Rick Benjamin is the founder and conductor of the world-renowned Paragon Ragtime Orchestra . Benjamin has an active career as a pianist and tubist as well as an arranger.
104-399: Treemonisha (1911) is an opera by American ragtime composer Scott Joplin . It is sometimes referred to as a "ragtime opera", though Joplin did not refer to it as such and it encompasses a wide range of musical styles. The music of Treemonisha includes an overture and prelude , along with various recitatives , choruses , small ensemble pieces, a ballet , and a few arias . The opera
208-626: A 1913 interview published in the black newspaper New York Age , Scott Joplin asserted that there had been "ragtime music in America ever since the Negro race has been here, but the white people took no notice of it until about twenty years ago [in the 1890s]." Ragtime quickly established itself as a distinctly American form of popular music . Ragtime became the first African American music to have an impact on mainstream popular culture. Piano "professors" such as Jelly Roll Morton played ragtime in
312-616: A 1917 Victorola in his grandparents' garage. He later recalled that the music he played on the Victorola connected with him in a way that the pop music of his era did not. He said, "I knew in my bones that these performers and their composers were expressing their sheer joy in life through their music." Benjamin's interest persisted in ragtime, the first popular music conceived and created by Americans in an era where popular songs were brought over from Germany or England. Benjamin went to Juilliard with intentions to make his living playing
416-414: A Mozart program on solo tuba at a concert hall, but instead led a group in performing ragtime music, leaving open the doors to draw in a wider crowd. Before a full house, Benjamin's group played selections by Irving Berlin and Victor Herbert , the W.C. Handy's "Memphis Blues" and Joplin's "Peacherine Two-Step." One witness to the event, Juilliard professor Vincent Persichetti , approached Benjamin after
520-496: A compilation of some of Joplin's rags in period orchestrations edited by conservatory president Gunther Schuller . It won a Grammy for Best Chamber Music Performance of the year and was named Top Classical Album of 1974 by Billboard magazine. The film The Sting (1973) brought ragtime to a wide audience with its soundtrack of Joplin tunes. The film's rendering of "The Entertainer", adapted and orchestrated by Marvin Hamlisch ,
624-497: A concert at the Lincoln Center Library , with musical performances by William Bolcom , Joshua Rifkin and Mary Lou Williams joining a group of singers. The concert commemorated the recent publication of Joplin's collected works, which had been compiled and edited by Vera Brodsky Lawrence . The world premiere took place on January 27, 1972, as a joint production of the music department of Morehouse College and
728-406: A connection between the character Treemonisha's wish to lead her people out of ignorance, and a similar desire in the composer. Lottie Joplin also describes Treemonisha as a spirit who would speak to him while Scott Joplin played the piano, and she would "shape" the composition. "She'd tell him secrets. She'd tell him the past and the future," said Lottie Joplin. Treemonisha was an entity present while
832-524: A drama in three acts, composed in the early 1900s in memory of his friend J. P. Contamine de Latour. In 1902 the American cakewalk was very popular in Paris and Satie two years later wrote two rags, La Diva de l'empire and Piccadilly . Despite the two Anglo-Saxon settings, the tracks appear American-inspired. La Diva de l'empire , a march for piano soloist, was written for Paulette Darty and initially bore
936-556: A great hit and demonstrated more depth and sophistication than earlier ragtime. Ragtime was one of the main influences on the early development of jazz (along with the blues ). Some artists, such as Jelly Roll Morton , were present and performed both ragtime and jazz styles during the period the two styles overlapped. He also incorporated the Spanish tinge in his performances, which gave a habanera or tango rhythm to his music. Jazz largely surpassed ragtime in mainstream popularity in
1040-503: A group organized by ragtime composer and pianist Lewis F. Muir who toured Europe. Immensely popular with British audiences, the ARO popularized several of Muir's rags (such as " Waiting for the Robert E. Lee " and " Hitchy-Koo ") which were credited by historian Ian Whitcomb as the first American popular songs to influence British culture and music. The ARO recorded some of Muir's rags with
1144-426: A melody that seems to be avoiding some metrical beats of the accompaniment by emphasizing notes that either anticipate or follow the beat ("a rhythmic base of metric affirmation, and a melody of metric denial" ). The ultimate (and intended) effect on the listener is actually to accentuate the beat, thereby inducing the listener to move to the music. Scott Joplin, the composer/pianist known as the "King of Ragtime", called
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#17327942762861248-679: A million copies. Tom Fletcher , a vaudeville entertainer and the author of 100 Years of the Negro in Show Business , has stated that "Hogan was the first to put on paper the kind of rhythm that was being played by non-reading musicians." While the success of "All Coons Look Alike to Me" helped popularize the country to ragtime rhythms, its use of racial slurs created a number of derogatory imitation tunes, known as " coon songs " because of their use of racist and stereotypical images of black people. In Hogan's later years, he admitted shame and
1352-465: A note on the sheet music for the song "Leola" Joplin wrote, "Notice! Don't play this piece fast. It is never right to play 'ragtime' fast." E. L. Doctorow used the quotation as the epigraph to his novel Ragtime . Ragtime pieces came in a number of different styles during the years of its popularity and appeared under a number of different descriptive names. It is related to several earlier styles of music, has close ties with later styles of music, and
