Not The Supersonic Jet

Back in the days when Warner Classics still made new recordings ( 2004 in this case ! ) it was possible to come up with cd's such as this, combining the talents of two of the artists on their roster. The cd is of music by Charles Ives and features the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The main work is the mammoth Concord Sonata but the cd also features Aimard accompanying the mezzo-soprano Susan Graham on 17 of Ives's songs. Like much of Ives's output, these songs deal with the area of New England where he grew up. Some are serious settings of literary works, others playful childlike ditties and Graham throws herself whole heartedly into the characterisations. The Concord Sonata also aims to portray the spirit of New England, the four parts being named after and inspired by notables from the town of Concord Mass, namely Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Bronson Alcott and Henry Thoreau. Such inspiration was obviously there for Ives but the music isn't noticeably programmatic. Much of it is dissonant and abstract with occasional typical Ives touches of marching bands and ragtime. The final section has optional small parts for flute and viola and that option is taken here with the playing of Emmanuel Pahud and Tabea Zimmermann. Aimard is something of a specialist in this intense kind of repertoire and succeeds here in doing justice to an arduous piece.