcato
1 4 R
Ex. 2
The chorus of the ragtime piece originally intended as movement IVA is

similar to that of the first piece, but the chorus of the substituted section
merely suggests the hymn tune using parallel fifths (Ex. 4). The last ragtime
piece has a chorus, vacillating between B major and B?, major, which
returns to a more nearly complete (though distorted) statement of the
original hymn tune chorus (Ex. 5).
The four verse sections in the scherzo introduce motivic elements from
two additional hymn tunes, "Bringing in the Sheaves" and "Happy
Day" (see Exx. lb and Ic). The latter melody is also associated with a
secular text: " How Dry I am." The dual significance renders the tune
a 50.
Chorus
f tt~~(ad lib.)
a) con moto (meno mosso) and evenly Iv l .._..

17 AA
A.t .A... . ...A..

sorit. . . .
it. . .
Ex. 3
singularly appropriate for this scherzo, which is consciously ignoring the

usual sacred-secular dichotomy. A fragment of the tune is first heard at
the very beginning of movement IIA (Ex. 6). The verse of " Bringing in the
Sheaves" also makes an early appearance (Ex. 7).
Movement IIB was the first part of the sonata to be published (by New
Music) with the title In the Inn. Ives relishes this verbal pun, and later we
will see the "musical pun" which he uses to add motivic cohesion to the
scherzo.
A marginal note by Ives describes the new movement IVA as " a study
r- -
t7
L-----a---~- ~ L--- j --J I-OIL O d

3-A
IF ir~ ~?sI /~~
Ex. 4
51 -
!OR
" " ' ': ...' '" I op
"I op7T-a
-R, OF OF 1
ry w a
Ex. 5
in 'Rag' for 5's 3's and 2's together, changing accents, etc."" Its verse
and chorus lead directly to the final ragtime piece, which recapitulates
Allegro moderato
,J .
1"1
Ex. 6
some of the material of IIB and then breaks into a "ragged" verse and
jubilant refrain of " Bringing in the Sheaves" before the final chorus sec-
s o
tLL
Ex. 7
" Ibid., p. 86.
0 52"
tion described above. This last ragtime piece differs from the first three in
that there is a passage following the chorus which serves as a coda to the
entire scherzo (Ex. 8).
Slow
ten.
A F7"7
7 ppp
P40.3
--------- - - ---- --
Ex. 8
Ives's choice of the particular three hymn tunes which he uses in this
scherzo-rather than another set of three with the same verse-chorus
structure-is influenced by an important melodic similarity: each
and chorus in all three hymn tunes ends with a rhythmic variant of t
same re-do-mi-re-do cadential formula (see Exx. la, lb, and Ic)
"musical pun" has been hinted at several times during the ragtime pie
but Ives has carefully avoided presenting the complete five-note figur
any of the four chorus sections. Finally, in the coda, two of the hym
refrains (those of "I Hear Thy Welcome Voice" and "Bringing in
Sheaves") are stated simultaneously, and at the point where each
the five-note motive, Ives combines them into a single melodic li
the 2/4 measure in Ex. 8).
It now seems clear that Ives has chosen his borrowed material
carefully, and the term "quotation" seems hardly adequate to de
the fundamental importance of these hymn tunes as formal models an
unifying factors in the sonata. Even in the first and last movements
work, which make comparatively less use of borrowed elements
introduces a single hymn tune, "Lebanon," at certain strategic poi
both movements to strengthen the symmetrical structure of the
composition.
This use of previously composed elements which are carefully selected
for their motivic relationships can be found in much of the composer's
? 53-
work. One of the best-known examples of this is his c

tune " Missionary Chant " in the " Concord " Sonata b
melodic similarities to the "Beethoven Fifth" motive,
important role in the composition (Ex. 9).
Missionary Chant
Heinrich C. Zeuner
7-1
I 1
i II
I I
111 I
Ex. 9
In addition, the technique of basing the formal plan of an extended

movement upon the structure of a much simpler borrowed melody can be
found in other Ives works. For example, the first movement of the Third
Violin Sonata, like the scherzo previously described, consists of four verse
sections, each followed by a chorus. This movement is modeled on the
hymn tune "Beulah Land," which also serves as an important motivic
element.12
Even in a complex orchestral movement such as "The Fourth of July"

