List of compositions by Scott Joplin
The following is a complete list of musical compositions by Scott Joplin (ca. 1867–April 1, 1917).
Scott Joplin was born in Northeast Texas in around 1867, just outside Texarkana, and was a street performer before settling in Sedalia, Missouri, St. Louis, Missouri, and finally New York City where he died in 1917. He was an American composer and pianist, who achieved fame for his ragtime compositions, and was dubbed "The King of Ragtime". During his brief career, Joplin wrote over 40 original ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first pieces, the "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) has been recognized as the archetypal rag and influenced subsequent rag composers for at least 12 years thanks to its rhythmic patterns, melody lines, and harmony.[1]
His finances were precarious throughout his career, despite a steady income from the "Maple Leaf Rag".[2] Joplin had the majority of his works published by John Stark of Sedalia, Missouri although he did use other lesser-known companies including his own "Scott Joplin Music Publishing Company". His first opera A Guest of Honor was lost after an unsuccessful tour in 1903. After the death of his widow, Lottie, in 1953 a number of manuscripts of unpublished work were lost and no copies of them are known to exist.[3]
When Joplin was learning the piano, serious musical circles condemned ragtime because of its association with the vulgar and inane songs of Tin Pan Alley.[4] As a composer Joplin refined ragtime, developing it from the dance music played by pianists in brothels in cities like St. Louis.[5] This new art form, the classic rag, combined Afro-American folk music's syncopation and nineteenth-century European romanticism, with its harmonic schemes and its march-like tempos, in particular the works of John Philip Sousa.[6][7][8] With this as a foundation, Joplin intended his compositions to be played exactly as he wrote them – without improvisation.[9] Joplin wrote his rags as "classical" music to raise ragtime above its "cheap bordello" origins and produced work which opera historian Elise Kirk described as "...more tuneful, contrapuntal, infectious, and harmonically colorful than any others of his era."[10]
There are many inconsistencies between the titles of compositions, their subtitles and their respective cover titles, which was seen by the editor of the collected works as reflecting "an editorial casualness" on the part of the publishers, and indicating a genre in which many dance-steps could be performed interchangeably.[11] Many of the works cannot be dated with certainty and the pieces were not always sent to the Copyright Office for copyright registration. In many cases the publication date is the only indication of when the piece was composed.[12]
Title | Form | Year | Comments | Notes | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Please Say You Will | Song | 1895 | Lyrics by Scott Joplin | [13][14] | ||
Picture Of Her Face, AA Picture Of Her Face | Song | 1895 | Lyrics by Scott Joplin | [13][14] | ||
Great Crush Collision March | March | 1896 | [15] | |||
Combination March | March | 1896 | [15] | |||
Harmony Club Waltz | Waltz | 1896 | [15] | |||
Original Rags | Rag | 1899 | Arranged by Charles N. Daniels, although this involvement is doubtful | [16][15] | ||
Maple Leaf Rag | Rag | 1899 |
|
[15] | ||
Swipesy Cakewalk | Cakewalk | 1900 | With Arthur Marshall | [14][15] | ||
Peacherine Rag | Rag | 1901 | [15] | |||
Sunflower Slow Drag | Rag Time Two Step | 1901 | With Scott Hayden
|
[17][15] | ||
Augustan Club Waltz | Waltz | 1901 | [15] | |||
I Am Thinking Of My Pickaninny Days | Song | 1901 | Lyrics by Henry Jackson | [18][15] | ||
Easy Winners, TheThe Easy Winners | Rag Time Two Step | 1901 | [15] | |||
Blizzard, AA Blizzard | Unknown | 1901 | Lost - unpublished. Mentioned in Indianapolis Freeman, November 16, 1901 | [19][15] | ||
Cleopha | March and Two Step | 1902 | [15] | |||
Breeze From Alabama, AA Breeze From Alabama | March and Two Step | 1902 | [15] | |||
