The Unanswered Question by Charles Ives, Charlie Rutlage by Charles Ives, “Bess, You
aIs My Woman Now” from Porgy and Bess by George Gershwin, “Hoe Down” from the
ballet Rodeo by Aaron Copland, “Overture” from Candide by Leonard Bernstein, and
Concerto Grosso by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich are all considered to be “greats” or “staples” of
American music. The “Americana” sound can be heard in several of these pieces.
“Americana,” to me, is any music that incorporates jazz, blues, or folk music. Each piece is
unique and sparks a different emotion in me. I feel Charles Ives was great because he
didn’t do what was popular at the time, and he didn’t care if you liked his music or not. He
experimented and was ridiculed, and now everyone realizes how brilliant he was. The
music of Charles Ives definitely has a unique sound. Ives experimented with polytonality,
which is present in The Unanswered Question. In The Unanswered Question, a phrase in
the trumpet plays against a quiet background in the strings. This “question” recurs several
times, prompting increasingly loud objections from the woodwinds while the strings
continue on peacefully. In the end, the question remains unanswered. Charlie Rutlage by
Ives centers around American life and is pure Americana. He used several techniques
accompanied by piano that highlights the story. I love that Ives uses “western-cowboy
twang.” It makes the piece fun. George Gershwin is definitely one of the “greats” in
American music. He is credited for blending the gap between jazz and classical music. He