1456-605: A rehearsal ... its special quality (would have been) lost on the typical Harlem audience (that was) sophisticated enough to reject their folk past but not sufficiently so to relish a return to it". Aside from a concert-style performance in 1915 of the ballet Frolic of the Bears from act 2, by the Martin-Smith Music School, the opera was forgotten until 1970, when the score was rediscovered. On October 22, 1971, excerpts from Treemonisha were presented in
1560-475: A sacred tree under which Treemonisha is found recalls the tree from which Siegmund takes his enchanted sword in Die Walküre . The recounting of the heroine's origins echos aspects of the opera Siegfried . African-American folk tales also influence the story; for instance, the wasp nest incident is similar to the story of Br'er Rabbit and the briar patch. Treemonisha is not a ragtime opera. Joplin used
1664-407: A sense of "race betrayal" from the song, while also expressing pride in helping bring ragtime to a larger audience. The emergence of mature ragtime is usually dated to 1897, the year in which several important early rags were published. "Harlem Rag" by Tom Turpin and "Mississippi Rag" by William Krell were both release that year. In 1899, Scott Joplin's " Maple Leaf Rag " was published and became
1768-474: A theater orchestra of the era was 5 strings, 1 flute, 1/2 clarinets, 1/2 cornets, 1 trombone, Piano/Conductor and percussion. Variations on the instrumentation depended on the publisher of the music, and of the arrangement. Some of the orchestra's programs of historic theater music call for from 25 to 30 musicians and some of the grand silent film scores call for over 70 players, so the orchestra has to hire out when they perform these programs. The Road Manager for
1872-769: A variety of composers, including T. J. Anderson, Gunther Schuller , and most recently, Rick Benjamin . Since its premiere, Treemonisha has been performed all over the United States, at venues such as the Houston Grand Opera (twice, once with Schuller's 1982 orchestration), the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and in 1975 at the Uris Theatre on Broadway , to overwhelming critical and public acclaim. Opera historian Elise Kirk noted that
1976-538: A visit to Harlem during his trip in 1922. Even the Swiss composer Honegger wrote works in which the influence of African American music is pretty obvious. Examples include Pacific 231 , Prélude et Blues and especially the Concertino for piano and orchestra. Igor Stravinsky wrote a solo piano work called Piano-Rag-Music in 1919 and also included a rag in his theater piece L'Histoire du soldat (1918). In
2080-476: Is Zez Confrey , whose "Kitten on the Keys" popularized the style in 1921. Ragtime also served as the roots for stride piano , a more improvisational piano style popular in the 1920s and 1930s. Elements of ragtime found their way into much of the American popular music of the early 20th century. It also played a central role in the development of the musical style later referred to as Piedmont blues ; indeed, much of
2184-431: Is abducted and is about to be thrown into a wasps' nest when her friend Remus rescues her. The community realizes the value of education and the liability of their ignorance before choosing her as their teacher and leader. The opera opens with Zodzetrick, a conjurer, attempting to sell a bag of luck to Monisha ("The Bag of Luck"). However, her husband, Ned, wards him off. As Zodzetrick slinks away, Treemonisha and Remus hear
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#17327942762862288-416: Is bound, strange creatures perform a dance number about her ("Frolic of the Bears"). Simon and Cephus then take Treemonisha to be thrown in a giant wasps' nest ("The Wasp Nest"), but Remus arrives just in time, masquerading as the devil, scaring the conjurers away ("The Rescue"). The next scene opens on another plantation, where four laborers perform a quartet about having a break ("We Will Rest Awhile / Song of
2392-447: Is sacred. Monisha performs an aria, talking of Treemonisha's discovery under the tree ("The Sacred Tree"). Treemonisha is distraught to learn Monisha and Ned aren't her true parents and laments over it ("Surprised"). Monisha then tells of how Treemonisha was brought up and educated ("Treemonisha's Bringing Up"). Parson Alltalk then arrives in a wagon, talking to the neighborhood and confirming their belief in superstition. Whilst he distracts
2496-406: Is similar: "In the end, Treemonisha offered a celebration of literacy, learning, hard work, and community solidarity as the best formula for advancing the race." Berlin describes it as a "fine opera, certainly more interesting than most operas then being written in the United States". By contrast, he says that Joplin's libretto showed the composer "was not a competent dramatist" and that the libretto
2600-485: Is the salvation of African Americans. The heroine and symbolic educator is Treemonisha, who runs into trouble with a local band of conjurers, who kidnap her. Joplin completed Treemonisha in 1910 , and paid for a piano-vocal score to be published in 1911. At the time of the publication, he sent a copy of the score to the American Musician and Art Journal . Treemonisha received a glowing, full-page review in
2704-766: The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in Atlanta, Georgia, using the orchestration by T. J. Anderson . The performance was directed by Katherine Dunham , former head of a noted African-American dance company in her own name, and conducted by Robert Shaw . (He was one of the first major American conductors to hire both black and white singers for his chorale ). The production was well received by both audiences and critics. The original orchestrations for Treemonisha have been completely lost, as has Joplin's first opera A Guest of Honor (1903). Subsequent performances have been produced using orchestrations created by
