Liner Notes
Cat. No. NWCRL314
Release Date: 2010-10-15
The Schütz Choir of London, Roger Norrington, conductor; Hazel Holt, soprano; Alfreda Hodgson, alto; John Elwes, tenor; John Noble, baritone; London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harold Farberman
The Celestial Country was begun in 1898, the year Charles Ives finished Yale and his studies with Horatio Parker, and was completed the next year, when he was starting his three years as organist of New York's Central Presbyterian Church. Program leaflets exist of a performance there in 1902.
Stylistically, the work bears the stamp of the Yale period. It is a companion piece to the First Symphony, and shares with it a marked youthful enthusiasm and vigor, along with what is now regarded as a very un-Ivesian sentimentality. Both works are alike in their scoring for strings, in melodic contours and harmonic values. The Celestial Country departs from the earlier tradition in its pre-jazz syncopated treatment of the words “angels” and “pilgrims” in the first and last sections. The tenor aria, in section six, on the other hand, forecasts the religious-spirituality of the middle section of his subsequent General Booth Enters Into Heaven.
The Celestial Country presents no thorny listening problems. It shows almost none of Ives' later audaciousness, unless the unexpected richness of its overflowing sentiments can be called audacious. Nor is there overt Americana to be found here, unless the words of the text, all but the last two lines taken from a hymn by Henry Alford, call up visions of a Chautauqua of the spirit:
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
The Celestial Country was begun in 1898, the year Charles Ives finished Yale and his studies with Horatio Parker, and was completed the next year, when he was starting his three years as organist of New York's Central Presbyterian Church. Program leaflets exist of a performance there in 1902.
Stylistically, the work bears the stamp of the Yale period. It is a companion piece to the First Symphony, and shares with it a marked youthful enthusiasm and vigor, along with what is now regarded as a very un-Ivesian sentimentality. Both works are alike in their scoring for strings, in melodic contours and harmonic values. The Celestial Country departs from the earlier tradition in its pre-jazz syncopated treatment of the words “angels” and “pilgrims” in the first and last sections. The tenor aria, in section six, on the other hand, forecasts the religious-spirituality of the middle section of his subsequent General Booth Enters Into Heaven.
The Celestial Country presents no thorny listening problems. It shows almost none of Ives' later audaciousness, unless the unexpected richness of its overflowing sentiments can be called audacious. Nor is there overt Americana to be found here, unless the words of the text, all but the last two lines taken from a hymn by Henry Alford, call up visions of a Chautauqua of the spirit:
This title, originally issued on the CRI label, is now available as a burn-on-demand CD (CD-R) or download in MP3/320, FLAC or WAV formats. CD-Rs come in a protective sleeve; no print booklet or jewel case included. Full liner notes are accessible via the link above.
Ives: The Celestial Country
| MP3/320 | $7.99 | |
| FLAC | $7.99 | |
| WAV | $7.99 | |
| CD-R | $7.99 |
A *.pdf of the notes may be accessed here free of charge.
Track Listing
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The Celestial Country: I. Prelude, Trio and Chorus
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: II. Aria for Baritone
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: III. Quartet
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: IV. Intermezzo for String Quartet
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: V. Double Chorus, a cappella
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: VI. Aria for Tenor
Charles Ives
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The Celestial Country: VII. Chorale and Finale
Charles Ives
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