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The Innovations and Accomplishments of Charles Ives

Joshua Ready
Professor Heather Hawk
History of Music II (3327)
22 April 2015

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Charles Ives was born into a well-known family in Danbury, Connecticut. The Ives
family played a prominent role in business and civic improvement, as well as with the push for
the abolition of slavery. Ives father, George, was an accomplished bandmaster, and
coincidentally, this inspired some of Ives techniques he used in his later compositions in a
unique way. George Ives would often encourage his son to experiment with the rules of music
theory and to create his own unique style (Burkholder). Because of these aspects, Charles Ives
was a unique musician, as much of his work was completed behind the scenes from his business
career as an insurance salesman. However, because of this, he was able to experiment with his
music and go beyond what other composers have done in the past without much criticism as his
works went a long period of time without being published. This paper will explore Ives unique
use of polytonality, atonality, polyrhythms, and other musical nuances, as well as why these
innovations brought him success.
Charles Ives began composing music from the young age of 13 with his Holiday
Quickstep. This work was inspired much by his fathers career as a bandmaster, and was
recognized by the Danbury Evening News after it was published (Burkholder). This piece was
composed in the old-fashioned style of marches in the 1830s by opening with an intro, moving to
the trio section, and ending with a da capo back to the intro section. Nevertheless, by the 1880s,
John Philip Sousa had taken this concept to the next level by eliminating the da capo and instead
creating three contrasting sections. Ives was unaware of this change and, encouraged by his
father, created his earliest performable work. Another one of Ives compositions showcased his
virtuosic talents as an organist in his late teens and was composed in 1892 for organ. It was
titled Variations on America. This piece took the patriotic song known as America and
transformed it in many different ways, including setting it in minor, adding tons of

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embellishments, and altering the rhythms. These pieces are only a few examples of the
foundation for the rest of Ives creations.
As Ives transitioned from church organist to insurance salesman, his entire outlook on
music composition changed. Instead of creating music to be performed for the public, he could
now focus on creating music for himself, free of public criticism, and available for any and all
experimentation he would come up with (Burkholder). One such piece created during this time
is the Country Band March. This piece was inspired by amateur bands that Ives heard as a
young man in Danbury that often missed entrance notes, did not stay together, and that would in
their warmups play popular tunes that everyone knew (Varineau). Country Band March features
many different melodies often overlapping one another, which also was a unique use of
polytonality and polyrhythms as the percussion play on weak beats as well as between beats
throughout the piece.
Another one of Ives polytonal atonal pieces, The Unanswered Question, is perhaps one
of his better known works. It features a trumpet and flute line, alternating phrases set in a
different key than the foundation of the strings continuously playing block chords. These canons
from the trumpet and flute represent the atonal layer of the piece while the strings are the tonal
layer, and each one contains different rhythms, pitch content, and sonority. Often when this
piece is performed, it is accompanied with notes explaining the unusual music practices and why
they are used (Burkholder).
One of Ives larger works during this time period is his Symphony no. 2. This work
incorporates a romantic style established by Europeans, borrowing directly from Bach, Brahms,
Wagner, Dvorak, and Tchaikovsky. Even the final two movements of this five movement cycle
are modeled after Brahms First Symphony. However, completely American are the tunes in

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which Ives features within this symphony. Ives attempts to include both vernacular and church
style into his compositions grew the more he composed, and this piece is no exception. Gospel
songs, hymn tunes, patriotic songs, works composed by Stephen Foster, and other American
popular songs are all incorporated into the melody within this symphony, which was very typical
of Ives style, though a departure from the typical focuses on folk material (Burkholder).
Ives took an entirely different turn in direction when he composed the Concord Sonata.
This piece saw the beginnings of chance music for Ives involving different ways to play the
piece according to what time of day it is, notes that are not actually played but instead imagined,
and phrasing the notes played in the left hand different every time the piece is played (Clark).
The main theme which the sonata is based upon is transcendentalism; a religious movement that
protested against the general state of spirituality and particularly focusing on intellectualism
found at Harvard University in the late 1820s, early 1830s. The popular transcendentalists at the
time, Emerson, Hawthorne, the Alcotts, and Thoreau, were individually featured in the Concord
Sonata which is significant as Ives saw the views of these people as aspects of himself (Mellers).
This theme concealed the influences that well-known composers such as Beethoven, Debussy,
Liszt, and Scriabin had on the sonata. Accompanying the Concord Sonata were the Essays
before a Sonata, which Ives had written to describe the aesthetics used within the sonata. Within
the Essays Ives stresses the distinction of substance, meaning the spiritual content of a work, and
manner, which is the means of expressing said work. This idea came from John C. Griggs, a
friend of Ives, in an essay he wrote on Debussy (Burkholder).
In elaboration of the element of chance in the sonata, throughout the many copies that
Ives produced there are altering accented notes with the accents themselves changing in play
style and length, altering tempo markings that range from =80 to =120, ritards in certain

