Charles Ives: Variations on "America," For Flute and Piano.

Charles Ives: Variations on "America," For Flute and Piano. Charles Ives Charles Edward Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American composer of modernist classical music. He is widely regarded as one of the first American classical composers of international significance. : Variations on "America," For Flute andPiano, arranged by Daniel Dorff Daniel Dorff (born March 7, 1956 in New Rochelle, New York) is an American composer. He graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University and earned his master's degree in composition from the University of Pennsylvania, studying composition with George Crumb, George . Theodore Presser Co., (www.presser.com;1(800) 854-6764), 2006. Flute: 4 pp., Score: 8 pp. $9.95. Daniel Dorff is a successful and experienced composer and arrangerof music who has published a large number of works. This piece,originally composed for solo organ by Charles Ives (1874-1954) when hewas 17 years old, is a new and welcome addition to the flute repertoire. The arrangement is quite faithful to the Ives score, and Dorffexpertly altered the articulations in Variations 1 and 3 to more closelyresemble the sound that would have been created by the organ. Theaddition of these slurs improves the fluidity of the melodic me��lod��ic?adj.Of, relating to, or containing melody.me��lodi��cal��ly adv. line andassists the retention of smooth phrases that are closer to the originalintention of Ives when he composed the work in 1891. When teaching this piece, several key musical elements can behighlighted: 1. The student can be introduced to a genre of music that may benew for them via this arrangement of a standard work. 2. The student can become aware of the theme and variationtechnique in composition. 3. The student can experience changes in tonality tonality(tōnăl`ĭtē), in music, quality by which all tones of a composition are heard in relation to a central tone called the keynote or tonic. with a firmfooting in a well-known melody melody,succession of single tones of varying pitch. Melody is the linear aspect of music, in contrast to harmony, the chordal aspect, which results from the simultaneous sounding of tones. . 4. The student can experience meter changes as well as rhythmic rhyth��mic? also rhyth��mi��caladj.Of, relating to, or having rhythm; recurring with measured regularity.rhythmi��cal��ly adv. alterations to the original melody. 5. The student can become aware of the compositional tools used byIves as well as their relevance to music history and literature. I recommend that teachers obtain audio recordings and printed score(if the student is able to follow a score) of the composition to hearthe original work performed by organ or orchestra. Students often do notmake transfers between arrangements they study and the original works.The use of recordings and scores can greatly assist these transfers. Thepiece is appropriate as a teaching piece with students at theupper-intermediate level and as a performance piece for students who areadvanced. --Reviewed by Alice M. Hammel, Richmond, Virginia Richmond IPA: [ɹɯʒmɐnɖ]is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States.