Rag
Contemporary works
Definition
A composed piano piece in syncopated ragtime style, typically in march-like 2/4 time with a syncopated melody over a steady bass. Rags are through-composed with multiple contrasting strains, each usually 16 bars long.
Historical Context
Ragtime emerged in African American communities in the 1890s and reached its peak popularity between 1897 and 1917. Scott Joplin codified the form with works like Maple Leaf Rag (1899). Though ragtime declined with the rise of jazz, it was revived in the 1970s and continued as a living form by composers like William Bolcom and William Albright.
Works (30)
- Epitaph for Louis Chauvin
- Marin Rag
- Raggin' Rudi
- Tabby Cat Walk
- Glad Rag
- Knight Hubert
- The Serpent's Kiss
- California Porcupine Rag
- Contentment – A Rag
- Graceful Ghost Rag
- Incineratorag
- Lost Lady Rag
- Poltergeist Rag
- The Brooklyn Dodge
- Eubie's Lucky Day
- Old Adam
- Rag Tango
- Seabiscuit's Rag
- The Eternal Feminine
- Through Eden's Gates
- Concert Rag
- Fields of Flowers Rag
- Dream Shadows
- Epithalamium
- The Gardenia
- Last Rag
- Knockout: A Rag
- Estela: Rag Latino
- Rialto Ripples Key C major
- A Crush Collision March Key A♭ major