Scott Joplin's Treemonisha [Original Cast Recording] [Cast Recording]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Joplin (ca. 1868-1917), whose fame as a composer had skyrocketed in the 1960s and '70s as a result of the "rediscovery" of his rags by Gunther Schuller, Joshua Rifkin, and others, poured his heart and soul into this tale of black sharecroppers and their struggle against ignorance and superstition in late-19th-century Arkansas. Yet he was never able to get the work staged in his lifetime. This recording comes from Treemonisha's belated full-scale staging at Houston Grand Opera in 1975, with a splendid cast headed by Carmen Balthrop, Betty Allen, Curtis Rayam, and Willard White, directed by Frank Corsaro and conducted by Gunther Schuller (who provided the arrangements and the scoring). Joplin's tuneful score is a lively mix of ragtime, minstrel show, vaudeville, grand opera, Wagner, Verdi, and Offenbach, with lots of dancing, a big role for the chorus, and arias and ensembles of affecting simplicity and beauty. Schuller gets an impressively crisp performance from the orchestra, a Dixieland band with added strings and winds, and paces the performance to perfection--for fun, just listen to the Act II-ending chorus "Aunt Dinah has blowed the horn." The recording sounds as fresh and bright as the inspiration that speaks from every page of this all-American score. --Ted Libbey

Tracks:

Original Rags
Maple Leaf Rag
Easy Winners
Elite Syncopations
The Entertainer
The Cascades
Bethena
Leola
Gladiolas
Searchlight
Fig Leaf Rag
Sugar Cane
Euphonic Sounds
Paragon Rag
Solace
Wall Street Rag
Treemonisha
Magnetic Rag

Album Description

Celebrate the diversity of American music with RAGS TO RICHES: THE ESSENTIAL SCOTT JOPLIN, a comprehensive collection of 18 pieces by one of ragtime's greatest composers. From his signature hit "Maple Leaf Rag" to classics such as "The Entertainer" and "Wall Street Rag", RAGS TO RICHES: THE ESSENTIAL SCOTT JOPLIN contains some of the most revered tunes in musical history and will be treasured by music fans for years to come.

Customer Reviews:

What the heck???.......2007-03-20

Music is great, as is the playing. However, the last song is not Magnetic Rag but rather the same version of Maple Leaf Rag heard earlier on the album.

What is with that?

More Than Excellent.......2006-08-16

I had previously purchased a Scott Joplin CD and was disappointed by the dull quality and dispirited playing by the artist. This CD more than makes up for it. The music was beautifully performed and the recording was very clear. Every piece was perfect!

Average customer rating:

Available at retailers for about $18
A classic compilation
A dis-service to Joplin
Unique
Great set

Scott Joplin: His Complete Works

Manufacturer: Bescol
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Vocal Jazz General | Vocal Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin
King of the Ragtime Writers
Entertainer: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls
Joplin: Treemonisha
Scott Joplin: Piano Rags

ASIN: B000001RR2
Release Date: 1994-07-19

Tracks:

Please Say You Will - Richard Zimmerman
A Picture Of Her Face - Richard Zimmerman
The Great Crush Collision March - Richard Zimmerman
Harmony Club Waltz - Richard Zimmerman
Combination March - Richard Zimmerman
Original Rags - Richard Zimmerman
Maple Leaf Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Swipesy - Cake Walk - Richard Zimmerman
Sunflower Slow Drag - Richard Zimmerman
Peacherine Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Augustan Club Waltz - Richard Zimmerman
The Easy Winners - Richard Zimmerman
Cleopha - Richard Zimmerman
The Strenuous Life - Richard Zimmerman
I Am Thinking Of My Pickanniny Days - Richard Zimmerman
The Ragtime Dance - Richard Zimmerman
A Breeze From Alabama - Richard Zimmerman
Elite Syncopations - Richard Zimmerman

Tracks:

