Charles Edward Ives was the first twentieth-century North American composer to write from a purely American perspective. His music also anticipated many of the stylistic features which characterize later twentieth-century music. This study begins with an examination of secondary literature to show how other scholars have interpreted Ives's music. Few projects have dealt with the question of coherence in Ives's music, in large part due to the seemingly disjunct nature of the music. Unity and coherence were overriding concerns to Ives, as is evident in his writings which are strongly steeped in transcendental philosophy. The second part of the thesis presents analyses of four songs from the 114 Songs: "The Cage," "Ann Street," "Like a Sick Eagle," and "At the River." Linear techniques in concert with the labelling system of pitch-class set theory are the principal analytical tools used to investigate the songs. The analyses begin from the premise that each song contains an underlying compositional plan and is a coherent whole.

No description available.

The purpose of this thesis is to give the prospective performer an insight into the content of the vocal solos of Charles Ives and to give the student and musicians in general an understanding of the musical devices employed by Ives and of his position as a song writer.