Homage To Joplin: A Song History

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"Homage To Joplin" appears in Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 8, an 85-page book Ellen Pratt published herself, as five dulcimer parts in DAD tuning.[1] The table of contents shown on the listing places it in 4/4 time and, unlike its entries for "Coleman's March," "Midnight On The Water" and "Pig Ankle Rag," attaches no "traditional" label or outside composer to it; the sources consulted here do not say who wrote it or describe its music.[1] Pratt has written for the dulcimer since about 2004, and her ensemble work grew out of playing in a dulcimer orchestra in the northeast corner of Connecticut.[2]

Lithograph of a man with tousled hair seated at a piano, playing with both hands, with faint figures sketched behind him

Paul Gavarni, Piano, lithograph, 1853. Not a picture of Scott Joplin; shown for its subject, it has no connection to the piece.

The sources consulted here do not explain the title.[1][2] Its namesake, Scott Joplin, was a Texas-born American pianist and composer (born 1867 or 1868, died in New York City in 1917) whose fame around 1900 earned him the nickname "king of ragtime."[3] The Library of Congress observes that Joplin saw nothing strange in joining ragtime's syncopation to the larger forms of art music, and records his warning never to play ragtime fast.[4] He settled in the railroad town of Sedalia, Missouri, in 1894, and in 1899 John Stark, who sold and published music there, issued his "Maple Leaf Rag,"[5] a piece inspired by Joplin's engagements at the Maple Leaf Club.[4]

The State Historical Society of Missouri credits Joplin with forty-four original piano pieces or rags, two operas and one ragtime ballet.[5] One of those operas, Treemonisha, was never staged in his lifetime and had its premiere in Atlanta in 1972.[4] Largely forgotten after his death, Joplin regained attention in the ragtime revival of the 1970s, helped when his 1902 rag "The Entertainer" anchored the soundtrack of the 1973 film The Sting.[4] His contribution to American music was recognized after his death with a Pulitzer Prize, a special Bicentennial award made in 1976.[3][5]

Our book that contains the song "Homage To Joplin"

Sources

  1. Ellen Pratt: "Ensemble Arrangements For The Mountain Dulcimer, Volume 8".
  2. DulcimerDownloads: "Ellen Pratt".
  3. Britannica: "Scott Joplin".
  4. Library of Congress: "Biography Scott Joplin, 1868-1917".
  5. State Historical Society of Missouri, Historic Missourians: "Scott Joplin".
  6. Image: Paul Gavarni, Piano, lithograph, 1853. The Cleveland Museum of Art.

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