Ives and Oral History

Abstract

The Charles Ives Collection in the Yale Music Library contains Ives's music manuscripts and papers placed there by his widow soon after his death in 1954. While working with these materials, I became aware that there were still a number of people living who had known and worked with Charles Ives, and that an effort should be made to collect and preserve their memories of him. Mrs. Ives was already too ill to be approached. Julian Myrick, Ives's insurance partner, was in his eighties and also ill, but three years ago I was able to begin the project of recording interviews with him. I did not consider that I was doing something called history, a term I associated with presidential tapes and political figures; and I certainly had no idea of becoming an oral historian. Indeed, my career as such almost ended the day it began. The first interview with Myrick was frustrating. His hearing was weak, and I was too timid to raise my voice. But we soon got used to each other, and he thoroughly enjoyed having the undivided attention of someone familiar with people and places no one else remembered. When this fine gentleman died a few weeks after our last interview, I realized an emergency situation existed. I determined then to collect a complete documentary oral history on Charles Ives, searching out and talking to everyone of importance in his life while this was still possible. I may not have realized it at the time, but I was showing symptoms of being hooked on oral history. Historian Allan Nevins established the Columbia University Oral History Research Office in 1948. Since that time there has been an explosive growth of oral history projects throughout the country. The Oral History Association, established in 1966, holds an annual colloquium and has published a bibliography, a directory, and the proceedings from three of their meetings. The directory lists a total of two hundred and thirty oral history projects for 1971. Numerous regional studies attempt to capture the flavor of a time and place, leading to biographical projects such as the presidential archives, and a wide range of projects in folklore, sociology, psychology, medicine, industry, and government. It is startling to discover that the arts are poorly represented.