The Three Places in New England (Orchestral Set No. 1) is a composition for orchestra in three movements by American composer Charles Ives. It was written mainly between 1911 and 1914, but with sketches dating as far back as 1903 and last revisions made in 1929. The work is celebrated for its use of musical quotation and paraphrasing. The movements (in Ives's preferred slow-fast-slow sequence, longest first and shortest last) are: Lasting just under twenty minutes, Three Places in New England has become one of Ives's most performed compositions. It exhibits signature traits of his style: layered textures with multiple, sometimes simultaneous melodies, many of which are recognizable hymn or marching tunes; masses of sound, including tone clusters; and sudden, sharp textural contrasts. Each “place” is in New England. Each is intended to make the listener experience a unique atmosphere, as if there. To this end, the paraphrasing of American folk tunes is an important device, providing tangible reference points and making the music accessible despite its avant-garde chromaticism. Three Places in New England aims to paint a picture of American ideals, lifestyle and patriotism at the turn of the 20th century. History Composition Three Places in New England was composed between 1903 and 1929. The set was completed in 1914 but was later revised for performance in 1929. The second piece, Putnam’s Camp, Redding, Connecticut was created from two short theater orchestra pieces composed by Ives in 1903. These pieces, "Country Band" March and Overture & March: "1776", were completed in 1904. Lyman Brewster, Ives's uncle, had asked him to compose the pieces for his play Major John Andre which was never performed due to Brewster's untimely death. In the early fall of 1912, Ives began tinkering with these compositions again. The satisfaction that Ives derived from working on the Fourth of July (the third movement of his Holiday Symphony), in which he used the trio (or middle) section of 1776, may have been the catalyst for inspiring him to reuse these lost songs and create a longer piece. By October, Ives had completed an ink score-sketch of Putnam's Camp. The final version of the piece clearly resembles its source materials, but many of the complex musical jokes that littered the originals had been replaced with simpler alternatives. The Housatonic at Stockbridge, the third piece in the set, was composed in 1911 along with the opening movement. By 1912,