Hilarity Rag - Piano

[PDF] + Video - Piano solo - Ragtime * License: Public Domain -.
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You must be logged in to use this feature. You must have paid membership or be a no cost-registered participant of the Musicalion web page. These participants also get access to their "intern"'-section. Free sheet music for members. If you have fixed a notation mistake, then we would be grateful if you could inform us as such. Please indicate here which file and what have you improved. Variations on a Theme of Corelli op. Lamb was living in the Kitchener area which was called Berlin at that time just west of Toronto, going to school and apprenticing, plus staying engaged in improving his playing and composition skills.

This piece was started shortly after the publication of the Charles N. Joe Lamb had already published two rags by , Walper House and Ragged Rapids , but he wasn't getting the distribution he likely desired. It was by chance during a visit to buy the latest Scott Joplin and James Scott pieces at John Stark's New York office that he mentioned to the clerk possibly one of Stark's children how much he would like to meet Joplin.

Lamb recounted that the clerk pointed to a black man in the office with his leg wrapped up possibly for gout , and they told him, "There's your man. When Lamb mentioned that he had some rags to play, Joplin invited him over to his home to play them. A few days later, Lamb arrived at Joplin's home where there were some other friends of Joplin's gathered for some occasion. He was prompted to sit down and play one of his rags. Lamb played through Sensation Rag , and by the time he was done the room had fallen silent.

Joplin paid him the ultimate compliment, telling him that Lamb's piece sounded "like good Negro ragtime," which Lamb says is " When it was clear that Sensation would establish Lamb as a serious ragtime composer, publisher John Stark had no reticence about accepting further submissions from him, and the composer also worked at increasing the scope of his compositional ability.

His next effort displayed a radical change in style from Sensation , and was filled with experimental syncopated patterns and lush harmonies. Ethiopia codified Joe Lamb as truly unique among all other ragtime composers, even the cream of the crop that made up the bulk of Stark's catalog. The A section is delicate and restrained with carefully placed grace notes. The next strain increases in intensity with a rarely used pattern in measures 3 and 11, and some ambitious octave runs in the right hand.

It is the trio that really sets this rag off, with a fascinating mix of syncopated patterns between the hands. Measures 5 to 7 constitute a classical pattern that is development-like in nature. The final strain is dominated by anticipatory syncopations, those that are held over a bar line. And to think, the best was yet to come.

Issued and likely composed around the same time as Ethiopia , Excelsior improves upon the intricacy and complexities of its sibling. Lamb had been working in a publishing house, perhaps in an effort to learn a trade, but was still composing on the side. After he met his idol Scott Joplin and Joplin arranged to have Sensation published, Lamb had more incentive to make good on the opportunity given to him by the ragtime master and publisher John Stark. This piece used the Maple Leaf Rag as a template, at least through the first three sections.

It is noteworthy that, in spite of the obvious difficulty involved, Excelsior Rag was the only classic rag published in Db and Gb. Even James Scott's Frog Legs , which likely modulated to Gb when first conceived, was probably transposed to Ab for simplicity. Lamb was able to convince Stark that only his chosen key would make the most of the rich textures used within, even after having transposed it down to C and F. As with Ethiopia , much use of anticipatory syncopation was evident in the B and C sections. Through effective voicing, several secondary and counter melodies have been inserted as well.

As a point of interest, the word excelsior , which is translated as "still higher," is the motto of New York State. Even though this earlier rag of Lamb's is close in nature to popular ragtime output of the time and was not up to the standard he would set in later classic rags, it is still rife with creative ideas and effectively effervescent in execution.

It may have sounded enough like a James Scott rag to some that the rare first short-lived cover, brought to our attention by collecter John Endries , actually credited Scott as the composer, quickly corrected in a second printing. Either way, the inside title designated Lamb as the source. In spite of this, there is enough syncopation to warrant the use of "rag" in the title. The A section contains a couple of measures where no bass note is struck on the first beat, an innovative and sometimes effective device that showed up often in later Lamb works. Both the B and C sections are fully arranged with written variations an octave higher instead of using the more characteristic repeat sign.

