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Nimbus

Scott Joplin - The Complete Rags Marches & Waltzes / Albright

$32.99

Details

Composer
JOPLIN, SCOTT
Artist
William Albright
Format
CD
Label
Nimbus
Released
Nov 01, 2009
Catalog #
NI2546-8
UPC
710357254628

About



JOPLIN Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes • William Albright, (pn) • NIMBUS 2546/8 (3 CDs: 211:40)


William Albright was a major figure in the ragtime revival, along with his friend and colleague in academia, William Bolcom. Together they recorded music of Joplin and James P. Johnson; separately, each composed and played many rags on his own, which they sent to the other for amusement and comment. These were recorded as well, though Albright’s album of his own rags is sadly no longer in print. It’s a pity, as he was a fine pianist with a strong technique, and a fine sense of style. That technique and especially the style are on display in this fine set of Joplin’s rags, marches, and waltzes, recorded over a four-day period in 1989 for the defunct MusicMasters label.


No collection of Joplin, of course, can claim to be truly complete. Some rags almost certainly went unpublished, and it is believed others might have been published under pseudonyms. What we have are 49 works definitely by Joplin or composed by him in collaboration with others. They span The Crush Collision March of 1896 to the Magnetic Rag of 1914, his last composition before tertiary syphilis killed him. A third and separate category is formed of doubtful attributions, rags that would have been credited to Joplin at the height of his evanescent fame, much in the spirit that French and Dutch music publishers in the final quarter of the 18th century produced far more string quartets and symphonies by Haydn than Haydn ever wrote. None of these apocrypha are offered here, save one, a curious piece, the Silver Swan Rag , included on stylistic grounds. Discovered in 1970, and twice performed on piano rolls from the 1914–1915 period, it is credited to Joplin, but shows some notable flaws of compositional technique. Albright surmises in his liner notes that it was probably an early work, held back for years, but we’ll likely never know why Joplin would have chosen to record it, if he did, since other, finer works of his were at his fingertips.


Albright avoids an anachronistic, speed demon approach that would be more appropriate to latterday stride pianists such as James P. Johnson or Willie “The Lion” Smith. Nor does he break heavily in such pieces as The Entertainer or the beautiful Weeping Willow for nostalgia addicts. Rhythmically firm, he avoids sudden shifts of tempo, preferring to maintain a steady pace or subtly accelerate through the four strains of a standard rag. His dynamic palette is broad, though he applies variation sparingly once again. Clarity of touch does not preclude beauty of tone, as The Cascades shows. Albright takes obvious enjoyment in the music he is playing.


Potential buyers might want to note that this is not “purist” Joplin, though it is perhaps all the more authentic for not exactly following the published scores. Like an earlier Joplin enthusiast and performer, “Knocky” Parker, Albright sometimes improvises or alters—though always more tastefully than the erratic Parker, who devalued these works by sometimes coining his own additional melodic lines. Albright’s most frequent type of change is the double-dotting of the thematic content, something he applies for example to the B section of Easy Winners , instead of playing it straight as written. Elsewhere, he may perform chords off the beat instead of the written figurations on it, as in the B section of The Maple Leaf Rag ; or strum a figure before the introductory chords to the A section repeat, as in The Entertainer ; or vary the repeat of a few D section chords in a blues direction, as in Elite Syncopations . The results are a matter of brief, tasteful highlights, and typical of the way rags were lightly embellished (by all reports) during and after Joplin’s lifetime.


With good notes by Albright and fine sound, it’s great to see this recording rereleased by a major classical label. Hopefully, it will bring new attention to both the composer and pianist—and maybe lead to Albright’s performance of his own rags showing up once again. Strongly recommended.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