from the Holidays Symphony, Ives makes use of a single borrowed tune at
the very core of the structure of the composition: "The Red, White and
Blue" ("O Columbia the gem of the ocean. . .") serves as a structural
framework for the entire movement-in much the same way that a Lutheran
chorale melody would serve as the formal model and motivic source for a
cantata movement or an organ chorale prelude of J. S. Bach. "The Red,
White and Blue " can also be heard as the principal motivic material of the
orchestral movement from the very first measure; Ex. 10 illustrates the use
of the tune as both a melodic and harmonic source.
The chords in fourths, fifths, and seconds (derived from the intervals i
12 Ibid., p. 78.
a 54 *
A
Fl.
'III
PMP
()P
r -3---1 r---3= -- 3------ ----5- "-3
Vn. (1PPp;)
(div.)p p
Aa
Via.
...d I I
/I PP
Vc.
APpp
Cb. Sarco p-
(Tuba)"I Z
''"pizz
,---- ? - -
Ex. 10
the opening phrase of the patriotic tune) also appear in the strings at th
climax of the movement, beginning at rehearsal letter X.
As Ives introduces other popular melodies into "The Fourth of July
he is always concerned with their relationship to the principal sourc
"The Red, White and Blue." An excerpt from one of the composer's p
liminary sketches for the passage beginning at rehearsal letter S reve
the composer experimenting with the contrapuntal combination of "T
Red, White and Blue" and "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" (E
11).13 The melodic similarities in the second and third full measures
doubtedly influenced his decision to combine these particular tunes.
A great deal of Ives's music is "program music," because he feels, as
writes in a letter to Henry Bellamann:
13 Photostats have been made of virtually all the Ives music manuscripts at Yale, a
the use of the photostat negative numbers as given in the Kirkpatrick Catalogue is a con
venient method for identifying any particular manuscript page. This example can
found on the page with negative number 0891.
0 55 *
You cannot set an art off in the corner and hope

reality and substance. There can be nothing exclu
art. It comes directly out of the heart of experie
about life and living life.14
A" , J l i' F. - 9r - 2 -
A t - I,,,Iv I ;ii
Ex. 11
The previously composed materials which Ives uses are selected, of course,
partly for their programmatic connotations, but the composer is conscious
of their musical characteristics and interrelationships from the very begin-
ning of the creative process, and these borrowed elements form a part of
the real substance of his musical art.
14 Cowell, Charles Ives and His Music, p. 97.
a 56.

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Charles Ives's Quotations: Manner or Substance?

Author(s): Dennis Marshall

ONE OF IVES'S most frequently mentioned compositional

The man "born down to Babbit's Corners" may find

meetin'," her one articulate outlet for the fullness o

A closer examination of Ives's compositions reveals that his use of bor-

3 Ibid., pp. 80-81.

I Hear Thy Welcome Voice

cendentalists, "that all occupations of man's body and soul in

If he (this poet, composer, and laborer) ... is willing to use or learn to

audibly or inaudibly) whether it be all the virtue o

Bringing in the Sheaves

A-own" Poolr mr-m" "

Ives's choosing to ignore the traditional boundaries of "sacred" a

The most obvious characteristic shared by the three hymn tunes u

I" ~ ," " P' .. ....

chorus of movement IIA presents all but the fin

The chorus of the ragtime piece originally intended as movement IVA is

a) con moto (meno mosso) and evenly Iv l .._..

A.t .A... . ...A..

singularly appropriate for this scherzo, which is consciously ignoring the

L-----a---~- ~ L--- j --J I-OIL O d

IF ir~ ~?sI /~~

" Ibid., p. 86.

work. One of the best-known examples of this is his c

In addition, the technique of basing the formal plan of an extended

Even in a complex orchestral movement such as "The Fourth of July"

r -3---1 r---3= -- 3------ ----5- "-3

You cannot set an art off in the corner and hope

14 Cowell, Charles Ives and His Music, p. 97.

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