# 100 Favorites: # 38



## JACE (Jul 18, 2014)

*Ives: Orchestral Set No. 1: "Three Places in New England" & Other Works
James Sinclair, Orchestra New England (Koch International Classics)*











Country Band March
Ragtime Dance No. 1 (Allegro Moderato)
Ragtime Dance No. 2 (Allegro Moderato)
Ragtime Dance No. 3 (Allegro)
Ragtime Dance No. 4 (Allegro)	
Postlude in F	
Calcium Light Night	
The Yale-Princeton Football Game	
Set for Theater Orchestra: In the Cage	
Set for Theater Orchestra: In the Inn	
Set for Theater Orchestra: In the Night	
Largo Cantabile: Hymn	
Three Places in New England: The 'Saint-Gaudens' in Boston Common	
Three Places in New England: Putnam's Camp, Redding, Connecticut	
Three Places in New England: The Housatonic at Stockbridge
From my Ives site:

_If I were forced to pick just one version of "Three Places in New England" it would be this one. Sinclair conducts the Orchestra New England using the Charles Ives Society critical edition for small orchestra, and the results are stunning. Some might think that a chamber orchestra might diminish this work, but Sinclair and the ONE quickly put any concerns to rest. Their reading is idiomatic and full of atmosphere, by turns forward-looking and nostalgic. And, while the musical strands are well integrated, the smaller sized orchestra lets details come to the fore that are lost in other recordings. The first section of the work, "The 'Saint-Gaudens' in Boston Common," is haunting and elegiac. Sinclair's version clocks in nearly a full minute longer than Michael Tilson Thomas' with the Boston Symphony, but there's never a sense of flagging momentum. Again, despite the smaller size orchestra, there's no lack of punch, and the woodwinds are balanced beautifully with the strings. The second and third sections ("Putnam's Camp, Redding Connecticut" and "The Housatonic at Stockbridge" respectively) are also fantastic. The second conveys the child's kaleidoscopic sense of reality to perfection. In the final section, it's not hard to imagine the Housatonic's waters shimmering and swirling as Ives and his new bride stroll on the banks. The recorded sound is also outstanding._

_I can't recommend this disc highly enough. It's essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in Ives' music._


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