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Dear List,<br>
<br>
With apologies for self-promotion, Charles Ives's education in the
movable-do tradition is discussed in my article "George Ives's Essay in
Music Theory: An Introduction and Annotated Edition" in <i>American
Music </i>10/3 (Fall 1992). It discusses his father's teaching of the
Tonic Sol-fa System, a movable do system, which George credits to the
English Congregationalist minister John Curwen (1816-80). A conductor,
George Ives used the Tonic Sol-fa System to teach just intonation to
his choruses, because he believed this tuning was more pleasing and
expressive for the diatonic music they usually sang. George Ives's work
was mentioned in the first issue of the bulletin of the American branch
of the Tonic Sol-faists in February 1882. <br>
<br>
Curwen's system was extremely popular in Great Britain, where it was
the basis of a national system for teaching singing; its
accomplishments were touted in an1884 letter to the London <i>Times</i>:
"At the most modest estimate, during the 30 years our system has been
at work, we have taught at least the elements of music to four million
persons." The system fed into the impressive 19th-century English
choral tradition and its popular organization, whose publications of
the works they sang included solfège syllables above the musical staves.<br>
<br>
Carol K. Baron<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:cbaron@ms.cc.sunysb.edu">cbaron@ms.cc.sunysb.edu</a><br>
<br>
<br>
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