Brave boys are now in action.
They are there, they will help to free the world.
They are fighting for the right.
But when it comes to might,
They are there, They are there, They are there,
As the Allies beat up all the warhogs,
The boys’ ll be there fighting hard
and then the world will shout
the battle cry of Freedom.
Tenting on a new camp ground.
When we're through this cursed war,
All started by a sneaking gouger,
making slaves of men.
They let all the people rise,
and stand together in brave, kind Humanity.
Most wars are made by small stupid
selfish bossing groups
while the people have no say.
But there'll come a day
Hip hip hooray
when they'll smash all dictators to the wall. (...)
excerpt from They are there -Â song by Charles Ives
Charles Ives is considered the father of modern American music. He wrote most of his compositions during the first 20 years of the last century. His music is characterised by a frequent use of polytonality and polyrhythms and the interweaving of popular American tunes from gospels, marches and cowboy songs, among others, which for Ives were part of the collective American memory.
Charles Ives was a complex personality. His collection of songs, which he self-published as a musical biography, attests to this. Apart from being the innovator of American music, Ives was an insurance agent, patriot, nostalgic and deeply religious by nature; he sublimated nature and disliked industrial progress. Ives was a great idealist and felt that the ‘Liberty for All‘ ideal was worth a war in 1914 -1918.
The same words that idealists like Charles Ives used are now deployed in America's current war propaganda. We can, at the beginning of this century, no longer sing or listen to some Ives songs uninhibitedly.
Reviews
‘George defends his pseudo-transcendentalist theses to a rather apathetic audience. Actor Maarten Boegborn does so (...) at least grotesquely enough to make its appeal and dangers clear at the same time. His tirade is interspersed with (and thankfully not illustrated by) a selection from Ives’ songs. (...)
Gerrie de Vries sings them with great commitment and acts with impressive veracity and elegance (the male tailored suit fits her like a glove). She is superbly surrounded by three musicians (pianist Ivan Siller, clarinettist Benjamin Dieltjens and violinist Wibert Aerts), who conjure up a kind of sound pandemonium on stage in constantly changing arrangements. The overall experience is at once compelling and confrontational; it is less an introduction to Ives' music than to the guy Ives and a reminder of an America that, in these times, we can or want to see only with difficulty.
Highly recommended!’
Stephan Moens, De Morgen
‘Musically and textually, this is a spot-on performance, especially because of Gerrie de Vries’ vocals. Topicality gives the performance great added value. Clever choice by Judith Vindevogel and her team.'
Eddie Vaes, Zone 03
‘American composer Charles Ives does not easily allow himself to be pigeonholed. Yet Walpurgis succeeds with One, two... three? manages to paint an amazingly clear picture of a wacky composer and his ideals through his songs and fragments of lyrics. (...)
For mezzo-soprano Gerrie de Vries, the Ives repertoire is a perfect fit. She switches smoothly from a roguish speaking voice to breakneck sung lines. With minimal gestures, she wittily summarises the droll details of the songs. Even more steamy is the piano accompaniment. Ivan Siller rushes the busy piano part through with staggering ease. Some of these accompaniments are also cleverly arranged with clarinet and violin. Benjamin Dieltjens' bass clarinet in particular is an equally brilliant partner, while violinist Wibert Aerts is more reserved in the jolly company. (...)
Just as the songs make stylistic leaps, the lyrics also mix political positions and parlour philosophies. Patriotic hubris becomes painfully topical when the do-gooder in Ives starts preaching very imperialistic American values.
Particularly striking is the song Fighting for a new free world (from 1917), which is an encouragement to fighting compatriots on the Flemish front.’
Véronique Rubens, De Standaard
