![]() Bolcom called Contentment (2015). This music is fine, but the composer and the pianist are a little less impressive, producing some far too “classical” music sound. ![]() There are many other examples of how ragtime music can be conceived, like the gentle ones: Gardenia (1970) or the chronologically last rag composed by Mr. ![]() Here the pianist is requested to produce surprise clusters, mainly in the extreme low and high range of the piano, probably an excruciatingly painful procedure thus the “Brass Knuckles” title is more than justified. There are other, lesser-known rags worth noting.īrass Knuckles (1969) was written in collaboration with William Albright, a fact which is just another rare achievement in the world of composers. Hamelin can display all his well-known pianistic techniques, and he does so with visible joy and seemingly no effort. The other piece which entered into many pianists’ repertoire is the “Poltergeist” (1971) from the cycle Three Ghost Rags.Ī technically demanding piece, the ghost is sometimes incredibly fast, mostly reappearing in places where you would not expect him. The reemergence of this delicious and highly original musical form in the late 1960s is a lucky circumstance. Since its origins at the end of the 19th century, Rag (or if you prefer, Ragtime) has influenced many composers of world fame, starting with Antonín Dvořák, reportedly the first European interested in this music, and continuing with Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, and many others, only to nearly disappear in the 1930s, ceding place to jazz and other musical forms. William BOLCOM/William ALBRIGHT: Brass Knuckles (1969) William BOLCOM: Estela ‘Rag Latino’ (2010) William BOLCOM: Epitaph for Louis Chauvin (1967) William BOLCOM: Three Ghost Rags (1970-71) William BOLCOM: The Brooklyn Dodge (1972) William BOLCOM: California Porcupine Rag (1968) William BOLCOM: The Garden of Eden (1969) Their musical language subtly updates that of Joplin without in the least sacrificing its character.William BOLCOM: Eubie’s Luckey Day (1969) Bolcom's Ghost rags are charming and thorougly idiomatic, not exercises at all but tributes, of the highest order, to a neglected American music. Slower and sweeter than the other two, it still comes with surprising harmonies, tricky syncopations, and langorous melodies that might provide numerous opportunities for some smoky-eyed heroine to toss her hair. One writer has described it as a "white telephone rag," and of the three rags in the set this one is the most redolent of the old-time serials. The music takes several entertaining jaunts down long hallways to dead ends before reluctantly coming to a conclusion. The second Ghost Rag, titled Poltergeist (Rag Fantasy), does not make an outward show of being haunting but nevertheless sounds more ghostly, with suspended appoggiaturas, unexpected harmonies, and syncopations that snap a bit more than those of Graceful Ghost. Bolcom has also prepared a very effective transcription for violin and piano of this rag. An elegant melodic curve, gentle minor-mode harmonies, and an expert use of the flowing syncopations of ragtime rhythm make the piece feel wistful and noble at the same time. The ghost who stalks these pages is indeed a graceful and welcome presence. Bolcom wrote the first of these rags, Graceful Ghost, in memory of his father, and it has become his single most famous work. His Ghost Rags of 1970, which were named as a set by the pianist Paul Jacobs, have become the best-loved of his ragtime explorations, and Bolcom invests these essays in old-time music with style and wit. The exploration of this master's oeuvre spurred several American composers to write rags of their own, including William Bolcom. In the late '60s, there arose a renewed interest in the music of the greatest ragtime composer, Scott Joplin.
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