Brass Quintet Horn,Trombone,Trumpet,Tuba - Level 4 - Digital Download SKU: A0.1401614 Composed by Joseph Lamb. Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. 20th Century,Classical,Historic,Ragtime. 32 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #984793. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (A0.1401614). Ragtime was originally and primarily piano music.Ā The Library of Congress traces the origin and wellspring of ragtime to St. Louis, Missouri. Ā The Britannica website explains, āRagtime evolved in the playing of honky-tonk pianists along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers in the last decades of the 19th century. It was influenced by minstrel-show songs, African American banjo styles, and syncopated (off-beat) dance rhythms of the cakewalk, and also elements of European music.āĀ Ā Ā Ā But it wasnāt until the mid-1890s, when music publishers started printing ragtime scores, making the music available to the public at large, that ragtimeās popularity began to soar. Ā By 1900 ragtime was the popular music. Ā It stayed that way until about 1917 when the rise of jazz began to overtake it. Ā By 1920, ragtime was nearly forgotten.Ā Ā Ā Ā Thirty years later, a ragtime revival began. Ā And one Patricia Lamb-Conn found out that her father, Joseph F. Lamb, was a well-known composer of ragtime. Ā In fact, the āBig Threeā composers of classical ragtime are considered to be Scott Joplin, James Scott and the only non-African American, Joseph Lamb.Ā Ā Ā Ā Lamb was born in 1887 in New Jersey, taught himself to play piano and was very much influenced by Joplinās early ragtime publications. Ā From there, Lamb went on to develop into a master of classic ragtime.Ā Ā Ā Ā One of Lambās most popular works was a 1916 composition he titled āPatricia Rag.ā (The title apparently had nothing to do with his daughter, who was born in 1924.) Ā It consists of four themes in five sections, with the first theme repeated after sections 1 and 2. Ā Lamb pitched the opening in E-flat Major, changing to A-flat Major at the Trio. Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā This brass quintet arrangement, completed in 2024, consists of 150 measures, approximately five minutes, ten seconds in length. Ā It retains the basic structure of the original piano score but modifies the pitches to B-flat Major and E-flat Major, respectively, to accommodate the normal playing range of the brass instruments. Ā Possible exceptions for some players include: Ā (1) Trumpet 1 plays its A-above-the-staff a number of times and its B above-the-staff once; (2) Trombone plays several E above-the-staff notes; (3) Tuba plays several way-below-the-staff F notes and one high G note. Throughout the arrangement, the original melody is maintained and featured, but in some sections the background and harmony are altered to feature one or more of the five instruments. Ā In the Trio, the sections designated by rehearsal marks F and G are slowed and treated as a serenade; the original tempo is restored at H. Ā In performing this arrangement, players should pay particular attention to dynamics. Ā Additionally, because of the nature of ragtime, this piece may require more-than-usual practice and rehearsal.Ā Ā Ā Ā The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge. Ā He would like to receive your suggestions, comments, corrections and criticisms. Ā Contact him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. Ā For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct search box.