March Majestic - S. Joplin
The Entertainer - S. Joplin
Something Doing - S. Joplin
Weeping Willow - S. Joplin
Little Black Baby - S. Joplin
Palm Leaf Rag - S. Joplin
The Favorite - S. Joplin
The Sycamore - S. Joplin
The Cascades - S. Joplin
The Chrysanthemum - S. Joplin
Rosebud March - S. Joplin
Bethena - S. Joplin
Leola - S. Joplin
Sarah Dear - S. Joplin
Binks Waltz - S. Joplin
Eugenia - S. Joplin
Antoinette - S. Joplin
Snoring Sampson - S. Joplin

Tracks:

Gladiolus Rag - S. Joplin
Searchlight Rag - S. Joplin
The Nonpareil (None to Equal) - S. Joplin
When Your Hair Is Like The Snow - S. Joplin
Rose Leaf Rag - S. Joplin
Heliotrope Bouquet - S. Joplin
School Of Ragtime - S. Joplin
Fig Leaf Rag - S. Joplin
Sugar Cane - S. Joplin
Pine Apple Rag - S. Joplin
Wall Street Rag - S. Joplin
Solace - S. Joplin
Pleasant Moments - S. Joplin
Country Club - S. Joplin
Paragon Rag - S. Joplin
Euphonic Sounds - S. Joplin
Stoptime Rag - S. Joplin
Felicity Rag - S. Joplin

Tracks:

Highlights From Treemonisha - Richard Zimmerman
A Real Slow Drag - Richard Zimmerman
Prelude To Act 3 - Richard Zimmerman
Frolic Of The Bears - Richard Zimmerman
Lovin' Babe - Richard Zimmerman
Scott Joplin's New Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Kismet Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Magnetic Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Reflection Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Silver Swan Rag - Richard Zimmerman
Lily Queen - Richard Zimmerman
Sensation - Richard Zimmerman

Customer Reviews:

Available at retailers for about $18.......2006-12-21

Excellent collection - but there are re-sellers listed here that are selling this for as much $50 or $60. Yikes, most major retailers are selling this complete set for $18 - so beware.

A classic compilation.......2006-10-07

This collection is one of my most treasured possessions. (My father gave me the original 5-album set in the 70's when it was originally released on vinyl.)

This is the definitive collection of Scott Joplin's work. Richard Zimmerman provides wonderful performances that accurately reflect Joplin's intentions. (As evidence beyond my personal opinion, I submit the recent releases of digital recordings made from Joplin's piano rolls.)

A few points to consider regarding negative comments you may encounter in other reviews:
* This is a digital recording from an analog master. Lack of quality in the recording does not imply a lackluster performance.
* This is a complete collection. Some similarity is due to Joplin re-exploring melodic themes. But some is due to the fact that these are "rags". One might as well complain that all 50's doo-wop (or all 70's disco) sounds the same.
* Many pieces of the period exhibit formal musical structures, such as the marches of John Phillips Sousa. (Both Sousa and Joplin performed at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.) Actually, Joplin is responsible for extending the formal boundaries of ragtime to concert waltzes (Bethena) and opera (A Guest of Honor, Treemonisha)
* This is probably one of the few collections which will include selections from "Treemonisha". It is my understanding that after the initial release, one of Joplin's descendants made a copyright claim that was upheld in court. (I presume the issue was that Joplin had to finance "Treemonisha" himself, and therefore the customary performance clearances did not cover those selections.)

For ragtime students and enthusiasts, this is a "must-have" collection at a very affordable price.

A dis-service to Joplin.......2006-02-01

Sadly, the only virtue this set possesses is completeness.

The pianist does not play Joplin's pieces "as written", the piano is of poor quality, and not properly in tune.

This is emphatically NOT the set to buy. A far better set, beautifully annotated and well played on a good concert grand piano, is the complete works played by Guido Nielsen on the Basta Label.

This set is a dis-service to Joplin and his music. He deserves better, and gets it elsewhere.

Unique .......2004-10-19

I have several cd sets of Joplin's music: Rifkin, Arpo, Nielsen, and Zimmerman. All have their excellent qualities. What sets Zimmerman's set apart is the inclusion of excerpts from Joplin's opera, Treemonisha---especially "A Real Slow Drag." Why the other sets do not include excerpts from Treemonisha, I don't know---because they are some of his most beautiful and joyful pieces of music. Of course, you can hear the orchestrated version of Treemonisha in the Houston Grand Opera recording, and it is spectacular. But Zimmerman's piano version, especially of "A Real Slow Drag," is not to be missed.

