Naxos Records is episodically releasing the complete Piano Rags of Scott Joplin (1867-1917) in the same manner as The Complete Keyboard Sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti (the two composers have more in common than one might think). The Joplin series should be between three and five CDs. Before reviewing the Naxos releases, it should be worth while to have a little background about Ragtime Music, Joplin, and available recordings.Ragtime Music
Ragtime, jazz after it, is a unique American invention. It was popular during the early 20th Century and has its origins in period dance music from the African-American community well before being published and sold as piano sheet music. It can be considered a eduction of African rhythms, derived from the slave community (as was the blues), marches, and western European classical music.
The ragtime genre technically is a modification of the march, composed in 2/4 or 4/4 meter with a pronounced left hand bass figure struck on odd-numbered beats and chords on even-numbered beats, supporting a syncopated melody in the right hand. This defines, in the simplest terms, a “rag.” A rag written in 3/4 meter is termed a “ragtime” waltz.
Ragtime music is specifically defined by the syncopation realized when melodic accents are struck between metrical beats. This produces a melody that ostensibly avoids some metrical beats of the accompaniment by emphasizing notes anticipating or following the beat. This rhythmic effect coupled with the meter used accentuates the beat, making the music perfectly suitable for dancing. The name “ragtime” is derived from the music being described as in “ragged time,” later shortened to “ragtime.”
While Scott Joplin is a centerpiece in ragtime music, he is by no means the first or only composer to write in the idiom. Joseph Lamb (1887-1960) and James Scott (1886-1938) are often considered in the same breathe as Joplin by aficionados. Joplin often co-wrote pieces with other composers, including “Heliotrope Bouquets” with Louis Chauvin, "Swipesy Cakewalk" with Arthur Marshall, and "Sensation" composed by the aforementioned Joseph Lamb and arranged by Joplin. Ragtime continues to be composed today by William Bolcom, David Thomas Roberts, and Scott Kirby.
Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin was born outside of Texarkana, Texas between 1867 and 1868; barely four years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Joplin’s father was a freed slave while his mother was free born. Both parents had musical inclinations, providing Joplin a musically sympathetic environment in which to grow. By seven years or age, Joplin began piano lessons with a German music teacher, Julius Weiss, who provided him a broad knowledge of the classical music form, which would nurture Joplin later in his quest to “legitimize” ragtime music, creating a "classical" form of the genre. Joplin would later move to Sedalia, Missouri and attend George R. Smith College, concentrating on music theory, harmony, and composition.
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