The trio is cast very much like the trios of some other popular syncopated works of that period, particularly trios written by Kansas City composer Charles L. Johnson that are more in the framework of dance music. The interlude after the trio bears some similarity to "dog fights" which would appear later in many jazz standards.

It is followed by an unusual repeat of the A section in a new key. Listen for the champagne bubbles in this repeat. A study of rags by Joplin, Scott, and Lamb reveal a collective level of continuity within compositions by each, but some notably distinct differences between them as well. As a rule, Joplin seemed to write in four measure phrases, and Scott in short two measure phrases, while Lamb often preferred extended eight measure phrases. This paradigm was well established by the composition of this truly beautiful piece.

Even in the first eight measures, Lamb introduces several textures in the interplay between hands. The B section is more a fine realization of ideas started by Scott Joplin, then refined by Lamb. The interlude before C seemed to suggest some forward motion, so I take a James Scott approach here and accelerate the tempo a bit through the end.

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The repetition in the trio further suggests the Scott influence. The D section is an expansion on the idea presented in the same section in Joplin's Pine Apple Rag , using a diminished chord for effect. The title applies as much to the rose pictured on the cover as to the music contained within. In a interview, Lamb recounted how his lyrical Nightingale Rag came to be.

He had wanted to write something similar to James Scott's Ragtime Oriole , and had been looking through his sister's Etude magazine, when he saw Chopin's Revolutionary Etude a portion of which is included in the introduction of this performance with an intriguing bass line. Working with this bass line he formed the A section, and then added a snippet of the famous Nightingale Song , and a rag was born. Lamb was very attentive to detail in his work, which was clear even when he played in his last years; carefully and deliberately. Many consider this to be his finest work. I particularly like the A section, and include variations on it in both the second and third iterations.

The counter melody in the second iteration of A is similar to one used by John Arpin in his duet version of this piece, which I had the fortunate opportunity to perform with him in in Toronto, Canada. Additional Arpin and Edwards ideas were applied to the trio and the short segue that follows it, both of which contain descriptive phrases akin to various bird calls. Lamb was certainly able to provide variety in his writing, and surprises where least expected.

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His command of pianistic texture is demonstrated through that variety. In the case of Cleopatra Rag , it is the thinning of this texture that provides the contrast. The opening strain is, for the most part, made up of a single melodic line instead of the harmonicaly rich passages Lamb had become known for.

There is also a marked mixed of dotted rhythms with straight ones, the dotted rhythms reflecting the style many pianists had adopted at this time and would later be infused into jazz. These conventions are continued, with little exception, into the B section. The first four measures alone of the trio display four varieties of syncopation, followed by a fifth that carries through the next few bars. The final section is a repeat of B, something that Lamb rarely did. The beautiful cover was a well-known work by one of the Starmer brothers who specialized in sheet music covers, and had been used by at least one other publisher, whose logo Stark simply covered up.

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Publisher John Stark had returned to St. Louis by this time after his tenuous tenure in New York City. Still, Lamb, who was living in Brooklyn by this time, continued to submit works to Stark which he continued to publish without hesitation. The A section used mixed staccato passages with sustained notes reinforced by supporting chords. The second pattern is effectively carried over into the B strain providing continuity between the sections. The trio displays contrast through the "less is more" paradigm, minimizing both melodic and harmonic elements.

The D section is somewhat retro, reflecting patterns used in marches from a decade past. Why there is no reindeer on the cover, or how it got that name are both mysteries. However, Lamb was a hands-on operator who likely named most, if not all of his pieces.

Norwegian ragtime artist Morten Gunnar Larsen says that the opening of the A section is very similar to an old Northern European children's Christmas tune, and speculates that Lamb may have known of it when he wrote the rag. Just the same, it would be at least three more decades before reindeer would be in vogue thanks to Rudolph. This relatively simple rag was originally composed by Lamb in as an anniversary gift of sorts for publisher John Stark and his wife Sarah. As Lamb tells the story, he had noted how content Mr. Stark seemed after having spent so many years together, and it touched his heart to the point he named and dedicated Contentment Rag to them.