2808-1206: The British Broadcasting Corporation , and the Voice of America networks, and Benjamin has conducted the Aalborg Symphony Orchestra (Denmark), the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra , Olympia Symphony in Washington State, the New Jersey Symphony, the Iceland Symphony Orchestra, the Washington Performing Arts Society, the Brucknerhaus in Linz, Austria. Benjamin is a touring lecturer and a published author and wrote liner notes on New World Records In addition to curating
2912-723: The New York Times remarked particularly on the variety of the "abidingly energetic fun" performance, which included "a concert waltz, a maxixe, one-steps, two-steps, foxtrots and blues, and, of course, numerous rags, some quite picturesque." In February 1999, Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra premiered Oh, You Kid! at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in collaboration with the Paul Taylor Dance Company . The work
3016-1275: The Staatsschauspiel Dresden in April 2015. There were four performances in August 2019 at the Arcola Theatre , London (UK), as part of the Grimeborn Festival. A performance of Treemonisha was staged at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, France In 2022, the 28-member Isango Ensemble of Cape Town , South Africa premiered a reimagined version of Treemonisha at Théâtre de Caen in Caen , France . Directed by Mark Dornford-May and Paulina Malefane, with music direction by Mandisi Dyantyis, and choreography by Lungelo Ngamlana, this production of Treemonisha transposes Joplin's score to marimba and features musicians and singers in dual roles. Conductor Andre Kostelanetz recorded orchestral selections from Treemonisha in 1976 for Columbia Records . In 1997, Aaron Robinson conducted Treemonisha: The Concert Version at
3120-422: The big band sounds that predominated in the 1920s and 1930s when they adopted smoother rhythmic styles. There have been numerous revivals since newer styles supplanted ragtime in the 1920s. First in the early 1940s, many jazz bands began to include ragtime in their repertoire and put out ragtime recordings on 78 rpm records . A more significant revival occurred in the 1950s as a wider variety of ragtime genres of
3224-460: The tuba . When his jaw was wired shut after his teeth were inadvertently shattered during a tooth extraction, he found himself temporarily unable to play that instrument and instead focused on writing a research paper on Arthur Pryor , an 1890s trombonist , conductor and music director. Pryor was an influential figure in the early history of the Victrola, as he had served as first conductor for
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3328-452: The "ragged or syncopated rhythm" of the right hand. A rag written in 4 time is a "ragtime waltz". Ragtime is not a meter in the same way that marches are in duple meter and waltzes are in triple meter; it is rather a musical style that uses an effect that can be applied to any meter. The defining characteristic of ragtime music is a specific type of syncopation in which melodic accents occur between metrical beats. This results in
3432-406: The "sporting houses" ( bordellos ) of New Orleans. Polite society embraced ragtime as disseminated by brass bands and "society" dance bands. Bands led by W. C. Handy and James R. Europe were among the first to crash the color bar in American music. The new rhythms of ragtime changed the world of dance bands and led to new dance steps, popularized by the show-dancers Vernon and Irene Castle during
3536-601: The 1910s. The growth of dance orchestras in popular entertainment was an outgrowth of ragtime and continued into the 1920s. Ragtime also made its way to Europe. Shipboard orchestras on transatlantic lines included ragtime music in their repertoire. In 1912, the first public concerts of ragtime were performed in the United Kingdom by the American Ragtime Octette (ARO) at the Hippodrome, London ;
3640-558: The 1920s, ragtime has experienced several revivals, notably in the 1950s and 1970s (the latter renaissance due in large part to the use of "The Entertainer" in the film The Sting ). The music was distributed primarily through sheet music and piano rolls , with some compositions adapted for other instruments and ensembles. Ragtime music was developed long before it was printed as sheet music. It had its origins in African American communities of St. Louis , Missouri . Most of
3744-407: The 1950s. A wider variety of ragtime styles of the past were made available on records, and new rags were composed, published, and recorded. Much of the ragtime recorded in this period is presented in a light-hearted novelty style, looked to with nostalgia as the product of a supposedly more innocent time. A number of popular recordings featured " prepared pianos ", playing rags on pianos with tacks on
3848-734: The 1976 Houston Grand Opera production and recording, this production used Joplin's original dialect. In June 2003 Rick Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra premiered their version of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha at the Stern Grove Festival in San Francisco. An extensively annotated 204-page book and two-CD recording of Benjamin's orchestration was released in 2011. In June 2023, Scott Joplin's Treemonisha - A Musical Reimagining produced by Volcano Theatre Company, in association with Canadian Opera Company , Soulpepper , and Moveable Beast has its world premiere at
3952-767: The Bluma Appel Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts in Toronto . The staging featured orchestrations and arrangements by Jessie Montgomery and Jannina Norpoth, with book and libretto adapted by Leah-Simone Bowen . Europe saw staged versions in Venice (Italy), Helsinki (Finland) and Gießen (Germany). After the German premiere at the Stadttheater Gießen in 1984, Germany saw another stage version at
