NRR Project: Charles Ives, Piano Sonata No. 2 performed by John Kirkpatrick (1945/1948)

 

NRR Project: Piano Sonata No. 2

Composed by Charles Ives

Performed by John Kirkpatrick

Recorded 1945; released 1948

First, read Drew Massey’s excellent explanatory essay on this piece at the National Recording Registry.

At first listen, the music seems pure chaos. Is this even music, much less classical music?

It is the music of Charles Ives (1874-1954), an absolute original who followed no existing musical tradition when it came to composing. He heard music in cacophony and dissonance, and was not afraid of transcribing this completely new sound to paper. He confounded his contemporaries. (In fact, he was a weekend composer; he sold insurance for a living.) Not popular early in his career, he became noted in later decades, after he had ceased to compose.

Once you open yourself to his work through repeated listenings, you can find things you like. He can be unexpectedly lyrical. He has a stirring energy that overcomes your senses. He dots his work with hilarious musical quotations and paraphrases. Most importantly, he respects your intelligence and challenges you to hear what he hears. His work is, in its own way, beautiful.

The Sonata consists of four movements. The piece is popularly known as the “Concord Sonata.” Each movement represents an author or authors who typified the Transcendentalist movement in America during the mid-19^th century. “Emerson,” “Hawthorne,” “The Alcotts,” and “Thoreau” follow each other. Interestingly, Ives stated that he saw the musical score s a mere suggestion, a platform for improvisation by the interpreter. There can not be said to be a “definitive” performance of it.

The piece was recorded in 1945, but released in 1948. Interestingly, it became a best-seller, and accelerated the general interest in the ‘til-then forgotten compositions of Charles Ives – symphonies, “sets,” overtures, songs, marches, choral works, solo piano studies, works for organ, and flat-out unclassifiable pieces. Ives was fearless and prolific.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: “Move On Up a Little Higher”.

NRR Project: The Chuck Wagon Gang sings 'I'll Fly Away' (1948)

 

NRR Project: “I’ll Fly Away”

Composed by Albert E. Brumley

Performed by the Chuck Wagon Gang

Recorded 1948

2:43

Oooh! Here’s a really good explanatory essay by Bill C.Malone at the National Recording Registry.

This gospel standard is an elegant and tuneful number, easy to remember and easy to harmonize. No wonder it’s so popular! Its fervent energy speaks of the longing for spiritual release, a feeling everyone can identify with.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: John Kirkpatrick plays Charles Ives’ Piano Sonata No. 2.

NRR Project: 'I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945' (1948)

 

NRR Project: “I Can Hear It Now: 1933-1945”

Produced and co-written by Fred Friendly

Co-written and narrated by Edward R. Murrow

Compiled for Columbia Records 1948

46:44

Another excellent essay by Cary O’Dell is available here – it explains this entry quite well!

The idea of producing an album of significant sound slices from recent world history was Fred Friendly’s. His experience as a radio producer led him to think of a way to summarize the historical period of 1933 to 1945 through sound excerpts. The project was initiated in part due to a musician’s strike. Without material to put out, the record companies were hurting. They needed content! In addition, the invention of audio tape made it much easier to create sound collages.

Friendly collaborated with CBS’s star reporter, Edward R. Murrow, on the project. They put together a sonic “scrapbook,” bridged with narration, that provided a timeline of memories for people to listen to. Starting with the voice of Will Rogers in 1933, the album moves through the Depression and the onset and completion of World War II. We hear Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini, Hitler. We travel to distant places and listen to the voices of history.

The record was a huge hit. It is interesting to hear these snippets set off and contextualized by the reassuring voice of Murrow. His words seem to make the progress of events seem purposeful and connected. In fact, the concept of the “sound bite” started here. Excerpts were more listener-friendly than long passages. This encapsulation of significant historical events proved a winner; subsequent albums overed the periods 1945-1949, 1919-1932, and the 1960s.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: “I’ll Fly Away.”

NRR Project: “Evangeline Special”/“Love Bridge Waltz”

 

NRR Project: “Evangeline Special”/“Love Bridge Waltz”

Performed by Iry Lejeune

Recorded 1948

2:27/2:52

Another entry I had no awareness of! What does this say?

It seems that no matter how hard you try to absorb all the sounds and the sights that’re out there, you’re going to miss some. OK, a lot. No matter how hard you try.

But that doesn’t mean you should give up! Let them pry the books out of your cold dead hands and pull the headphones from your dead ears. Get all the culture you can, every day. Of every kind.

This is a recording of Cajun music by the excellent accordionist Iry Lejeune. I learned everything that I know about the two songs from Ron Yule’s amazing essay on them at the National Recording Registry. You should read it. Then you will learn as much as I have.

