Charles Ives, James Sinclair, Northern Sinfonia - Symphony No 3
STYLE: Classical RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 7421- LABEL: Naxos 8559087 FORMAT: CD Album
Reviewed by Steven Whitehead
Charles Ives (1874-1954) is an interesting composer. His father, George, was a bandmaster who gave Charles a thorough musical education yet also encouraged him to experiment. At Yale Charles continued in his “classical” training, learning much about the European tradition but as the century ended he began moving in Modernist circles. He quit his post as church organist in 1902 and sold insurance to make ends meet. In his Third Symphony (1904) Ives found his voice. Using hymn and gospel tunes he painted a musical picture of an old-time camp meeting. I spent a pleasant 20 minutes listening for favourite tunes and, before I knew it, the symphony was over. It is short, it is unique, it is worth investigating. There are four other pieces by Ives in this addition to the ‘American Classics’ series. None of them are specifically religious but all are worth hearing. Regular readers will not need reminding that Naxos releases are astoundingly good value.
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