4056-656: The British record label The Winner Records in 1912; the first ragtime recordings made in Europe. James R. Europe's 369th Regiment band generated great enthusiasm during its 1918 tour of France. Ragtime was an influence on early jazz ; the influence of Jelly Roll Morton continued in the Harlem stride piano style of players such as James P. Johnson and Fats Waller . Ragtime was also a major influence on Piedmont blues . Dance orchestras started evolving away from ragtime towards
4160-598: The Cotton Pickers"). Treemonisha and Remus then arrive, and ask for directions to the John Smith plantation. Once they have left, the workers hear a horn, and celebrate that their work is finished for the day ("Aunt Dinah has Blowed de Horn"). The third act opens with a prelude ("Prelude to Act 3") in an abandoned plantation. Back in the neighborhood, Monisha and Ned mourn about Treemonisha's disappearance ("I Want to See My Child"). When Remus and Treemonisha return,
4264-727: The June issue. The review said it was an "entirely new phase of musical art and ... a thoroughly American opera (style)." This affirmed Joplin's goal of creating a distinctive form of African-American opera. Despite this endorsement, the opera was never fully staged during his lifetime. Its sole performance was a concert read-through in 1915 with Joplin at the piano, at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem , New York, paid for by Joplin. One of Joplin's friends, Sam Patterson, described this performance as "thin and unconvincing, little better than
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4368-619: The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is Leslie Cullen who also plays flute and piccolo and has been a member of the orchestra since 1989. Cullen studied at the Juilliard School and is an adjunct at Bucknell University. Cullen has appeared at the Ravinia Festival, The Kennedy Center, Chautauqua, and the Smithsonian Institution. Cullen is a native of Lawton, Oklahoma and was the former artist-in-residence for
4472-488: The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra premiered his version of Treemonisha on the East Coast at Wake Forest University . Benjamin has expressed his hope that his simpler orchestration will allow the material to be presented in more modest venues, indicating that Joplin never intended for the "opera" to depend on a large orchestra. Describing the work as "unpretentious", he notes that the opera "is much more an amalgamation of
4576-733: The Rockport Opera House in Rockport, Maine , with a new libretto by Judith Kurtz Bogdanove. In June 2008 Sue Keller produced and arranged an abridged orchestral-choral rendition of Treemonisha . The production was commissioned by the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Foundation. A new arrangement for singers and brass band (4 trumpets, 4 trombones, French horn, tuba) had been commissioned from German composer Stefan Beyer. A suite from Treemonisha arranged by Gunther Schuller
4680-719: The State Arts Council of Oklahoma. Cullen has also played with the Royale Trio and the Linden Woodwind Quintet. In addition to his work with his orchestra, Benjamin lectures at Bucknell University and Susquehanna University near his home in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Benjamin was greatly encouraged in his musical career by his grandfather, J. Edward Smith, who played violin, clarinet & piano, among other instruments, throughout his life, and
4784-534: The US, that also educated and entertained audiences about ragtime. New ragtime composers soon followed, including Morath, Donald Ashwander , Trebor Jay Tichenor , John Arpin , William Bolcom , and William Albright . In 1971, Joshua Rifkin released a compilation of Joplin's work which was nominated for a Grammy Award . In 1973, The New England Ragtime Ensemble (then a student group called The New England Conservatory Ragtime Ensemble) recorded The Red Back Book ,
4888-571: The collection of Arthur Prior, Benjamin also curates the collections of Simone Mantia , B.F. Alart, and Frank H. Wells and has worked with archivists and historians including Thornton 'Tony Hagert 's Vernacular Music Research In the World's Fair held in Seville , Spain , Benjamin and his orchestra were the "Ambassador of Goodwill." Because orchestras by their nature and tradition are much more fluid in regards to personnel, there are 36 players on
4992-486: The company that produced them, Victor Talking Machine Co., and had accordingly been able to decide himself what recordings were released for the machine. Benjamin learned that an old theater in Asbury, New Jersey that was scheduled for demolition housed Pryor's personal collection of over 4,000 pieces of music and was given permission to take it. While Benjamin did not immediately understand the value of this collection, which
5096-415: The concert was over to encourage him to make it his "life's work" to preserve "America's original music." The concert did not go over well with the dean, who put Benjamin on probation for it, but it had a much more positive impact on Grammy award winning Columbia Records executive Thomas Frost , who to Benjamin's surprise was given a recording of the concert and had within a matter of weeks arranged for
5200-399: The conjurers ("Conjurers Forgiven"), and sets them both free. Luddud decides to abandon conjuring, but Zodzetrick insists that he will never change his ways. The neighborhood then elect Treemonisha as their new leader ("We Will Trust You As Our Leader"), and they celebrate with a closing dance ("A Real Slow Drag"). 1972 Atlanta World Premiere Act 1 Act 2 Act 3 Joplin wrote both
5304-426: The definition but include novelty piano and stride piano (a modern perspective), while Edward A. Berlin includes ragtime songs and excludes the later styles (which is closer to how ragtime was viewed originally). The terms below should not be considered exact, but merely an attempt to pin down the general meaning of the concept. European Classical composers were influenced by the form. The first contact with ragtime