Elite Syncopations | Rag | 1902 | [15] | |||
Entertainer, TheThe Entertainer | Rag Time Two Step | 1902 |
|
[15] | ||
March Majestic | March | 1902 | [15] | |||
Strenuous Life, TheThe Strenuous Life | Rag Time Two Step | 1902 | [15] | |||
Ragtime Dance, TheThe Ragtime Dance | Song | 1902 | Lyrics by Scott Joplin | [13][15] | ||
Something Doing | Cakewalk March | 1903 | With Scott Hayden | [17][15] | ||
Weeping Willow | Rag Time Two Step | 1903 | [15] | |||
Little Black Baby | Song | 1903 | Lyrics by Louise Armstrong Bristol | [18][15] | ||
Palm Leaf Rag | Slow Drag | 1903 | [15] | |||
Guest of Honor, AA Guest of Honor | Rag Time Opera | 1903 | Lost | [15] | ||
Dude's Parade | Excerpt from Opera | 1903 | Lost - unpublished. Excerpt from A Guest of Honor. Announced in the Indianapolis Freeman, September 12, 1903 | [20][15] | ||
Patriotic Patrol | Excerpt from Opera | 1903 | Lost - unpublished. Excerpt from A Guest of Honor. Announced in the Indianapolis Freeman, September 12, 1903 | [16][15] | ||
Maple Leaf Rag | Song | 1904 | Lyrics by Sydney Brown. A simplified arrangement not done by Joplin | [21][16][15] | ||
Sycamore, TheThe Sycamore | Concert Rag | 1904 | [15] | |||
Favorite, TheThe Favorite | Rag Time Two Step | 1904 | [15] | |||
Cascades, TheThe Cascades | Rag | 1904 | [15] | |||
Chrysanthemum, TheThe Chrysanthemum | Afro-intermezzo | 1904 | [15] | |||
Bethena | Concert Waltz | 1905 | [15] | |||
Binks' Waltz | Waltz | 1905 | [15] | |||
Sarah Dear | Song | 1905 | Lyrics by Henry Jackson | [22][15] | ||
Rosebud March, TheThe Rosebud March | Two Step | 1905 | [15] | |||
Leola | Two Step | 1905 | [15] | |||
You Stand Good with Me, Babe | Song | 1905 | Lost - unpublished. Announced in Indianapolis Freeman, July 22, 1905 | [14][15] | ||
Eugenia | 1906 | [15] | ||||
Ragtime Dance, TheThe Ragtime Dance | Stop Time Two Step | 1906 | [15] | |||
Antoinette | March and Two Step | 1906 | [15] | |||
Good-bye Old Gal Goodbye | Song | 1906 | Music by H. Carroll Taylor, lyrics by Mac Darden, arranged by Joplin | [23][15] | ||
Snoring Sampson. A Quarrel in Ragtime | Song | 1907 | Music & lyrics by Harry La Mertha, arranged by Joplin | [17][15] | ||
Nonpareil (None To Equal) | 1907 | [15] | ||||
When Your Hair Is Like The Snow | Song | 1907 | Lyrics by Owen Spendthrift | [14][15] | ||
Gladiolus Rag | Rag | 1907 | [15] | |||
Searchlight Rag | Syncopated March and Two Step | 1907 |
|
[15] | ||
Lily Queen | Rag Time Two Step | 1907 | By Arthur Marshall, edited by Joplin | [24][18][15] | ||
Rose Leaf Rag | Rag Time Two Step | 1907 | [15] | |||
Heliotrope Bouquet | Slow Drag Two Step | 1907 | With Louis Chauvin | [23][15] | ||
Fig Leaf Rag | Rag | 1908 | [25] | |||
Wall Street Rag | Rag | 1908 | [25] | |||
Sugar Cane | Rag Time Classic Two Step | 1908 | [25] | |||
Sensation | Rag | 1908 | By Joseph F. Lamb; arranged by Scott Joplin | [22][25] | ||
Pine Apple Rag | Rag | 1908 | [25] | |||
School Of Rag Time - 6 Exercises For Piano | Exercises | 1908 | [25] | |||
Pleasant Moments | Rag Time Waltz | 1909 |
|
[25] | ||
Solace | Mexican Serenade | 1909 | [25] | |||
Country Club | Rag Time Two Step | 1909 | [25] | |||
Euphonic Sounds | Syncopated Novelty | 1909 | [25] | |||
Paragon Rag | Syncopated Novelty | 1909 | [25] | |||
Stoptime Rag | Rag | 1910 | [25] | |||
Pine Apple Rag | Song | 1910 | Lyrics by Joe Snyder | [13][25] | ||
Treemonisha | Opera | 1911 | [25] | |||
Felicity Rag | Rag | 1911 | With Scott Hayden. May have been composed before 1903 | [23][25] | ||
Lovin' Babe | Song | 1911 | Lyrics by Al. R. Turner, arranged by Joplin | [18][25] | ||
Scott Joplin's New Rag | Rag | 1912 | [25] | |||
Kismet Rag | Rag | 1913 | With Scott Hayden. May have been composed before 1903 | [18][25] | ||
Real Slow Drag, AA Real Slow Drag | Slow Drag | 1913 | Revised excerpt from Treemonisha | [25] | ||
Prelude to Act 3 | Opera Excerpt | 1913 | Revised excerpt from Treemonisha | [25] | ||
Silver Swan Rag | Rag | 1914 | Originally published only on piano roll. Sheet music published in 1971. | [25] | ||
Magnetic Rag | Rag | 1914 |