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sections that disappear and reappear elsewhere, and repeats that are placed in different places as
well as being optional (Clark). An often repeated word by Ives in his Essays is sometimes. As
the piece is played differently based on the time of day it is and the mood of the performer, one
can see the significance of the idea of sometimes or not always, simply for the idea that if
the performer played the piece in the morning after waking up, they are feeling fresh and
invigorated; so they may play the piece with a faster tempo and more prevalent accents and
rhythmic distinction. However if the piece is played at night after a large meal the pianist may
feel slow and tired resulting in slower tempos, a more laid back accent style, and less rhythmic
distinction. Also by creating the piece around specific ideas (the transcendentalists), Ives lays
the foundation for a general frame of how the piece should flow similarly each time it is played.
In the early 1920s Ives began composing with a new style consisting of more restrained
and simpler melody and harmony, less overt quotation, while still full of contrasts and
dissonances to outline phrases and to bring attention to the text (Burkholder). One example that
epitomizes this style is Ives brief eight measure piece titled Resolution. Packed within this piece

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are four figurations Ives creates each using a different set of pitches and each linked to the
images in the text. In the music sample provided on the previous page, the a section features a
pentatonic melody with dotted rhythms which is typical of American folksong style. The section
at b uses tonal harmonies and secondary dominants, which is representative of hymns. Other
themes visited throughout the rest of the piece are parlor songs, chromaticism, diatonic voices,
and romantic song (Burkholder). Ives ability to incorporate many different themes into such a
small piece of music is impressive and helps the listeners understand the complexity and
extensiveness of Ives larger pieces.
Resolution is one of the many songs Ives published in his book of 114 Songs which he
privately printed in 1922. By this time Ives realized that he would not live forever, which is
what led to this publication. On its completion Ives distributed the book freely to many noted
musicians and critics hoping to spark interest in his works. However the feedback he received in
the beginning was less than encouraging. John Philip Sousa noted that some songs were, most
startling to a man educated by the harmonic methods of our forefathers, while the Musical
Courier gave Ives the title of the American Satie. Regardless of these initial reactions, many
of the premieres of Ives works in his 114 Songs were received in a positive light (Burkholder).
Ives also was a composer of programmatic music. His Housatonic at Stockbridge is a
piece depicting a walk that he shared with his newly wed wife down a river. The melody, held
by violas, horn, and English horn is harmonized with tonal triads played in the lower strings and
brass, though notated in the music enharmonically. This sets up a hymn-like theme heard
distantly over the water represented by repeated figures in distant tonal and rhythmic regions
played in the upper strings. This piece follows Ives typical format for his works depicting life

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experiences. These works are composed in layers of differing timbre, register, rhythm, pitch
content, and dynamic level which simulate multiple segments of activity at once (Burkholder).
Central Park in the Dark is another example of Ives programmatic works, picturing city music
and noises against nature sounds depicted by atonal chords in parallel motion.
Perhaps one of Ives more notable programmatic works however is his The Fourth of
July. This piece incorporates all that brings about Ives individuality in his compositions
including polymeter, polytonality, atonality, chromaticism, short passages from traditional songs
and marches, as well as the dense layering of independent and contrasting elements. In
particular there are two segments of the piece that depict fireworks which are musically wholly
discordant. All of the traditional tunes and marches found within the piece are carefully situated
within the music around a structural framework suggesting that Ives, the composer, had
philosophical implications rooted within his music, most significantly traced to his
transcendental views. When examining Ives music in this light it sheds more understanding on
the insight in which Ives credited his musical expression to his philosophical beliefs (Nelson).
There are several acoustic events found within The Fourth of July, beginning with the
initial gradual build of rhythmic energy and harmonic tension toward the melody of several
marches and tunes including, The Red, White and Blue, Battle Hymn of the Republic,
Yankee Doodle, and Katy Darling. The explanation of this idea can be found in the
description by Henry Cowell, who was a close friend of Ives. his father invited a neighboring
band to parade with its team at a baseball game in Danbury, while at the same time the local band
made its appearance in support of the Danbury team. The parade was arranged to pass along the
main street as usual, but the two bands started at opposite ends of town and were assigned pieces
in different meters and keys. As they approached each other the dissonances were acute, and

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each man played louder and louder so that his rivals would not put him off. A few players
wavered, but both bands held together and got past each other successfully, the sounds of their
cheerful discord fading out in the distance (Nelson).
This idea is reinforced by the inclusion of the reference to the baseball game in which
Ives was attending at the time in the Postface to the piece. Many wrong notes are written for the
trumpets, simultaneous rhythmical discord is played in The Red, White and Blue as well as
Battle Hymn of the Republic. This depicts the difficulty of the two bands playing their music
at the same time. Greater dissonance is added as the trumpets and trombones, instead of being
an octave apart, are more often either a minor ninth or a major seventh apart. In terms of
tonality, all of the melodies featured within The Fourth of July begin in the key of Bb major, but
throughout the piece they shift and modulate to C major and F major (Nelson).
Another aspect the bands that Ives heard in Danbury during the baseball game
experienced was when they rushed or dropped an eighth note, resulting in the band falling out of
step. This is recreated in Ives symphony by using polymeter. In the figure below, one section is
shifted into seven-eight time for one measure while the rest of the orchestra stays in four-four.
When the first section returns to four-four time the downbeats of the second section fall on the
firsts downbeats, creating a sense of being out of step (Nelson).

