CHAPTER 59 Sounds American: Ives, Copland, and Musical Na-
tionalism
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Who was one of the more innovative, and misunderstood, composers of the early twentieth century?
a. Stephen Foster c. George Gershwin
b. Louis Moreau Gottschalk d. Charles Ives
2. Ives’s compositional style was
a. very innovative for its time.
b. heavily influenced by Debussy and Impressionism.
c. not influenced by American popular music.
d. All answers shown here.
3. While composing in his spare time, Charles Ives made a living as a(n)
a. church organist. c. insurance executive.
b. conductor. d. college professor.
4. Where was Charles Ives born?
a. Brooklyn, New York c. Boston, Massachusetts
b. Danbury, Connecticut d. Amherst, Massachusetts
5. For which work was Ives awarded the Pulitzer Prize?
a. the Concord Sonata c. Three Places in New England
b. Symphony No. 3 d. Symphony No. 2
6. Which of the following characterizes Ives’s music?
a. polyrhythms c. use of American tunes
b. dissonant cluster chords d. All answers shown here.
7. Which of the following characterize Ives’s Country Band March?
a. quotations of popular tunes, dissonance, mostly duple meter
b. standard march form, mostly duple meter
c. sectional form, all original music written by Ives, dissonance
d. dissonance, standard march form, all original music written by Ives
8. Which of the following tunes are included in Ives’s Country Band March?
a. Yankee Doodle, London Bridge, My Old Kentucky Home
b. My Old Kentucky Home, Rhapsody in Blue, Semper fidelis
c. Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair, London Bridge, My Old Kentucky Home
d. London Bridge, Yankee Doodle, I Got Rhythm
9. Aaron Copland studied composition with
a. Charles Ives. c. Arnold Schoenberg.
b. Nadia Boulanger. d. Charles Tomlinson Griffes.
10. Which of the following are ballets by Copland?
a. Our Town, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring
b. Rodeo, Billy the Kid, Appalachian Spring
c. Appalachian Spring, The Tender Land, Our Town
d. Billy the Kid, A Lincoln Portrait, The Red Pony
11. Copland’s The Tender Land is a(n)
a. cantata. c. film score.
b. opera. d. ballet.
12. In which musical style did Copland compose?
a. twelve-tone technique c. neo-Classical
b. jazz d. All answers shown here.
13. Copland composed Appalachian Spring for
a. Sergei Diaghilev. c. George Balanchine.
b. Martha Graham. d. Merce Cunningham.
14. Copland’s Appalachian Spring depicts
a. a wedding in the Appalachians.
b. a river in the Appalachians.
c. the change of seasons in the Appalachians.
d. an evening dance in the Appalachians.
15. Which of the following best describes the mood at the beginning of Copland’s Appalachian Spring?
a. energetic c. calm
b. religious d. volatile
16. Copland’s Appalachian Spring quotes the early American tune
a. Simple Gifts. c. Dixie.
b. Yankee Doodle. d. Amazing Grace.
17. When was Yankee Doodle composed?
a. before the Revolutionary War c. just after the Revolutionary War
b. during the Revolutionary War d. during the Civil War
18. Yankee Doodle remains the state song of
a. Georgia. c. Maine.
b. Massachusetts. d. Connecticut.
19. How was Yankee Doodle used?
a. to poke fun at the American army c. to include in patriotic compositions
b. to symbolize New England d. All answers shown here.
20. Ives’s tonal imagery was taken from
a. hymns. c. parlor ballads and fiddle songs.
b. patriotic songs and marches. d. All answers shown here.
21. Ives realized that ________ was the norm of American musical life.
a. consonance c. jazz
b. dissonance d. art music
22. Which composer successfully transformed rural American folk traditions into a national sound?
a. Charles Ives c. George Gershwin
b. Aaron Copland d. Duke Ellington
23. Aaron Copland was born in
a. Brooklyn, New York. c. Boston, Massachusetts.
b. Danbury, Connecticut. d. Amherst, Massachusetts.
24. Who espoused the ideal that art should “serve the American people”?
a. Charles Ives c. Aaron Copland
b. Nadia Boulanger d. George Gershwin
25. The tune Simple Gifts is associated with
a. the Shaker religious sect. c. the Quakers.
b. Roman Catholics. d. Lutheranism.
26. What is the modern equivalent of a “dandy”?
a. a hipster c. a rude boy
b. a metrosexual d. a tween
1. The music of Charles Ives was very popular and was performed frequently during his lifetime.
2. Charles Ives’s music reflects his roots in New England through his use of popular songs and American historical themes.
3. Ives’s Country Band March is strictly in duple meter with no syncopation.
4. Ives’s Country Band March quotes from several well-known tunes.
5. During his composing career, Copland employed jazz, neo-Classical elements, and twelve-tone techniques.
6. Copland composed music for the theater, but not for film.
7. Martha Graham was a leading figure in modern dance.
8. Like the music of Charles Ives, Appalachian Spring contains no borrowed melodies.
9. Simple Gifts was originally a spiritual.
10. Yankee Doodle was sung by the British to mock the American army.
11. Charles Ives was an American-born composer that studied composition in France.
12. Charles Ives worked at an insurance agency and also composed music.
13. Charles Ives realized that dissonance was the norm of American musical life.
14. Copland studied composition with Nadia Boulanger.
15. Copland was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for his Third Symphony.
16. Rural New England is the setting for Appalachian Spring.
17. Charles Ives wrote Yankee Doodle in 1903.
18. American military bands first performed Yankee Doodle during the Civil War.
19. The “dandy” in Yankee Doodle refers to a foppish young man.
20. Yankee Doodle was first printed in Great Britain.
1. Why is Charles Ives considered one of the most original musicians of his time?
2. What makes Aaron Copland’s music American? Cite examples from works described in the textbook.
3. What is uniquely “American” about the music of Ives and Copland?
4. Discuss the role of American folk music traditions in shaping the music of Ives and Copland.