An Endurance Test Successfully Passed: The Ives Vocal Marathon at Wesleyan University

The Ives Vocal Marathon at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut (Jan. 29 – Feb. 1) was so named to advertise its ambition and athleticism: five musicians performed the complete solo vocal works of Charles Ives across six concerts in a four-day “Festival Presentation.” The Marathon aimed for completeness—two hundred and one performances of one hundred and eighty-five songs, plus variants. Participating athletes included Neely Bruce, the Marathon’s pianist and music director, and four charismatic vocalists: baritone David Barron, tenor Gary Harger, mezzo soprano Elizabeth Saunders, and soprano Johanna Arnold. These five had been performing the songs together over a three-year span, refining the final festival program through—in Bruce’s words—“a rather agonizing process” of determining which variants required inclusion. This was an Ives intensive for an eager audience, featuring sophisticated interpretations by five tireless and devoted musicians.