Great set.......2001-10-16

I guess this will be a rather one sided review. I have been a fan of Scott Joplin since I first learned to play a piano.

I was shocked to see that one reviewer thought it all sounded the same. How silly. All of Frank Sinatra's music sounds like Frank Sinatra. All of Led Zeppelin sounds like Led Zeppelin. So, if the songs were drastically different, I would question if the same author composed them. As it is, though, each song on this set is fantastic!!

I don't know that I have heard of Richard Zimmerman, and I was a little leary as to what I would be getting, I certainly was impressed. Without a doubt the best renditions of "Weeping Willow" and "Bethena" I have heard, and at least a dozen songs I didn't know Joplin wrote.

Without a doubt, this album is fantastic. A very good price, as well.

Joplin: Treemonisha
Average customer rating:

Joplin's Treemonisha

RHYTHMIC FEAST

An unusual and virtuous classic

Just Plain Fun

Joplin: Treemonisha

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Similar Items:

Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin

Scott Joplin: His Complete Works

William Grant Still: Afro-American Symphony; In Memoriam; Africa (Symphonic Poem)

Philip Glass : The Voyage: An Opera in Three Acts

Brahms: Works for Solo Piano

ASIN: B00099BPNI
Release Date: 2005-07-12

Customer Reviews:

Joplin's Treemonisha.......2006-10-12

Scott Joplin (1867/68 -- 1917) was one of the earliest composers with the ambition of combining African-American and classical musical forms. He is best-known for his ragtime compositions for the piano, but he also worked in more ambitious genres. By 1910, Joplin had composed his second opera, "Treemonisha". (The score of an earlier opera, "Guest of Honor" has been lost.) He spent much of the rest of life in an unsuccessful attempt to have Treemonisha staged and performed. The opera lay dormant until the mid-1970s when with the revival of interest in ragtime, Treemonisha was staged and performed by the Houston Lyric Opera Company and received a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1976. Treemonisha was made into a movie and presented on television but, unfortunately, it has again largely faded from public sight. The work receives performances from time to time by music festivals and schools and by small opera companies.

Joplin wrote the libretto as well as the music for Treemonisha. The story is set around 1884 in a rural African American community near Texarkana, Arkansas. (Just before my rehearing of Treemonisha, I passed through Texarkana on the train en route to Dallas.) The story shows Joplin's vision of how rural African Americans could advance after the Civil War by combatting superstition and by hard work, good leadership, and, most of all, a commitment to education. Importantly, Joplin's story teaches the virtue of forgiveness and of not holding grudges.

The heroine of the opera is an 18 year old woman, Treemonisha, who had been found as an infant under a tree and raised as a daughter by Monisha and her husband Ned. Monisha and Ned sent Treemonisha to a white woman for education, as the community had no schools, and Treemonisha returns as the only member of the community who can read and write. As the opera opens, Treemonisha foils the efforts of a conjurer, Zodzetrick, to sell a "bag of luck" to Monisha. In response, the connjurers kidnap Treemonisha and are about to throw her into a wasp nest when she is rescued by a townsman, Remus, disguised as a scarecrow. The conjurers in turn are captured by field workers and taken to the town where at Treemonisha's urging, they are forgiven and released. Treemonisha is acknowledged as the leader of the community and she and Monisha lead the people in a ragtime dance "Marching Onward".

This 2-CD set of "Treemonisha" on Deutsche Gramophon was first released in 1976 with the initial enthusiasm over the opera and reissued in 2005 at a budget price. Gunther Schuller, who orchestrated Joplin's piano score, conducts with Carmen Balthorp singing the role of Treemonisha and Betty Allen singing Monisha.

