Ives: Concord Sonata, Songs

1	The Things Our Fathers Lo
2	The Housatonic at Stockbr
3	Swimmers, song for voice
4	Memories, song for voice
5	Ann Street, song for voic
6	Serenity, song for voice
7	1, 2, 3, song for voice &
8	Songs My Mother Taught Me
9	The Circus Band, song for
10	The Cage, song for voice
11	The Indians, song for voi
12	Like a Sick Eagle, song f
13	Remembrance, for voice &
14	September, song for voice
15	Soliloquy, song for voice
16	A Farewell to Land, song
17	Thoreau, song for voice &
18	Sonata No. 2: Concord, Ma
19	Sonata No. 2: Concord, Ma
20	Sonata No. 2: Concord, Ma
21	Sonata No. 2: Concord, Ma
Ives: Concord Sonata, Songs
1.	The Things Our Fathers Loved, song for voice & piano, S. 372 (K. 6B58) 2:03
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
2.	The Housatonic at Stockbridge, song for voice & piano, S. 266 (K. 6B64d) 3:53
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
3.	Swimmers, song for voice & piano, S. 366 (K. 6B53) 1:39
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
4.	Memories, song for voice & piano, S. 297 (K. 6B26a) 2:27
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
5.	Ann Street, song for voice & piano, S. 211 (K. 6B67) 0:55
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
6.	Serenity, song for voice & piano, S. 347 (K. 6B60d) 2:19
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
7.	1, 2, 3, song for voice & piano, S. 321 (K. 6B66a) 0:35
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
8.	Songs My Mother Taught Me, song for voice and piano, S. 361 (K. 6B21c) 3:26
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
9.	The Circus Band, song for voice & piano, S. 229 (K. 6B20) 2:25
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
10.	The Cage, song for voice & piano, S. 221 (K. 6B42) 0:45
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
11.	The Indians, song for voice & piano, S. 283 (K. 6B63) 1:58
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
12.	Like a Sick Eagle, song for voice & piano, S. 288 (K. 6B45a) 1:53
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
13.	Remembrance, for voice & piano, S. 332 (K. 6B62a) 0:52
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
14.	September, song for voice & piano, S. 346 (K. 6B61b) 0:49
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
15.	Soliloquy, song for voice & piano, S. 352 (K. 6B43a) 0:58
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
16.	A Farewell to Land, song for voice & piano, S. 248 (K. 6B46) 1:44
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
17.	Thoreau, song for voice & piano, S. 373 (K. 6B52) 2:23
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard and Susan Graham
18.	Sonata No. 2: Concord, Mass., 1840-60, for piano (& optional viola, flute), S. 88 (K. 3A2) 48:06
	Composed by Ives
	Performed by Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emmanuel Pahud and Tabea Zimmermann

Barnes & Noble

Those who think they don't like Ives should hear Susan Graham sing his songs, for rarely have they been sung with such warmth and sweetness. Indeed, some Ives aficionados may find that she sings them too sweetly. But, in fact, Graham does a fine job of balancing Ives's sentimentality and radicalism: Listen to her ethereal performance of "The Housatonic at Stockbridge," for example, then prepare yourself for the aggressive muscularity of "The Swimmers," which follows. Graham and French pianist extraordinaire Pierre-Laurent Aimard present 17 of Ives's 100-odd songs, providing a good cross-section of their moods and styles and including some of the best-known ones. The remainder of the disc is given over to Ives's epic piano sonata inspired by the 19th-century writers based around Concord, Massachusetts: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott (father of Louisa May), and Henry David Thoreau. Aimard's approach to this dense yet transcendental score is somewhat Eurocentric; in other words, he is more intense than exuberant and is firmer in his adherence to the notated rhythms than, say, Marc-André Hamelin, Robert Shannon, or Easley Blackwood, who all play with more improvisatory looseness. Yet, this is a work that is open to a wide range of interpretive styles, and Aimard's focus, not to mention the astounding clarity of his playing, makes this CD essential listening for anyone interested in 20th-century American music. Sad to say, there are currently only a handful of recordings available of this seminal sonata, so one welcomes this distinguished new version with gratitude as well as with enthusiasm. Andrew Farach-Colton

All Music Guide

This selection of 17 Charles Ives' songs are not done too badly here, nor are they the best on record. The faster-tempo songs such as "Ann Street," "Memories," and "1, 2, 3" are a bit limpid and underpowered in Graham's reading, and it sounds like pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard gets his fingers stuck in the keys here and there. But the softer, slower pieces such as "A Farewell to Land" and "The Things Our Fathers Loved" are pretty good. Older singers such as Helen Boatwright and the late Jan de Gaetani have set the bar very high for sopranos in this literature; theirs is a tough act to follow. Yet if you are not familiar with the Ives songs, this is a pretty good selection with which to start.

But the main focus of this package is Pierre-Laurent Aimard's reading of Ives' "Sonata No. 2: Concord, Mass., 1840-60." Aimard's recording is clearly the one of choice for those who have heard the "Concord" and can't figure out what makes it the "Great American Piano Sonata." Aimard delivers a dreamy, crystalline performance of the "Concord" with most of its explosive passages subsumed to the requirements of the work as a whole; a very "French" and eminently listenable reading of the "Concord"; one also appreciates the employment here of Ives' seldom-used added instrumental parts to the work. While a bit more pond scum and murkiness is preferable in his "Concord," but don't let that discourage the listener from enjoying this recording, especially if the listener is new to the sometimes rather difficult music of Ives. Uncle Dave Lewis

Gramophone

A splendid addition to the Ives discography and a fine tribute 50 years after his death from two superlative musicians.

BBC Online

Pierre-Laurent Aimard [is] a pianist who revels in Ives's ideas and who's equal to the almost insane physical demands of the 'Concord' Sonata.... A strongly recommendable disc.... Intelligent programming, breathtaking performances, and a crystal clear recording. Andrew McGregor