At the river (Copland/Ives) sung by Samuel Ramey

Shall we gather by the river,
Where bright angel's feet have trod,
With its crystal tide forever
Flowing by the throne of God.

Yes, we'll gather by the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Gather with the saints by the river
That flows by the throne of God.

Ere we reach the shining river
Lay we every burden down,
Praise our spirits will deliver
And provide our robe and crown.

Yes, we'll gather at the river.
The beautiful, the beautiful, river.
Gather with the saints at the river,
That flows by the throne of God.

Soon we'll reach the shining river,
Soon our pilgrimage will cease,
Soon our happy hearts will quiver
With the melody of peace.

Yes, we'll gather by the river,
The beautiful, the beautiful river,
Gather with the saints by the river
That flows by the throne of God.

Robert Lowry (1826-1899)

Two renderings of this traditional song for voice and piano; the first one written by Aaron Copland, from his 'Old American Songs', followed by the less optimistic version of Charles Ives at 2:58 .

Samuel Ramey, bass
Warren Jones, piano

Argo CD 433 027-2

Bild: Joachim Patinir, 'Charon, crossing the Styx' (1515)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Spiritual
• Lied
• Piano
• Song
• Ives
• Copland

[arpeggio1358]

I think Ramey's interpretation is quite valid. This entire CD is a gem. One of my favorite Ramey recordings.

[rofklaw]

Ramey has a beautiful voice, but I don't know if it really fits Ives' interpretation.



[oktopus8]

I would argue that the Ives rendering isn't less optimistic, the composition simply employs the typical alternate harmonization that Ives is famous for. It has his trademark crunchy polytonality.