With its music and storyline, the opera is a mixed success. The most successful numbers are those in which Joplin stays closest to a folk idiom, particularly the finale, "A Real Slow Drag" ("Marching Onward"), the conclusion to Act II, "Aunt Dinah has Blowed de Horn", the Ring Dance "We're Going Around" from Act I, and the number for a well-meaning but shallow itinerant preacher, Parson Alltalk, "Good Advice" from Act I. I thought the Prelude to Act III also worked well as a musical number, while the overture to the entire opera was less successful. Many of the remaining numbers, for Monisha and for male soloists Remus and Ned, seem to be based more closely on European opera. Joplin composed some lovely music in these sections, but they lack the spontaniety and verve of the dances and the more folkish sections of the score.

Treemonisha remains a landmark in American Opera, and Joplin's intended crowning achievement of his career. The opera's vision of uplift and forgiveness remains inspiring, even with the crudeness of the plot. Joplin's life goal of raising African American music to the stature of American classic was realized in part by his opera. An understanding of Treemonisha is essential to understanding Joplin's artistic aims and his achievement. It is fortunate that this recording of Treemonisha is again available to introduce the listener to Joplin's opera.

Robin Friedman

RHYTHMIC FEAST.......2006-08-05

I listened to the ragtime opera "Treemonisha" with zest, not having heard it for about 30 years, when I first listened to a broadcast on BBC Radio. The whole performance is very well recorded and the finale, in particular, sums up the strength and poignancy of the story line: the vulnerablility but ultimate determination of Treemonisha, as she leads the crowd in a ragtime dance, and puts in place the men whose superstition and aggresson have tried to outwit her and her companions.

My one criticism is the singing of Monisha, Treemonisha's mother. The soprano has far too much vibrato in her voice - I speak as someone who has had voice training. All the other voices seem very balanced in this respect and I feel that the CD is well worth buying.

An unusual and virtuous classic.......2006-07-09

A quite unusual piece, indeed. Scott Joplin's score is wonderful, despite the fact that the story line couldn't be sillier. It talks about superstition, evil spirits, witchcrafting and staff like that. Besides, it's a soap opera (as all serious operas are, indeed)in the most melodramatic sense of the word. However, musically speaking, it sounds wonderful, being the brief but intense "Aunt Dinah Has Blowed de Horn" and the final "A real Slow Drag" my favourite tracks. The music sounds pure Joplin in several instances, although it is the operatic touch rather than the ragtime strain what predominates. The recording is first class and the voices, terrific. I highly recommend this classic to rare-piece collectors and ragtime fans.

Just Plain Fun.......2006-05-29

First of all, the opera itself:

I am one of those people who know nothing about music, have noone to show off for, and see or listen to opera - mainly operetta, really - only to be entertained. For me, this is a great work. Unlike one of the reviewers of another edition, I didn't find the libretto silly. I suppose one of the differences is that he is probably an urban American, while I live in the wilds of nowhere. For me, the battle between ignorance and superstition and their exploitation, on the one hand, and progress and simple decency, on the other, is still part of daily life. I fight Treemonisha's battle with her.
Another reviewer also found the stagecraft flat. Well, our family put on our own production of Treemonisha - Yes, we still do home-made amateur theatricals - and we had a ball. We especially enjoyed the kidnapping of Treemonisha and the final dance.

Now for this production:

Once again, it depends on what you're looking for. For me, this one is just fine. My only complaint is about Ben Harney's overly emotive Zodzetrick: it appears that Mr. Harney is convinced that he is the reincarnation of Sir Henry Irving; he would obviously be happier singing Wagner, and we would also be happier if he did so.

Although this is far from pure ragtime, it is pure Joplin; if you like Joplin, you will like this opera and this recording.

Scott Joplin's Treemonisha [Original Cast Recording]

Average customer rating:

Why pay more for the box?
Before Porgy there was Treemonisha
Treemonisha is unique
I really wanted to like this, but ...
An unjustly neglected masterpiece

Scott Joplin's Treemonisha [Original Cast Recording]

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Scott Joplin: Piano Rags
Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin
Flower Drum Song

ASIN: B000001GGD
Release Date: 1992-09-15

Tracks:

Treemonisha - Act One: No.1 Overture
Treemonisha - Act One: No.2 The Bag of Luck
Treemonisha - Act One: No.3 The Corn Huskers
Treemonisha - Act One: No.4 We're Goin' Around (A Ring Play)
Treemonisha - Act One: No.5 The Wreath
Treemonisha - Act One: No.6 The Sacred Tree
Treemonisha - Act One: No.7 Surprised
Treemonisha - Act One: No.8 Treemonisha's Bringing Up
Treemonisha - Act One: No.9 Good Advice
Treemonisha - Act One: No.10 Confusion

Tracks:

Treemonisha - Act Two: No.11 Superstition
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.12 Treemonisha in Peril
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.13 Frolic Of The Bears
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.14 The Wasp Nest
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.15 The Rescue
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.16 We Will Rest Awhile
No.17 Going Home
Treemonisha - Act Two: No.18 Aunt Dinah Has Blowed The Horn
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.19 Prelude
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.20 I Want to See My Child
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.21 Treemonisha's Return
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.22 Wrong Is Never Right (A Lecture)
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.23 Abuse
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.24 When Villains Ramble Far And Near
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.25 Conjurors Forgiven
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.26 We Will Trust You As Our Leader
Treemonisha - Act Theee: No.27 A Real Slow Drag

Amazon.com

Joplin (ca. 1868-1917), whose fame as a composer had skyrocketed in the 1960s and '70s as a result of the "rediscovery" of his rags by Gunther Schuller, Joshua Rifkin, and others, poured his heart and soul into this tale of black sharecroppers and their struggle against ignorance and superstition in late-19th-century Arkansas. Yet he was never able to get the work staged in his lifetime. This recording comes from Treemonisha's belated full-scale staging at Houston Grand Opera in 1975, with a splendid cast headed by Carmen Balthrop, Betty Allen, Curtis Rayam, and Willard White, directed by Frank Corsaro and conducted by Gunther Schuller (who provided the arrangements and the scoring). Joplin's tuneful score is a lively mix of ragtime, minstrel show, vaudeville, grand opera, Wagner, Verdi, and Offenbach, with lots of dancing, a big role for the chorus, and arias and ensembles of affecting simplicity and beauty. Schuller gets an impressively crisp performance from the orchestra, a Dixieland band with added strings and winds, and paces the performance to perfection--for fun, just listen to the Act II-ending chorus "Aunt Dinah has blowed the horn." The recording sounds as fresh and bright as the inspiration that speaks from every page of this all-American score. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Why pay more for the box?.......2006-05-29

This is a wonderful opera and a pretty good execution, but why pay 50% more for this edition? It was made from the same recording session as the 2005 reedition, ASIN B00099BPNI, and I cannot hear the slightest difference. As far as I can see, one is paying only for a fancier box.

Before Porgy there was Treemonisha.......2005-12-05

I got this from the library and spent much of last night and this morning listening to this. I LOVE it! While the music beautifully combines the standards of grand opera with the folk music of Black America, the story, in a way, is timeless.

Just about everybody in the opera is poor, so I would disagree that the play reflects classism as one reviewer has stated. Bascially, the "Conjurers" (salesmen of good luck charms) exploit the beliefs of their fellow poor Blacks, and they see the educated Treemonisha as a threat to their livelihood, and the story deals with this conflict. This could be adaptable to any people at any time in place (witness the political and religious charlatans of our own time and their attempts to incite the public against those who threaten to expose them).

But overall, I like the fact that for 1911, this is quite progressive in that a teenage girl (Treemonisha) who grows up poor, Black, and adopted is the heroine with leadership potential. The music and lyrics are quite uplifitng and amusing in spots, and the story is pretty easy to follow (although one wonders about some padded segments as "Pastor Alltalk's sermon" and the dancing bears, whch has little to do with the story).

I would love to see a filmed or stage perfromance of this. Move over Porgy and Bess-if you liked that, check out the originator.

Treemonisha is unique.......2004-11-16

I already have the Houston Treemonisha on vinyl but after sixteen years it is likely to deteriorate so I bought the CD too.