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#17327942762865408-423: The early 1920s, although ragtime compositions continue to be written up to the present, and periodic revivals of popular interest in ragtime occurred in the 1950s and the 1970s. The heyday of ragtime occurred before sound recording was widely available. Like European classical music, classical ragtime has primarily been a written tradition distributed though sheet music. But sheet music sales ultimately depended on
5512-434: The early 1940s, many jazz bands began to include ragtime in their repertoire, and as early as 1936 78 rpm records of Joplin's compositions were produced. Old numbers written for piano were rescored for jazz instruments by jazz musicians, which gave the old style a new sound. The most famous recording of this period is Pee Wee Hunt 's version of Euday L. Bowman 's " Twelfth Street Rag ." A more significant revival occurred in
5616-462: The early ragtime pianists could not read or notate music, but instead played by ear and improvised . The instrument of choice by ragtime musicians was usually a banjo or a piano. It was performed in brothels, bars, saloons, and informal gatherings at house parties or juke joints . The first ragtime composition to be published was " La Pas Ma La " in 1895. It was written by minstrel comedian Ernest Hogan . Kentucky native Ben Harney composed
5720-457: The effect "weird and intoxicating." He also used the term "swing" in describing how to play ragtime music: "Play slowly until you catch the swing...". The name swing later came to be applied to an early style of jazz that developed from ragtime. Converting a non-ragtime piece of music into ragtime by changing the time values of melody notes is known as "ragging" the piece. Original ragtime pieces usually contain several distinct themes, four being
5824-579: The first album of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra to be released. Benjamin quit Juilliard without fanfare and has since devoted himself to his orchestra. Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra made their New York debut at the Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in March 1988 with a program consisting of a medley of music from the 1890s and 21 songs from the period ranging 1905 to 1920 which Benjamin had found among Pryor's papers. Allan Kozinn for
5928-527: The first ragtime era, and its three most important composers, Joplin, Scott, and Lamb. The second major factor was the rise to prominence of Max Morath . Morath created two television series for National Educational Television (now PBS) in 1960 and 1962: The Ragtime Era , and The Turn of the Century . Morath turned the latter into a one-man-show in 1969, and toured the US with it for five years. Morath subsequently created different one-man-shows which also toured
6032-476: The folks singing and excitedly prepare for the day ("The Corn Huskers"). Treemonisha then asks if they would like a ring play before they worked. They accept, and Andy leads the folks in a song and dance ("We're Goin' Around"). When the folks have finished dancing, Treemonisha notices that the women wear wreaths on their heads, and she herself tries to acquire one from a tree ("The Wreath"). However, Monisha stops her in her tracks, and tells her of how this certain tree
6136-476: The folks, the conjurers kidnap Treemonisha ("Good Advice"). Once Alltalk leaves, the neighborhood realizes Treemonisha is gone ("Confusion"). Remus sets out to rescue Treemonisha. Act 2 opens with Simon, another conjurer, singing of superstition ("Superstition"). Zodzetrick, Luddud and Cephus then debate on Treemonisha's punishment for foiling their plans earlier in the day ("Treemonisha in Peril"). Whilst Treemonisha
6240-420: The form of songs accompanied by skilled guitar work. Numerous records emanated from several labels, performed by Blind Blake , Blind Boy Fuller , Blind Lemon Jefferson , and others. Occasionally, ragtime was scored for ensembles (particularly dance bands and brass bands ) similar to those of James Reese Europe or as songs like those written by Irving Berlin . Joplin had long-standing ambitions of synthesizing
6344-694: The genre has been adapted for a variety of instruments and styles. Ragtime music originated within African American communities in the late 19th century and became a distinctly American form of popular music. It is closely related to marches . Ragtime pieces usually contain several distinct themes, often arranged in patterns of repeats and reprises. Scott Joplin, known as the "King of Ragtime", gained fame through compositions like " Maple Leaf Rag " and " The Entertainer ". Ragtime influenced early jazz , Harlem stride piano , Piedmont blues , and European classical composers such as Erik Satie , Claude Debussy , and Igor Stravinsky . Despite being overshadowed by jazz in
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#17327942762866448-537: The hammers and the instrument deliberately somewhat out of tune, supposedly to simulate the sound of a piano in an old honky tonk . Four events brought forward a different kind of ragtime revival in the 1970s. First, pianist Joshua Rifkin released a compilation of Scott Joplin's work, Scott Joplin: Piano Rags , on Nonesuch Records , which was nominated in 1971 for a Grammy Award for Best Classical Performance – Instrumental Soloist or Soloists (without orchestra) category. This recording reintroduced Joplin's music to
6552-429: The jigs and march music played by African American bands, referred to as "jig piano" or "piano thumping". By the start of the 20th century, it became widely popular throughout North America and was listened and danced to, performed, and written by people of many different subcultures. A distinctly American musical style, ragtime may be considered a synthesis of African syncopation and European classical music, especially
6656-413: The like. Ragtime was also distributed via piano rolls for mechanical player pianos . While the traditional rag was fading in popularity, a genre called novelty piano (or novelty ragtime) emerged that took advantage of new advances in piano roll technology and the phonograph record to permit a more complex, pyrotechnic, performance-oriented style of rag to be heard. Chief among the novelty rag composers
