/November 17, 1969
The N. C. Essay
HtilvBnOK KRVlEWaM^^
various aspects of the difference be-
Essays Before a Sonata and Other
Writings by Charles Ives. Edited
by Howard Boatwright. Calder and
Boyars Ltd. 42s.
Following the death of her
^ husband in 1954, Harmony Ives de
cided to present his manuscripts,
excluding correspondence of a per
sonal nature, to the Library of the
Yale School of Music. From Ives'
literary manuscripts Howard Boat
wright has selected the longer and
more complete prose works; together
with brief introductions which place
the works in biographical context
and deal with editorial problems, as
well as footnotes throughout giving
details of lesser known persons men
tioned in the text and sources of
quotations; these form the present
two-part scholarly volume.
Fart 1 consists of Ives' Essays
Before a Sonata which were originally
intended to preface his masterly second
pianoforte sonata, Conoord, Mass.^
1845 - a group of four pieces, called
a sonata for want of a better name,
as the form, perhaps substance, does
not justify it. The four corres
ponding essays, entitled Emerson^
Uauthome, The Alaotts^ and Thoreaut
are enclosed by a Prologue, posing
pointed questions about the age-old
programme music versus so-called ab
solute music dichotomy, and an Epi
logue, which concerns itself with
tween substance and manner in music,
and also touches on questions of
beauty and nationalism in music. Of
the inner essays, Emerson and
Thoreau are the longest, present
ing Ives' personal portraits of these
New England philosophers, while
Hawthorne and The Alootts are
more like extended programme notes;
each is prefaced by the opening of
the corresponding sonata movement,
which is a nice touch. However, the
whole cycle has not the air of an
objective character-study, but
rather breathes the conviction of
Ives' personal idealism. The theme
of the Concord Transcendentalists -
that of "the strength and beauty of
innate goodness in man, in Nature,
and in God" - urges Ives to hope that
the time is coming..when music will
develop possibilities inconceivable
now - a language so transcendental
that its height and depths will be
common to all mankind.
That this transcendental idealism
perfaded Ives' outlook on the whole
of life is demontrated in the essays
which form Part Two of the book. Two
of these deal with matters musical;
Some "Quccrter-Tone" Impressions, Ives'
only essay about technical and theo
retical problems in music reveals
him to be a broad-minded and clear
thinker, willing to experiment
minuT€s Of s.G.fl.
Thanksgiving recess officially
begins at noon on Tuesday, 25 Novem
ber, and ends at 6;00 p.m. on Sunday,
30 November. As the dorms and
cafeteria will both be open during
this time, some students will re
main on campus. We discussed the
possibilities of a special Thanks
giving dinner for those students
who will be here. Mr. Hyatt men
tioned that faculty members have
expressed an interest in inviting
students to their homes for dinner
on Thanksgiving day. After a Brief
discussion of the subject, we
established a volunteer committee to
meet jointly with Mr. Hyatt and
the elected dorm activities'
representatives for the purpose of
further discussing and planning
social events.
As most of our members were
absent from the meeting due to
schedule conflicts, we discussed
the need for alternate represen
tatives and an assured meeting time
of our own. The suggestion of
having a faculty advisor, in
addition to Mr. Hyatt, which was
made last week, was also mentioned.
Mr. Bill Greene was mentioned as a
possibility for this position and we
are asking the students for other
names. Before choosing anyone, how
ever, we feel that the responsibilities
m€€TinG
of the position should be defined
so that the advisor can be selected
to fit the position.
We had a brief report from the
constitution committee concerning its
progress during the past week. Mr.
Ward will speak to us at a later
date of his ideas on the subject.
The letter from the students to
Mr. Ward regarding health and safety
at the new dorm site and the problems
in the cafeteria was read and discussed.
Agreed that we are in agreement with
the points made in the letter, we en
dorsed it, as a student organization.
We also agreed that, in regard to
student petitions having S.G.A. back
ing, one of our representatives should
go with the initiator of the petition
for the presentation of it.
The absence of adequate commun
ication within the school was dis
cussed. It was suggested that the
faculty be provided with copies of
the minutes of S.G.A. meetings and
that we ask for copies of the min
utes of faculty meetings. In doing
so, we hope that we can improve the
communication between students,
faculty, and administration.
(Cont. on page 5)
Page 3
seriously with new musical^ systems;
the other, a Postfaae to 114 Songs,
is a short, very moving essay in
which Ives deduces, 'I have not
written a book at all - I have merely
cleaned house.'
A third essay. The Amount to
Carry, is part of an important ar
ticle intended for perspective in
surance agents (written while Ives
was a partner in the highly success
ful firm of Ives and Myrick); but
this and the remaining essays primar
ily disclose Ives' urgent concern
for the better expression of the
'majority of spirit', 'common-heart',
or 'human-oversoul', to use some of
his favorite expressions. In in
surance terms, he saw in life-in
surance a response to human need; in
human terms, he looked to a "World
People's Nation"; in political
terms - as revealed in his largest
single essay. The Majority, and in
Concerning the Twentieth Amendment -
he advocated, amongst other things,
that certain laws, basic to society,
should be passed by a system of
country-wide referendum. This "belief
in the innate goodness of mankind"
is presented in Ives' racy, direct
and personal style; the urgency of
his writing makes compulsive reading,
where transcendental philosophy
prompts Ives to suggest such things
as compulsory high-school education
up to 18, or votes at 18, in addition
to compiling a detailed questionnaire
to ascertain the opinions of the
Majority Mind - all this in 1920!
Howard Boatwright is to be com
plimented on not over-editing Ives'
somewhat raw script, yet managing
to supply adequate editorial comment.
If there is one quibble about the
presentation it is that there is no
comprehensive bibliography (such as
that found in the Henry and Sidney
Cowell book - Charles Ives and Bis
Music). In sum, a book warmly
recommended to all music lovers - not
only for insight into the mind of
Charles Ives, but also for stimu
lating and provocative views on the
problems of both music and life in
NuTCF?ACKER (coN’T* from
three years performances have been
sold out before the 21st.
Mail orders will be filled as
they are received. People requesting
tickets by mail may indicate first,
second and third choice as to which
performance they wish to attend. If
performances are sold out, money will
be refunded. Mail orders should in
clude money or check and a self-add-
ressed stamped envelope. Tickets
are $1.50 for children through high
school age and $2.50 for adults.
The ballet will also be per
formed in Durham and Raleigh. Music
for the Raleigh Performances will be
by the North Carolina Symphony
Orchestra with Dr. Benjamin Swalin,
conductor.
f