The idea was put forward that a drawing of a happy older couple be used for the cover art. However, shortly after Stark received the piece for publication he moved back to St. Louis, tired of the hustling tactics of "sleazy" New York publishers. Soon after the move in , Mrs. Stark, who had become progressive more ill over the past year, passed away. A disheartened John Stark would hold the piece for six years before publishing it sans the dedication and references to himself and Mrs.

Stark, and with a silhouette picture of a content old man on the cover rather than the original contented married couple designated for that spot. It is an unremarkable work overall, but still pleasant and above par for the typical Tin Pan Alley output of the early s. There are a few comparisons that can be made to other Lamb rags published at the time of composition, including both Ethiopia and Sensation. Multiple printed sources and the opinions of many I have asked confirm this to be Lamb's finest rag, and perhaps even one of the finest ever composed.

Top Liner encompasses a wide range of harmonic progressions, bass patterns, octave shifts, transitional phrasing, and just plain beautiful melodies, hallmarks of the best of Joe's output. In fact, even Lamb considered it to be his favorite rag among those he wrote.

The opening, which eschews an introduction, holds off on the traditional ragtime bass pattern until the melodic flow has been established. The B section thrives on simplicity with its melody primarily in thirds, and has a bass line that echoes some of Joplin's later New York works. The interlude following the reiteration of the A strain beautifully anticipates the trio without outright quoting from it. What follows is a creative expansion on James Scott's repeated call and response patterns. The D section closes with true eight measure phrasing that encompasses a wide range of the keyboard.

Hilarity Rag sheet music for Piano download free in PDF or MIDI

This was truly the top of the line for the original ragtime era! As with the other two pieces, it has no introduction and jumps right in to a two measure phrase that is developed into a four measure phrase. Lamb's familiarity with classical music structure, gained in large part from his older sisters, contributed greatly to his propensity for theme development. Even the supporting chords are carefully chosen. This becomes even clearer in the B section, with 8 measure phrases and intricate syncopations introduced. Then for the trio, the melodic line goes well into the lower part of the keyboard interacting with the left hand to wonderful effect.

Even more innovation is introduced in the final strain, of which half of it uses only a moving octave line for left hand support. Lamb also uses blues-influenced seventh chords here in ways not frequently heard in ragtime. At a time when rags were losing popularity and jazz was coming into its own, a few brave or non-adaptive composers were still writing rags.

This was the last of Joseph Lamb's piano rags published before his death in , and the twelfth issued by publisher John Stark. Just the same, continuing to work in his day job as a clerk, then manager of a New York importing firm, he continued to write piano rags and even novelties throughout much of his life see Ragtime Treasures which is now available online for more of them. Bohemia also suffered from economics of the time as John Stark , in an effort to cut publishing costs and conform to new standards in the music industry, used a simple line drawing for the cover no color and issued the entire rag on two pages, which was a challenge to read for many used to the previous issuances of rags expanded to four full pages.

Bohemianism was increasingly popular at that time, and was considered to be the practice of unconventional and artistic lifestyles with free thinking, a precursor to the hippie movement of the s. Given the tone of the rag, this is the more likely source of inspiration for the title than references to the country that is still part of the Czech Republic. This work stands out from all of Lamb's other pieces in terms of tonality and structure. The tonic key is not clearly established in the A section until the last four bars.

The B section offers two alternate versions for the left hand bass line, in essence, mapping out the desired improvisation for the repeat. The trio is very lively, and even includes a twelve bar interlude, unusual for Lamb. Many contemporary artists, including myself, have been known to expand on this section with a number of variations, and even the occasional key change. While Bohemia was not quite jazz, the "bohemian" attitude is certainly present throughout this piece.

Among the treasures that Lamb had been keeping in his trunk for over four decades was this delightful gem. Similar in many ways to Top Liner Rag and American Beauty in structure and phrasing, it may well have been composed during the ragtime era, then polished up a bit when Lamb responded to growing interest in his work in the late s. As with the other two aforementioned classic rags, the composer makes good use of flowing 4 and 8 measure phrases with harmonies that blend over bar lines, using little repetition yet maintaining thematic coherence throughout.

The B section makes sparse use of the usual ragtime bass pattern, with much anticipation of each following measure in the right hand syncopations.