6760-491: The marches made popular by John Philip Sousa. Some early piano rags were classified as "jig", "rag", and "coon songs". These labels were sometimes used interchangeably in the mid-1890s, 1900s, and 1910s. Ragtime was also preceded by its close relative the cakewalk . In 1895, black entertainer Ernest Hogan released the earliest ragtime composition, called " La Pas Ma La ". The following year he released another composition called "All Coons Look Alike to Me", which eventually sold
6864-442: The most common number. These themes were typically 16 bars, each theme divided into periods of four four-bar phrases and arranged in patterns of repeats and reprises. Typical patterns were AABBACCC′, AABBCCDD and AABBCCA, with the first two strains in the tonic key and the following strains in the subdominant. Sometimes rags would include introductions of four bars or bridges, between themes, of anywhere between four and 24 bars. In
6968-418: The music played by such artists of the style as Reverend Gary Davis , Blind Boy Fuller , Elizabeth Cotten , and Etta Baker could be referred to as "ragtime guitar." Although most ragtime was composed for piano, transcriptions for other instruments and ensembles are common, notably including Gunther Schuller 's arrangements of Joplin's rags. Ragtime guitar continued to be popular into the 1930s, usually in
7072-450: The neighborhood celebrate, and show that they have captured two of the conjurers, Zodzetrick and Luddud ("Treemonisha's Return"). Remus then lectures about good and evil ("Wrong is Never Right (A Lecture)"). Andy still wants to punish the conjurers, and riles up the neighborhood to attack them ("Abuse"). Ned then lectures the conjurers about their own nature ("When Villains Ramble Far and Near (A Lecture)"). Treemonisha persuades Andy to forgive
7176-549: The oldest festival of its kind in the United States, hosted in an amphitheater in San Francisco. Treemonisha had originally premiered in 1975 with full professional staging by the Houston Grand Opera , but Benjamin thought that the Houston staging was "too heavy, too Verdiesque" and spent nearly half of a decade altering it to suit the kind of 12-piece theater pit orchestra prevalent in Joplin's day. In October 2005 Benjamin and
7280-546: The opera and shared its performing rights, serves as artistic consultant. In 1981 the company revived that staging and produced a video of the production for PBS by Sidney Smith. This used the Schuller orchestration and starred Carmen Balthrop as Treemonisha, Delores Ivory as Monisha, and Obba Babatundé as Zodzetrick. Deutsche Grammophon had previously released the audio version of this production on LPs in 1976. A fully orchestrated and costumed production of Treemonisha
7384-400: The opera is the popular romantic one of the early 20th century. It has been described as "charming and piquant and ... deeply moving", with elements of black folk songs and dances, including a kind of pre- blues music, spirituals , and a call-and-response style scene featuring a preacher and congregation. The opera celebrates African-American music and culture while stressing that education
7488-491: The opera slumbered in oblivion for more than half a century before making a triumphant Broadway debut. It was also recorded commercially in its entirety – the earliest African American opera to achieve that distinction and the earliest to receive widespread modern recognition and performance. Joplin's ambition was for Treemonisha to be both a serious opera in the European tradition and an entertaining piece of music. He drew on
7592-437: The opera was "a tribute to [Freddie, his second wife] the woman he loved, a woman other biographers never even mentioned." He also notes that in the opera, the title character receives her education in a white woman's home. Berlin and other music historians, along with Joplin's widow, have noted similarities between this element of the opera's story and Joplin's own childhood music and other lessons with Julius Weiss . Treemonisha,
7696-431: The past were made available on records, and new rags were composed, published, and recorded. In the 1960s, two major factors brought about a greater public recognition of ragtime. The first was the publication of the book, They All Played Ragtime , in 1960, by Harriet Janis and Rudi Blesh. Some historians refer to this book as "The Ragtime Bible". Regardless, it was the first comprehensive and serious attempt to document
7800-416: The payroll of the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra and their appearance at a particular performance depends on a wide variety of criteria including the number of players called for by the score(s) to be performed. The score for the silent motion picture Zorro was written for 12 instruments while the orchestra's ragtime program is scored for 10 or 11 players, depending on the publisher and arranger. The main set-up for
7904-472: The piece was being created and was part of the process. At the time of the opera's publication in 1911, the American Musician and Art Journal praised it as "an entirely new form of operatic art". Later critics have also praised the opera as occupying a special place in American history, with its heroine "a startlingly early voice for modern civil rights causes, notably the importance of education and knowledge to African American advancement." Curtis's conclusion
8008-468: The protagonist of the opera, is a black teenager who was educated by a white woman, "just as Joplin received his education from a white music teacher". Historian Larry Wolz agrees, noting that the "influence of mid-nineteenth-century German operatic style" is quite obvious in Treemonisha , which he attributes to Joplin learning from Weiss. Berlin notes that Lottie Joplin (the composer's third wife) saw