These songs, one rollicking one plaintive, epitomize the Cajun sound – a tradition grounded in a different language, different customs, an unlikely embedded jewel in the American culture. These are dance tunes, made deliberately for live performance. As such, they are compelling musical documents.

As you may know, I am listening to and writing about every entry in the National Recording Registry, in order. In conjunction with this project, I am viewing and writing about all the entries in the National Film Registry in order as well. These twin Everests are half-climbed now. I have been doing this for years. I do not know if I will ever finish, but it’s certainly worth a try.

The great thing about these two endeavors is their inclusivity. I have been exposed to all kinds of cultural influences by watching/hearing them; their contents are as pieces in a museum. To write my way through them is a way to honor and examine them. They constitute part of America’s cultural pantheon.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: “I Can Hear It Now.”

NRR Project: 'Boogie Chillen' (Nov. 3, 1948)

 

NRR Project: “Boogie Chillen’”

Written and performed by John Lee Hooker

Released Nov. 3, 1948

3:10

How could a one-chord song sweep the nation? “Boogie Chillen” did. (Read Jas Obrecht’s essay on the song here at the National Recording Registry.)

John Lee Hooker was a law unto himself. He was the youngest of 11 children, born to sharecroppers in Mississippi. His stepfather taught him the guitar, transmitting to him the tradition of a frenetic, driving kind of blues generally classified as Delta blues. Hooker ran away from home at the age of 14, and gradually drifted north until he wound up in Detroit. He was working as a janitor in a steel mill when he recorded this song.

Here, Hooker plays solo, accompanying himself on amplified guitar and foot-stomping the rhythm. He plays the same chord, insistently, hypnotically. He trades off sung and spoken verses describing his introduction to the boogie. The song took off in popularity, becoming the biggest-selling “race record” of 1949.

Everybody dug it. This was something new, something fresh and vital. In an era when mainstream music was orchestrated and sedate, Hooker’s raw energy was convulsive. He inspired many bluesmen who followed him after hearing this recording.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: “Evangeline Special” and “Love Bridge Waltz.”

NRR Project: The Marshall Plan speech (June 5, 1947)

 

NRR Project: The “Marshall Plan” speech

Delivered by George Marshall

Delivered June 5, 1947

12:33

First, read David Roll’s excellent essay on the subject here at the National Recording Registry.

This relatively short speech, given at Harvard University by former general and then-Secretary of State George Marshall, was a revelation – and marked the beginning of the salvation of Western Europe after the Second World War.

At the conclusion of the war, European countries found themselves impoverished, their infrastructures destroyed, their economies non-functional. It had become apparent that all the countries “liberated” by the Soviet Union were destined to fall under its sway. The Communists declined economic assistance from the West.

But what of England, France, (west) Germany, and other nations? The infusion of cash and in-kind aid could help these nations to rebuild and become strong again. Without the help of the United States, it was felt that these countries would remain weak and become the breeding ground for the influence of Communism. To protect its own economic and security interests, the U.S. had to act. Marshall proposed a plan, initiated by the Europeans and signed off on by the Americans, to invest more than $3 billion in recovery.

“Our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine,” he said, ”but against hunger, poverty, desperation and chaos. Its purpose should be the revival of a working economy in the world so as to permit the emergence of political and social conditions in which free institutions can exist.”

In this way, America set up the conditions of Western Europe during the Cold War – the “free nations” to the west, the Communist block in the east. The Iron Curtain came down hard, and the two superpowers and their client states would face each other in hostile array for decades.

“An essential part of any successful action on the part of the United States is an understanding on the part of the people of America of the character of the problem and the remedies to be applied,” Marshall continued. “Political passion and prejudice should have no part. With foresight, and a willingness on the part of our people to face up to the vast responsibility which history has clearly placed upon our country, the difficulties I have outlined can and will be overcome.” America positioned itself as the guardian of freedom.

Beyond and above the practical political and economic considerations was the simple desire to be of help. People were starving, unhoused, unemployed. From 1948 to 1951, the extensive shoring up of a devastated part of the world took place. The Marshall Plan brought relief to millions.

“What are the sufferings? “ Marshall asked. “What is needed? What can best be done? What must be done?”

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: Boogie Chillen’.

NRR Project: 'Indians for Indians' (March 25, 1947)

 

NRR Project: “Indians for Indians”

Broadcast March 25, 1947

30 min.

Another entry I know nothing about, and have little evidence of. This radio program was in operation since April 1941 through the mid-1970s, and provided a platform for Native American news and cultural expression. Read the essay by Josh Garrett-Davis.

The National Recording Registry Project tracks one writer’s expedition through all the recordings in the National Recording Registry in chronological order. Next time: the Marshall Plan speech.