|
[25] | ||
Frolic of the Bears | Ballet | 1915 | Revised excerpt from Treemonisha | [26][25] | ||
Morning Glories | Song | 1915 | Lost - incomplete, and unpublished. Announced by the composer in the Indianapolis Freeman newspaper, September 4, 1915. Seen by biographer Rudi Blesh in 1950 | [27][25] | ||
Syncopated Jamboree | Vaudeville Act | 1915 | Lost - unpublished. Announced in the Indianapolis Freeman newspaper, September 18, 1915 | [28][25] | ||
Pretty Pansy Rag | Rag | 1915? | Lost - incomplete, and unpublished | [25] | ||
Recitative Rag | Rag | 1915? | Lost - incomplete, and unpublished | [25] | ||
For The Sake Of All | Song | 1915? | Lost - incomplete, and unpublished. | [25] | ||
If | Musical Comedy | 1915 | Lost - announced in the New York Age September 7, 1916 | [18][25] | ||
Symphony No. 1 | Symphony | 1916? | Lost - announced in the New York Age September 7, 1916 | [14][25] | ||
Piano Concerto | Piano Concerto | 1916? | Lost - unpublished | [13][25] | ||
Reflection Rag (Syncopated Musings) | Rag | 1917 | Published posthumously by Stark, likely from much older unpublished manuscripts | [25] | ||
References
- ↑ Blesh 1981, p. xxiii.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, pp. 52, 56 & 58.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, pp. 246-248.
- ↑ Curtis 2004, pp. 37-8.
- ↑ Whitcombe 1986, p. 24.
- ↑ Jasen 1978, p. 88.
- ↑ Davis 1995, pp. 67-68.
- ↑ Williams 1987.
- ↑ Scott & Rutkoff 2001, p. 37.
- ↑ Kirk 2001, p. 190.
- ↑ Vera Brodsky Lawrence, Editor's Note pix, Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works, New York Public Library, 1981.
- ↑ Index p. 325, Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works, New York Public Library, 1981.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Berlin 1994, p. 265.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Berlin 1994, p. 268.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Berlin 1994, p. 269.
- 1 2 3 Berlin 1994, p. 264.
- 1 2 3 Berlin 1994, p. 267.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Berlin 1994, p. 263.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, p. 260.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, p. 261.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, p. 131.
- 1 2 Berlin 1994, p. 266.
- 1 2 3 Berlin 1994, p. 262.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, p. 169.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Berlin 1994, p. 270.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, pp. 235, 262.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, pp. 235, 264.
- ↑ Berlin 1994, pp. 235, 268.
Bibliography
- Berlin, Edward A. (1994). King of Ragtime: Scott Joplin and His Era. Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-510108-1.
- Blesh, Rudi (1981). "Scott Joplin: Black-American Classicist". In Lawrence, Vera Brodsky. Scott Joplin Complete Piano Works. New York Public Library. ISBN 0-87104-272-X.
- Curtis, Susan (1999). Christensen, Lawrence O, ed. Dictionary of Missouri Biography. Univ. of Missouri Press. ISBN 0-8262-1222-0. Retrieved October 2, 2009.
- Davis, Francis (1995). The History of the Blues:The Roots, the Music, the People. Hyperion. ISBN 0-306-81296-7.
- Jasen, David A.; Trebor Jay Tichenor (1978). Rags and Ragtime: A Musical History. New York, NY: Dover Publications, Inc. ISBN 0-486-25922-6. Cite uses deprecated parameter
|coauthors=
(help) - Kirk, Elise Kuhl (2001). American Opera. Univ. of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-02623-3.
- Morath, Max (2005). Kirchner, Bill, ed. The Oxford Companion to Jazz. Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN 0-19-518359-2.
- Scott, William B.; Rutkoff, Peter M (2001). New York Modern: The Arts and the City. Johns Hopkins Univ. Press. ISBN 0-8018-6793-2.
- Whitomb, Ian (1986). After the Ball. Hal Leonard Corp. ISBN 0-87910-063-X.
- Williams, Martin, ed. (1987). The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. Smithsonian Institution Press. ISBN 0-393-99342-6.
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