8112-579: The public in the manner the composer had intended, not as a nostalgic stereotype but as serious, respectable music. Second, the New York Public Library released a two-volume set of The Collected Works of Scott Joplin which renewed interest in Joplin among musicians and prompted new stagings of Joplin's opera Treemonisha . Next came the release and Grammy Award for The New England Ragtime Ensemble 's recording of The Red Back Book, Joplin tunes edited by Gunther Schuller . Finally, with
8216-446: The publication of the " Maple Leaf Rag " (1899) and a string of ragtime hits such as " The Entertainer " (1902), although he was later forgotten by all but a small, dedicated community of ragtime aficionados until the major ragtime revival in the early 1970s. For at least 12 years after its publication, "Maple Leaf Rag" heavily influenced subsequent ragtime composers with its melody lines, chord progressions or metric patterns . In
8320-590: The ragtime idiom only in the dance episodes. Historians have speculated that Joplin's second wife, Freddie Alexander, may have inspired the opera. Like the title character, she was educated, well-read, and known to be a proponent of women's rights and African-American culture. Joplin set the work in September 1884, the month and year of Alexander's birth, which contributes to that theory. Joplin biographer Edward A. Berlin has said that Treemonisha may have expressed other aspects of Joplin's life. Berlin said that
8424-572: The release of the film The Sting in 1973, which had a Marvin Hamlisch soundtrack of Joplin rags, ragtime was brought to a wide audience. Hamlisch's rendering of Joplin's 1902 rag "The Entertainer" won an Academy Award, and was an American Top 40 hit in 1974, reaching No. 3 on May 18. Ragtime news and reviews publications during this period included The Ragtime Review (1962–1966), The Rag Times (bimonthly/sporadic, fl. 1962–2003), and The Mississippi Rag (monthly, 1973–2009). In 1980, an adaption of E. L. Doctorow 's historical novel Ragtime
8528-404: The score and the libretto for the opera, which largely follows the form of European opera with many conventional arias, ensembles and choruses. In addition the themes of superstition and mysticism, which are evident in Treemonisha , are common in the operatic tradition. Certain aspects of the plot are similar to devices in the work of the German composer Richard Wagner (of which Joplin was aware);
8632-573: The score include Buster Keaton 's Cops , Harold Lloyd 's Never Weaken , and Charlie Chaplin 's The Immigrant . Another movie that Benjamin performs with his orchestra is 'The Mark Of Zorro' starring Douglas Fairbanks. Benjamin has expressed surprise that " Generation X " has responded so favorably to the music, suggesting in 1997 that younger listeners may resist the more commercially oriented music "crammed down their throats." Benjamin and his orchestra also have performed for diverse radio programs on New York Times' WQXR , National Public Radio ,
8736-417: The skill of amateur pianists, which limited classical ragtime's complexity and proliferation. A folk ragtime tradition also existed before and during the period of classical ragtime (a designation largely created by Scott Joplin's publisher John Stillwell Stark ), manifesting itself mostly through string bands, banjo and mandolin clubs (which experienced a burst of popularity during the early 20th century) and
8840-598: The song "You've Been a Good Old Wagon But You Done Broke Down" the following year in 1896. The composition was a hit and helped popularize the genre to the mainstream. Another early ragtime pioneer was comedian and songwriter Irving Jones . Ragtime was also a modification of the march style popularized by John Philip Sousa . Jazz critic Rudi Blesh thought its polyrhythm may be coming from African music, although no historian or musicologist has made any connection with any music from Africa. Ragtime composer Scott Joplin ( ca. 1868–1917) from Texas, became famous through
8944-502: The style with two preludes for piano: Minstrels , (1910) and General Lavine-excentric (from his 1913 Préludes ), which was inspired by a Médrano circus clown. Erik Satie , Arthur Honegger , Darius Milhaud , and the other members of Les Six in Paris never made any secret of their sympathy for ragtime, which is sometimes evident in their works. Consider, in particular, the ballet of Satie, Parade (Ragtime du Paquebot), (1917) and La Mort de Monsieur Mouche , an overture for piano for
9048-526: The styles of ragtime and other black music sparingly, to convey "racial character"; but he composed more music that reflected that of his childhood at the end of the 19th century. The opera has been seen as a valuable record of such rural Southern black music from the 1870s–1890s, re-created by a "skilled and sensitive participant". Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize in music in 1976 for Treemonisha . The world premiere of Treemonisha
9152-597: The title Stand-Walk Marche ; it was later subtitled Intermezzo Americain when Rouarts-Lerolle reprinted it in 1919. Piccadilly , another march, was initially titled The Transatlantique ; it presented a stereotypical wealthy American heir sailing on an ocean liner on the New York–Europe route, going to trade his fortune for an aristocratic title in Europe. There is a similar influence in Milhaud's ballets Le boeuf sur le toite and Creation du Monde , which he wrote after
9256-606: The well-established American traditions of vaudeville, tab-show, melodrama, and minstrelsy, all held together by Joplin's marvelous music." He told the Wake Forest University newspaper that Joplin's "real dream was to give everyday people the opportunity, perhaps their only one, to experience opera on their own terms in the music halls and neighborhood theaters." In another interview, for the San Francisco Chronicle , Benjamin indicated that Joplin
9360-443: The worlds of ragtime and opera , to which end the opera Treemonisha was written. However, its first performance, poorly staged with Joplin accompanying on the piano, was "disastrous" and was never performed again in Joplin's lifetime. The score was lost for decades, then rediscovered in 1970, and a fully orchestrated and staged performance took place in 1972. An earlier opera by Joplin, A Guest of Honor , has been lost. The rag