Treemonisha is not grand opera in the traditional sense; it is not a ragtime opera; it isn't this, that or the other thing. It is itself, uniquely beautiful, profoundly moving and probably a work of genius. Surely we, as music lovers of the world, have matured beyond the compulsion to place every piece of music in a defining category. Some criticisms of Treemonisha I have read are little less absurd than admonishing the player of an Indian raga for not modulating according to sonata form. The disease is a product of too much learning and sadly afflicts talented professionals even more commonly than it does the man in the street.

The forces behind Treemonisha are very eloquently explained in the liner notes, and need no further elaboration. The love and regard for the music by those producing and performing it is abundantly obvious. The technical quality of the recording is excellent and the notes provide even the most naive listener (and Treemonisha is superbly naive in the best sense of the word) with everything necessary in the way of background.

A review cannot influence a prejudiced mind. This work, if any, is a prime candidate for Debussy's maxim - just listen, it is enough.

I really wanted to like this, but ..........2004-05-05

I love Scott Joplin's music, and have always been deeply moved by the story of his tragic life, especially his final descent into insanity. I was excited by the thought of this recording, and badly wanted to like it. So why don't I?

1. The libretto is really dreadful. This is by the composer, so he has no one else to blame. What's wrong with it? Not only is it stilted and false (as Joplin's music NEVER is) not only is the storyline puerile, but there is a strong streak of patronising condecension from the comparitively successful, educated, middle class Joplin towards "ignorant" and "superstitious" working class blacks. I find this particularly inexcusable in Joplin's case, even considered in the light of the times.

2. Generally the whole work shows poor to non-existent stagecraft. For instance, the plot is largely driven by long extended semi-recitative narrative numbers. These drag unbearably when listened to on a recording, although they may work better in a theatre I can see an audience getting lost there, too. Of course if Joplin had received a more sympathetic hearing from the highly prejudiced musical establishment of his day, and had a chance for a proper rehearsal process, he would probably have fixed a lot of this - to be fair he had little or no theatrical experience - but then we have to assess the work as we have it, rather than what might have been.

3. Finally, while the music certainly has its moments - even at its best there is little of the joyous spirit of the great rags. Joplin seems to have been over-intent on producing "serious" music, to the extent of suppressing the best of his own genius.

I am STILL glad I bought this recording - if only because it is such an important historical document. I just wish I really enjoyed listening to it. Perhaps it will grow on me - certainly I will have to give it a chance.

.....

Revisiting this review - I have had the chance to listen to this a few times since my original review, and while I basically stand by most of what I said then it HAS grown on me a little. One or two of the songs in particular.

I now tend to agree (at least in part) with some other reviewers that this work is totally unique, and that (at least by implication) it should not be judged by the standards of anything else. I may have taken it just a little too earnestly on my first attampt to come to grips with it.

An unjustly neglected masterpiece.......2003-08-05

Forget what everyone says about this work: it is not a musical, a "folk opera" or a "ragtime opera", it is a full-blown romantic opera, pure and simple. Like Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" it has been mis-classified for years; unlike "Porgy", however, it has not met with the former's unmitigated success on stage or in the opera house.
Joplin's score languished for years: due mainly to the fact of his early, tragic death, and the fact that the world (or at least the U.S.) was not ready for a grand opera written by an African-American, particularly an African-American composer of "lowly" rag-time music. Certainly, some other composers of African descent had achieved some status by this time, but mostly in Europe (Samuel Coleridge-Taylor comes to mind, his oratorio "Hiawatha" was a concert favorite for years), and I think it was mostly prejudice that kept Joplin's score from being heard.
Luckily, the amazing Joplin revival in the early 70's (in no small part due to its use in the film "The Sting") enabled us to hear his final masterpiece at last, albeit without his original orchestration, which has been lost. Although it caused a brief stir and engendered a complete recording and a TV telecast (which was available for a time on VHS), we've heard little of it since.
And this is altogether puzzling, as the music is some of the most magnificent and appealing ever to be written for the operatic stage. True, it's not forward-looking (much of it hearkens back to Weber and Bellini) and the libretto is not a literary masterpiece (but few are). However, it shows signs of genius that are hard to ignore: Monisha's opening aria, the duet for Monisha and Ned in the third act; and, in particular, the choral writing -- "We Want You to be Our Leader" is nothing short of breathtaking in its complexity and beauty.
There are also plenty of delightful lighter passages as well, full of the magic of Joplin's piano compositions; in fact, the mixture of light and heavier music in the score is perfectly constructed.
But, despite its successful debut in the 70's, the work has never taken hold in the operatic repertoire. Some see it merely as a curiosity; in an artical in the LA times a number of years ago which dealt with operatic works by African-Americans, it was labeled as nothing more than an "entertainment". This is unjust in the extreme. Anyone listening to this work who can remain unmoved and/or uplifted by it must have a heart of stone or a massive chip on their shoulder.
This recording remains, alas, the only complete one to date, and it is simply wonderful, a fantastic record of a lovingly felt undertaking. The cast is perfect, with Balthrop, Allen and White being the standouts, and Schuller's conducting of his re-constructed orchestrations shows his love for and complete understanding of this score. I only say alas because this is a score that's worthy of new interpretation; this only may happen once the work is (finally) taken seriously as the first great American opera. Hopefully this day will eventually come.

