Charles Ives: From the Salvation Army

As with many iconoclastic composers, Charles Ives’ pieces grew increasingly dissonant and complex as time went on. He is known for his bombastic and slightly off-kilter turn-of-the-century patriotism, and was guaranteed to provide a quirky twist to almost any piece he wrote. One of his splendors was his uncanny ability to have two different melodies running simultaneously in counterpoint. The musical environmentalist he was, Ives recycled and reused both his own melodies, church hymns, and themes written by other composers.
His first string quartet, while minimally dissonant, still has that Ivsian edge. Written in 1896 while studying at Yale, this student piece was based on an organ prelude and postlude. This would explain the working title “Organ Quartett”. The title was changed once again to “A Revival Service” before Ives settled on “From the Salvation Army” as the name of his final product.
Ives’ youth is very apparent in this piece. Many moments of this carefree work consist of an almost excessive jubilance. Writer H. Wiley Hitchcock referred to “From the Salvation Army” as “youthful” and “Brahmsian.”
To stick with blog nature, I will keep my observations of the piece rather short. Feel blessed, because I could easily go on for ten pages.

It is often said that the first movement (Andante con moto) is the prime material of the piece. One representation of this is Ives’ nearly verbatim re-usage of the same material for the third movement of his fourth symphony. The first movement is quite peaceful, as is suitable for a movement based largely on church hymns. The organ sonorities are very clear here. Ives keeps it real with cadences on unsuspected F major and d minor chords.

The upbeat second movement (Allegro-Allegro con spirito-Quasi andante) is fun, uplifting, and pastoral in character. Check out the syncopation--it’s a joy to listen to. Every time I hear this movement I am immediately reminded of the beloved Boccherini guitar quintets.

The third movement (Adagio cantabile) was written in a three-part-form, just as the second movement. This part of the piece is based on the hymn "Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus!" and is mixed up with the Ivesian twist of segmenting into triple and quadruple meters. Notables for this movement include the key change from D major to g flat minor and the out-of-left-field interruption that is the Allegretto section of the piece.

Fourth movement. Allegro marziale. Crisply dotted eighth-note rhythms. Rapidly building tempo keeps intensity high as we reach the final measures of the piece. Recapitulation. More intensity with tremelos galore. Build, build, build...full stop.