9464-475: Was a Top 5 hit in 1975. Ragtime – with Joplin's work at the forefront – has been cited as an American equivalent of the minuets of Mozart , the mazurkas of Chopin , or the waltzes of Brahms . Ragtime also influenced classical composers including Erik Satie , Claude Debussy , and Igor Stravinsky . Ragtime originated in African American music in the late 19th century and descended from
9568-426: Was a modification of the march made popular by John Philip Sousa , with additional polyrhythms coming from African music. It was usually written in 4 or 4 time with a predominant left-hand pattern of bass notes on strong beats (beats 1 and 3) and chords on weak beats (beat 2 and 4) accompanying a syncopated melody in the right hand. According to some sources the name "ragtime" may come from
9672-510: Was anybody in that era would send their scores to Mr. Pryor in hopes that they would be recorded" for Victrola. In 1986 Benjamin decided to form a 14-piece orchestra of fellow Juilliard students to perform the music as it had been originally arranged during the period. Benjamin made a request to Juilliard to perform a concert of turn-of-the-20th-century American composers but his request was rejected by Juilliard's dean, who felt Juilliard should focus on traditional composers. Benjamin scheduled
9776-498: Was associated with a few musical fads of the period such as the foxtrot . Many of the terms associated with ragtime have inexact definitions and are defined differently by different experts; the definitions are muddled further by the fact that publishers often labelled pieces for the fad of the moment rather than the true style of the composition. There is even disagreement about the term "ragtime" itself; experts such as David Jasen and Trebor Tichenor choose to exclude ragtime songs from
9880-575: Was commissioned under the Doris Duke Millennium Awards for Modern Dance and Jazz Music of the Kennedy Center and American Dance Festival, which promotes such pairings. Anna Kisselgoff wrote in the New York Times that the show was "exuberant romp to ragtime music." In June 2003 Benjamin and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra premiered their version of Scott Joplin's opera Treemonisha at the Stern Grove Festival,
9984-408: Was largely unknown before its first complete performance in 1972. Joplin was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1976 for Treemonisha . The performance was called a "semimiracle" by music historian Gilbert Chase , who said Treemonisha "bestowed its creative vitality and moral message upon many thousands of delighted listeners and viewers" when it was recreated. The musical style of
10088-548: Was not of the same quality as the music. Treemonisha takes place in September 1884 on a former slave plantation in an isolated forest, between Texarkana, Texas (Joplin's childhood town) and the Red River in Arkansas. Treemonisha is a young freedwoman . After being taught to read by a white woman, she leads her community against the influence of conjurers, who are shown as preying on ignorance and superstition. Treemonisha
10192-509: Was performed as part of The Rest Is Noise season at London's Southbank Centre in 2013. Ragtime Ragtime , also spelled rag-time or rag time , is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm . Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott Joplin , James Scott , and Joseph Lamb . Ragtime pieces (often called "rags") are typically composed for and performed on piano , though
10296-537: Was presented in 1972 by the Atlanta Symphony , under Robert Shaw , and the Morehouse Glee Club, under Wendell Whalum, the production's musical director. Katherine Dunham was stage director. In 1976 the Houston Grand Opera first staged Treemonisha under music director Chris Nance and stage director Frank Corsaro . Vera Brodsky Lawrence , who had co-edited the published piano score of
10400-525: Was probably at the Paris Exposition in 1900, one of the stages of the European tour of John Philip Sousa. The first notable classical composer to take a serious interest in ragtime was Antonín Dvořák . French composer Claude Debussy emulated ragtime in three pieces for piano. The best-known remains the Golliwog's Cake Walk (from the 1908 Piano Suite Children's Corner ). He later returned to
10504-429: Was probably himself barred from opera during his day because he was black, but expressed his belief that Joplin realized opera's ability to speak to the public. He has recently recorded the opera for New World Records. Benjamin has an extensive collection of period cinema-orchestra scores which his orchestra performs along with broadcasting of the films they were created to accompany. Silent movies for which they perform
10608-414: Was released on screen. Randy Newman composed its music score, which was all original. In 1998, a stage version of Ragtime was produced on Broadway. With music by Stephen Flaherty and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, the show featured several rags as well as songs in other musical styles. Rick Benjamin (conductor) Benjamin's interest in ragtime music began in the 1970s when he was eight years old and found
10712-741: Was staged in February 1991 at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2000, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis presented a production of Treemonisha directed by Rhoda Levine , conducted by Jeffrey Huard, and choreographed by Dianne McIntyre . The cast included Christina Clark (Treemonisha), Geraldine McMillian (Monisha), Nathan Granner (Remus), and Kevin Short (Ned). Unlike
10816-452: Was thought to have been destroyed, he soon realized that among the collection were many rare musical scores and manuscripts, including unknown compositions by such composers as Scott Joplin , W.C. Handy , Edward MacDowell , Victor Herbert , Jerome Kern and John Philip Sousa . In a 1997 interview with the Herald & Review , he explained the presence of these rare pieces: "Anybody who
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