The Elite Syncopations: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls

Average customer rating:

Exposes the real ragtime

The Elite Syncopations: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls

Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Ragtime | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Entertainer: Classic Ragtime from Rare Piano Rolls
King of the Ragtime Writers
The Greatest Ragtime of the Century
Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin: Piano Rags

ASIN: B00009PJSO
Release Date: 2003-06-10

Tracks:

Maple Leaf Rag
Ole Miss Rag
Magnetic Rag
Elite Syncopations
Country Club
Paragon Rag
Eugenia
Cleopha
A Real Slow Drag
Scott Joplin's New Rag
Leola - Two Step
Lily Queen
The Chrysanthemum
Heliotrope Bouquet
Reflection Rag
Silver Swan Rag, Ragtime Two-Step

Customer Reviews:

Exposes the real ragtime.......2006-11-03

I think we have a tendency to play older music to match the expectations of our modern ear. This can bring new views and fresh insights, but it can also lose the original vision of the composer. I enjoy the massive orchestrations played on modern instruments, but I also value the original orchestrations played on period instruments. This disk is an example of the latter. W. C. Handy is one of the greats of the era and here he plays the masterpieces of his time in the style of the time. The clean (re-)recording brings out new emphasis and subtleties that I hadn't heard in modern performances. Eugenia is a lovely piece as is Cleopha. A Real Slow Rag starts out almost in a tango mood. Scott Joplin's New Rag picks up the pace. And there's the continuous thrill of "hearing" W. C. Handy play for us. I keep coming back to this disk for a refreshing look back to the American music of a century ago.

Average customer rating:

Wonderful!
A nice change of pace from my "usual" listening.
A Favorite Disc...

Magnetic Rags: Ragtime for Brass

Manufacturer: Klavier
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Waltzes | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

The Best of Scott Joplin and Other Rag Classics
Real Ragtime: Disc Recordings from Its Heyday
Ragtime Women
James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922
Joplin: The Red Back Book / Schuller, Grierson, New England Ragtime Conservatory, Southland Stingers

ASIN: B000059RXJ
Release Date: 2000-08-01

Tracks:

Magnetic Rag
Fizz Water
Bohemia Rag
Rialto Ripples
Castle House Rag
Slippery Elm Rag
Mississippi Rag
Bethena
Eugenia
Chevy Chase
Pastime Rag No. 2
Frogmore Stew
Real Slow Drag
Pork and Beans
Ragtime Dance
Creole Belles
Alexander's Ragtime Band

Customer Reviews:

Wonderful!.......2005-12-04

I've collected ragtime recordings for some time, and I'm always delighted to find "non-traditional" arrangements of my favorite classic piano rags. Usually, I'm amused by the novelty of hearing these rags orchestrated for instruments other than the piano, but after a few plays, the novelty frequently wears off and I'm back to my piano recordings. Not so here! This is a magnificent recording by a top-notch group in the style of the Canadian Brass. The arrangements are fresh and exciting, they breathe new life into many of these classics. Still, the arrangements are faithful to the originals, and make no attempt to "jazz up" these old rags. The disc has a beautiful warm sound to it, and the members of the Avatar Brass Quintet play magnificently. I particularly like their versions of "Creole Belles," "A Real Slow Drag," and one of the prettiest rags I've ever heard, "Slippery Elm Rag." This has quickly become one of my favorite ragtime discs in my collection. I've listened to it dozens of times, but I never tire of it. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up before it goes out of print. Highly recommended!