Tracklist 52 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Maple Leaf Rag 03:08
    Track
    1
    Title
    Maple Leaf Rag
    Duration
    03:08
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  3. 2 Original Rags 04:39
    Track
    2
    Title
    Original Rags
    Duration
    04:39
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  4. 3 The Favorite 03:24
    Track
    3
    Title
    The Favorite
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  5. 4 The Easy Winners 04:53
    Track
    4
    Title
    The Easy Winners
    Duration
    04:53
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  6. 5 Peacherine Rag 03:19
    Track
    5
    Title
    Peacherine Rag
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  7. 6 The Entertainer 04:07
    Track
    6
    Title
    The Entertainer
    Duration
    04:07
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  8. 7 The Strenuous Life 04:31
    Track
    7
    Title
    The Strenuous Life
    Duration
    04:31
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  9. 8 Elite Syncopations 03:28
    Track
    8
    Title
    Elite Syncopations
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  10. 9 A Breeze from Alabama 04:15
    Track
    9
    Title
    A Breeze from Alabama
    Duration
    04:15
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  11. 10 Palm Leaf 03:03
    Track
    10
    Title
    Palm Leaf
    Duration
    03:03
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  12. 11 Weeping Willow 04:14
    Track
    11
    Title
    Weeping Willow
    Duration
    04:14
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  13. 12 The Cascades 03:12
    Track
    12
    Title
    The Cascades
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  14. 13 The Sycamore 03:55
    Track
    13
    Title
    The Sycamore
    Duration
    03:55
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  15. 14 The Chrysanthemum 04:58
    Track
    14
    Title
    The Chrysanthemum
    Duration
    04:58
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  16. 15 Leola 04:34
    Track
    15
    Title
    Leola
    Duration
    04:34
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  17. 16 Eugenia 05:01
    Track
    16
    Title
    Eugenia
    Duration
    05:01
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  18. Disc 2
  19. 1 The Ragtime Dance 03:49
    Track
    1
    Title
    The Ragtime Dance
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  20. 2 Nonpareil 03:59
    Track
    2
    Title
    Nonpareil
    Duration
    03:59
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  21. 3 Reflection Rag 04:10
    Track
    3
    Title
    Reflection Rag
    Duration
    04:10
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  22. 4 Gladiolus Rag 04:49
    Track
    4
    Title
    Gladiolus Rag
    Duration
    04:49
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  23. 5 Searchlight Rag 05:01
    Track
    5
    Title
    Searchlight Rag
    Duration
    05:01
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  24. 6 Rose Leaf Rag 04:37
    Track
    6
    Title
    Rose Leaf Rag
    Duration
    04:37
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  25. 7 Pine Apple Rag 03:24
    Track
    7
    Title
    Pine Apple Rag
    Duration
    03:24
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  26. 8 Fig Leaf Rag 04:52
    Track
    8
    Title
    Fig Leaf Rag
    Duration
    04:52
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  27. 9 Sugar Cane 03:45
    Track
    9
    Title
    Sugar Cane
    Duration
    03:45
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  28. 10 Country Club 04:16
    Track
    10
    Title
    Country Club
    Duration
    04:16
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  29. 11 Paragon Rag 03:30
    Track
    11
    Title
    Paragon Rag
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  30. 12 Wall Street Rag 04:45
    Track
    12
    Title
    Wall Street Rag
    Duration
    04:45
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  31. 13 Euphonic Sounds 03:02
    Track
    13
    Title
    Euphonic Sounds
    Duration
    03:02
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  32. 14 Solace 06:16
    Track
    14
    Title
    Solace
    Duration
    06:16
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  33. 15 Stoptime Rag 02:39
    Track
    15
    Title
    Stoptime Rag
    Duration
    02:39
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  34. 16 Scott Joplin's New Rag 03:37
    Track
    16
    Title
    Scott Joplin's New Rag
    Duration
    03:37
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  35. 17 Silver Swan Rag 03:42
    Track
    17
    Title
    Silver Swan Rag
    Duration
    03:42
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  36. 18 Magnetic Rag 03:40
    Track
    18
    Title
    Magnetic Rag
    Duration
    03:40
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  37. Disc 3
  38. 1 The Crush Collision March 04:25
    Track
    1
    Title
    The Crush Collision March
    Duration
    04:25
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  39. 2 Harmony Club Waltz 05:37
    Track
    2
    Title
    Harmony Club Waltz
    Duration
    05:37
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  40. 3 Combination March 03:14
    Track
    3
    Title
    Combination March
    Duration
    03:14
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  41. 4 Swipesy Cake Walk 03:33
    Track
    4
    Title
    Swipesy Cake Walk
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall
    Performer
    William Albright
  42. 5 Augustan Club Waltz 04:26
    Track
    5
    Title
    Augustan Club Waltz
    Duration
    04:26
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    William Albright
  43. 6 Sunflower Slow Drag 04:08
    Track
    6
    Title
    Sunflower Slow Drag
    Duration
    04:08
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    William Albright
  44. 7 Cleopha 03:12
    Track
    7
    Title
    Cleopha
    Duration
    03:12
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  45. 8 March Majestic 02:52
    Track
    8
    Title
    March Majestic
    Duration
    02:52
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  46. 9 Something Doing 04:26
    Track
    9
    Title
    Something Doing
    Duration
    04:26
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    William Albright
  47. 10 Bethena 05:40
    Track
    10
    Title
    Bethena
    Duration
    05:40
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  48. 11 Rosebud 02:48
    Track
    11
    Title
    Rosebud
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  49. 12 Blinks'Waltz 03:33
    Track
    12
    Title
    Blinks'Waltz
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  50. 13 Antoinette 03:01
    Track
    13
    Title
    Antoinette
    Duration
    03:01
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  51. 14 Heliotrope Bouquet 04:58
    Track
    14
    Title
    Heliotrope Bouquet
    Duration
    04:58
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Louis Chauvin
    Performer
    William Albright
  52. 15 Lily Queen 04:47
    Track
    15
    Title
    Lily Queen
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Arthur Marshall
    Performer
    William Albright
  53. 16 Pleasant Moments 03:32
    Track
    16
    Title
    Pleasant Moments
    Duration
    03:32
    Composer
    Scott Joplin
    Performer
    William Albright
  54. 17 Felicity Rag 04:22
    Track
    17
    Title
    Felicity Rag
    Duration
    04:22
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    William Albright
  55. 18 Kismet 04:38
    Track
    18
    Title
    Kismet
    Duration
    04:38
    Composer
    Scott Joplin, Scott Hayden
    Performer
    William Albright
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K
Kevin Dempsey

Such a delight! What a genius did America produce.
All the CDs play well. No issues yet.
Thank you Arkiv Music!