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These programmatic works epitomize Ives combination of tonality with atonality
simultaneously, traditional with experimental practices, and the direct injections of original folk
tunes and patriotic songs. Ives chose to use these elements in his music because he believed that
a composer should do whatever is necessary to fit the mood and tone of the piece. He wrote in
1925, why tonality as such should be thrown out for good, I cant see. Why it should be always
present, I cant see. It depends, it seems to me, a good dealas clothes depend on the
thermometeron what one is trying to do. This view can be seen as similar to other wellknown composers such as Monteverdi, Beethoven, Mahler, Strauss, and Berg as they all had at
least one thing in common, which is their willingness to break the traditional rules of music.
Diversity of styles and using contrasts to outline sections and to create form for emotional effect
are a couple of means in which these composers achieved their musical goals.
Ives also strayed from the traditional ternary and sonata forms used in symphonies when
he created his Symphony no. 3, and used what is now called cumulative form. This form is
accomplished by presenting smaller pieces of a whole tune throughout the piece, only playing
the full thing at the end of the work (Cook). In Symphony no. 3, Ives used a hymn tune which he
played in his younger years of organ playing as the medium for his cumulative form, however he
also incorporated a counter melody (another hymn tune) played simultaneously at the statement
of the full tune. This creates harmonic dissonances and ambiguous keys while still remaining
tonal in the grand scheme of the piece (Burkholder).
While Ives was living, the amount of praise he received was not very forthcoming. Many
composers criticized his works stating that they stray too far from conventionalism and the
element of chance was too hindering, rendering the piece a nuisance to perform. However
through Ives anonymous support of the Pro-Musica Society, he got his foot in the door in

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terms of having his pieces recognized. E. Robert Schmitz, who was head of the society,
performed many of Ives newly composed works in return for his continued support. This started
a snowball effect and created widespread recognition of Ives works, ranging from the New York
Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, as well as Pierre Monteux, the principal
conductor of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Schmitz also brought many of Ives scores
with him in his travels to Europe and showcased them to publishers, however no one received
them. In addition to this promotion, Schmitz used many of Ives manuscripts for sight-reading
exercises during his master class sessions. Promoting new music of composers that are currently
living was a big point of Schmitzs career, writing in the newspaper News Tribune from Duluth,
(Ives was) the great moving force toward the development of a great American school of
music (Wiecki).
The exploration of Ives innovations and musical experimentation reveals that he was a
man doing what no other composer did, and that is to express oneself to the fullest, regardless of
public opinion. Though Ives sought to make his works known in the latter stage of his life, he
still stuck to his originality of composition with all of his new works, still gaining support from
prominent musical figures. Ives work on polytonality, atonality, polymeter, and other effects
was some of the first and more unique of the musical world, and helped introduce such
composers as Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern. Though Ives did not receive a wave of recognition
for his works while he was alive, the world later discovered just how much impact he actually
had on the development of music and the way we experience music today.

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Works Cited
Burkholder, J. Peter et al. "Ives, Charles." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.
Clark, Sondra Rae. The Element of Choice in Ivess Concord Sonata. The Musical Quarterly
60.2 (1974): 167-186. Print.
Cook, Jessica. Celebration of composer Charles Ives is nod to students' ambitions. Emory
News Center. 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 22 Apr. 2015
Magee, Gayle Sherwood. Charles Ives Reconsidered. Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 2008.
Print.
Mellers, Wilfrid. Pre-Sonata Ives. Rev. of Essays before a Sonata and Other Writings, by
Charles Ives. The Musical Times Jul. 1969: 744-745. Print.
Nelson, Mark D. Beyond Mimesis: Transcendentalism and Processes of Analogy in Charles
Ives The Fourth of July. Perspectives of New Music 22.1/2 (1983-1984): 353-384.
Print.
Varineau, John P. Program notes. Country Band March & The Unanswered Question. Grand
Rapids Symphony. Grand Rapids. 2012. Print.
Wiecki, Ronald V. Two Musical Idealists Charles Ives and E. Robert Schmitz: A Friendship
Reconsidered. American Music 10.1 (1992): 1-19. Print.