The trio is particularly lyrical in content, while the D section is clearly a variation of Top Liner with many clever rhythms included. If this was indeed composed around or prior to Lamb's departure from composing to a full-time job, one might wonder why it was not also submitted to John Stark for publication, as it may have certainly been worthy as such.

Among the pieces in the Belwin Mills Ragtime Treasures folio long out of print of 13 posthumously published Lamb pieces, this is the most requested among myself and my peers. One of the set of 13 posthumously published Lamb rags in Ragtime Treasures , Bobolink was possibly started or sketched out during the ragtime era, but modified and polished to some extent just prior to his death. This was Lamb's second attempt at a bird-call rag, following his sumptuous Ragtime Nightingale.

There are a few clues that this is not your average classic rag. The opening section contains no trace of a traditional ragtime bass line, which sets up the contrast of the well-developed B strain. The trio again nearly eschews the oom-pah bass, while the final section is more traditional and seemingly part of the Stark-published Lamb rags.

In fact, the last strain, depending on when it was completed, either forecasts or echoes a theme found in Charlotte Blake's Poker Rag and the s hit The Old Piano Roll Blues , with a similar melodic line that makes good use of "call and response" patterns. Incidentally, the bird pictured on the cover which I created since it was never printed separately is indeed a North American Bobolink found around the New England states. In , the United States added both the 49th and 50th states, the first additions in 47 years since Arizona in An area that had been a matter of contention between the U.

The territory became permanently engrained in the American culture during during one of the shortest-lived but most ballyhooed gold rushes in history in the Klondike, bordering Canada. So, many Americans felt it was certainly a part of the United States by the time it was finally admitted on January 3rd. This also means that the Perfessor was one of that small group born under a star flag as Hawaii was admitted in August. Whether this was a piece that Lamb had written years before the event and simply named it for the new state is unclear.

However, he did have it ready in February when historian Mike Montgomery spent an evening at the Lamb residence recording the composer playing his own works. It does follow his classic structure in many ways, but attention is immediately gained since the first beat of the first two phrases in the A section are actually rests. The trio uses the well-honed rise and fall structure with counter-chords and rhythms throughout.

The final section has many anticipatory syncopations over bar lines arriving at a very sweet resolution. Artie Matthews was a native of central Illinois, raised by his mother who was widowed when Artie was very young. He learned how to play ragtime from a combination of semi-formal training and from two Springfield, Illinois, ragtime pianists, Banty Morgan and Art Dunningham. Moving to Saint Louis around , he was engaged as a pianist, and used some of his proceeds to pursue formal training at the Keeton School of Music through This training helped him to become adept as an arranger, and even before his involvement with publisher John Stark , Artie's services were called upon in that regard.

He did some contract arranging work for Stark through the mids, as well as some composing, then left for Chicago, Illinois, to pursue new opportunities. When that did not pan out, Artie moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he remained. He started his Cosmopolitan School of Music to serve students of color in the Cincinnati and Covington, Kentucky, area of the Ohio River, the first school of its kind in the United States. Many fine black performers and composers graduated from Matthews' conservatory, which he ran with his wife Anna.

His son, Art Matthews, Jr. While he is largely known for his five Pastime Rags issued by John Stark, the influence of Matthews can be heard in his arrangements of other works issued by the publisher, making them in a sense an extension of his own piano rags. Among all of these pieces there is a clear indication that Artie was well-versed in a number of musical styles, given the variegated quality of his output.

If his personal output had been a more prolific, there is a good chance he would have been considered one of the "Big Four" of classic ragtime, something this author has long advocated. The entries here cover Matthew's compositional output from Stark in addition to one other arrangement which might be viewed as a co-composition. Other works arranged by Matthews for Charles Thompson , Lucian Porter Gibson and Robert Hampton and can be found starting with the Piano Rags from page and continuing on to the following page.


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Matthews was a contracted arranger for publisher John Stark for a few years through the mids. Annotate this sheet music. Complete sheet music 4 pages - The members of Free-scores. Please log in or create an account so you can leave your comment, annotate the score or assign a heart. Do not see this window again for the duration of the session. Scott, James - Instrumentation: Early 20th century Publisher: Wilkinson, Tony - Date: Creative Commons Licence 3.

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