The Fourth of July (one-conductor performance edition) (1913)
(Third movement of A Symphony: New England Holidays)

A parade of Americana with thematic nods to such popular tunes as “Columbia the Gem of the Ocean,” “Battle Hymn of the Republic,” “Battle Cry of Freedom,” and “Yankee Doodle.” Probably the most complex and fascinating of the four movements of the "Holidays" Symphony, Ives's Fourth of July takes metrical and motivic play to its outer limits. Commenting in his Memos, Ives wrote, "I did what I wanted to, quite sure that the thing would never be played, although the uneven measures that look so complicated in the score are mostly caused by missing a beat, which was often done in parades. In the parts taking off explosions, I worked out combinations of tones and rhythms very carefully by kind of prescriptions, in the way a chemical compound which makes explosions would be made."