Andrew Litton: Dallas Symphony Orchestra - Ives: Symphonies Nos 2 & 3

Together with its companion CDA67540, this pair of exciting discs from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Andrew Litton offers thrilling new recordings of all four of Charles Ives�s extraordinary symphonies.The idiosyncratic nature of Ives�s early musical training (simultaneous but competing marching bands, etc) is well known, but before we can delight in its fruits, we find Ives-the-student writing a (relatively) conventional Symphony No 1 under the watchful, if not always approving, stare of his tutor. The result is almost a pastiche of all that we know and love from the late-nineteenth century symphonic tradition: Brahms, Dvorak, Tchaikovsky.Released from college in 1898, Ives rapidly shook off such influences, entered a new century and set about expanding his extraordinary vision through three further symphonies, culminating in the spiritual marathon of the fourth, which�Ives tells us�poses (and answers, threefold) the cosmic questions �what?� and �why?�.Alongside the four symphonies we have Central Park in the Dark, and an Ives-sanctioned orchestral arrangement of his most popular (and outrageous) solo song, General William Booth Enters into Heaven. The commanding baritone of Donnie Ray Albert tells the story of General Booth�founder of the Salvation Army�approaching the pearly gates, the great unwashed in his following (Dallas Symphony Chorus) assured of being �washed in the blood of the Lamb�: Hallelujah!Captured live during concerts in Dallas, the recorded sound is every bit worthy of these epic works.