Description
Maestro Gunther Schuller scores again with this album of ragtime favorites, performed by the legendary New England Ragtime Ensemble. Recorded in 1974 and originally released in limited supply on vinyl only, the once-extremely-rare find is now remastered, repackaged and finally available on CD. (Also see Volume 1, The Art of the Rag.)
This recording focuses on ragtime’s greatest pathbreaker, Scott Joplin. These rare orchestrations have been exhumed through the tireless efforts of ragtime curators, archivists and scholars such as William Russell, Vera Brodsky Lawrence, Richard B Allen and the Archive of New Orleans Jazz, then brought to life by the extraordinary performances of Schuller and his talented young group. Eight of the rags are performed in their original orchestrations, while four hitherto unorchestrated works are heard for the first time in instrumentations by Schuller.
This is Joplin at his towering best, astonishingly foreshadowing developments in the jazz of later years, presaging Ravel’s sophisticated treatment of waltz rhythms, and influencing everyone from Debussy to Ives to Stravinsky to Jelly Roll Morton and others.
(Also see The Art of the Rag by The New England Ragtime Ensemble.)
PERFORMERS
The New England Ragtime Ensemble
David Reskin, flute, piccolo; Bruce Creditor, clarinet; Robert Winiker, trumpet; Thomas Foulds, trombone; Gary Ofenloch, tuba; Cyrus Stevens, Amy Teare, violin; James Froelich, viola; Bruce Coppock, cello; Edwin Barker, bass; Myron Romanul, piano; Mark Belair, drums; Gunther Schuller, conductor;
with
Lynda Jacquin, oboe; Diane Heffner, clarinet; Marlene Mazzuca, bassoon;
George Sullivan, French horn
PROGRAM
1. Original Rags (1899) 4:35
2. Elite Syncopations (1902) 3:49
3. Bethena — A Concert Waltz* (1903) 4:41
4. Wall Street Rag* (1909) 3:49
5. Magnetic Rag (1914) 4:50
6. Palm Leaf Rag — A Slow Drag (1903) 3:26
7. Solace — A Mexican Serenade* (1909) 4:56
8. Euphonic Sounds — A Syncopated Novelty* (1909) 4:05
9. Peacherine Rag (1901) 3:40
10. Scott Joplin’s New Rag (1912) 4:04
11. Pine Apple Rag (1908) 3:57
12. Gladiolus Rag (1907) 3:50
*Arranged by Gunther Schuller
Recorded on 15-17 December 1973 and 4 January 1974 in Jordan Hall at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
Executi
ALSO AVAILABLE
for downloads and streaming on Amazon as well as other digital sites.
