Variations on "America"

Composed in 1891 when Ives was seventeen, it is an arrangement of a traditional tune, known as "America (My Country, 'Tis of Thee)" (words by Samuel Francis Smith), and was at the time the de facto anthem of the United States.

Ives prepared it for a Fourth of July celebration in 1892 at the Methodist church where he was organist in Brewster, New York.

[4] Ives was not deaf to its comic potential however: he later noted that his father "didn't let me do it much, as it made the boys laugh" in church.

[5] Recordings of Ives' original piece have been made by several organists, including E. Power Biggs (CBS) and Simon Preston (Argo).

Recordings of Schuman's orchestration have included performances conducted by Eugene Ormandy, (CBS/Sony), Morton Gould (RCA), Arthur Fiedler (Decca) and José Serebrier (Naxos).