A nice change of pace from my "usual" listening........2004-08-14

I endeavored to track down some music written by William Ryden, and ran across this gem of an album, consisting of rags arranged, and in one case composed, by him for brass quintet. (Some time back, I had been at a chamber orchestra concert, and one of the featured works, by Ryden, impressed me enough for such a search. That featured work, a setting of Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking Glass" for vocal quartet, narrator and chamber orchestra, was perfect "pops concert" fare, but alas has yet to be recorded. Too bad; it was both charming and amusing.)

Ryden has to his credit the composing of more than 250 rags for piano. One of them-"Frogmore Stew"-is among the brass quintet arrangements on this album, and, based on its hearing, he seemingly deserves as much prominence as William Bolcom, following in the tradition of Scott Joplin (who has five of his more famous rags included on the album).

Scott Joplin! Who can forget the pathbreaking Nonesuch LP of his piano rags that Joshua Rifkin did more three decades ago, and the effect that album had on the genre? It wasn't just "The Sting" that reflected this rediscovery; this "craze of the times"; it seemed that everyone and his brother wanted to get in on the act. One popular release of the times was Gunther Schuller's "The Redback Book," with the New England Conservatory Orchestra. And I could swear that the Canadian Brass had taken their own whack at the craze, but, in checking my LP library, as well as an Amazon search, I may have conflated a possible Joplin album from them with "The Village Band" album, brass quintet transcriptions of other music from the Gilded Era.

Well, never mind the Canadian Brass! The Avatar Brass Quintet perform these works with all the skill and panache that one could ask for. Not only do we have five Joplin rags, as well as the one by Ryden himself, but equally famous works by Eubie Blake and Irving Berlin, a rare piece by George Gershwin, and a number of rags by some lesser-known contemporaries of Joplin.

What more could one ask for? Well, I for one would like to hear more of Ryden's own rags; maybe not all 250 of them, but at least a few more than just "Frogmore Stew." Perhaps an album that combines Bolcom and Ryden rags as arranged by Ryden for brass quintet would be just the ticket.

In the meantime, this "Magnetic Rags" album fills the bill nicely.

Bob Zeidler

A Favorite Disc..........2004-05-24

This is a wonderful disc featuring classic American rags performed by a talented brass quintet. The timbral dynamics of the quintet are gentle and stunning at the same time. The ensemble's timing and inflection are excellent. Track times are good.

The Complete Works of Scott Joplin, Vol. 1-5

Average customer rating:

Wilmot
Delightful colletion of Scott Joplin's music
Avoid
One Star for Pity
The Complete Works?? I think not

The Complete Works of Scott Joplin, Vol. 1-5

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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General | Jazz | Box Sets | Stores | Music

Complete Piano Music of Scott Joplin
Scott Joplin: The Complete Rags, Marches, Waltzes & Songs
James Scott: The Complete Works 1903-1922

ASIN: B000001VWW
Release Date: 1993-11-30

Tracks:

Please Say You Will
A Picture Of Her Face
The Great Crush Collision March
Harmony Club Waltz
Combination March
Original Rags
Maple Leaf Rag
Swipesy-Cake Walk
Sunflower Slow Drag
Peachtree Rag
Augustan Club Waltz
The Easy Winners
Cleopha
The Strenuous Life

Tracks:

I Am Thinking Of My Pickanniny Days
The Ragtime Dance
A Breeze From Alabama
Elite Syncopations
March Majestic
The Entertainer
Something Doing
Weeping Willow
Little Black Baby
Palm Leaf Rag
The Favorite
The Sycamore
The Cascades
The Chrysanthemum

Tracks:

Rosebud March
Bethena
Leola
Sarah Dear
Binks Waltz
Eugenia
Antoinette
Snoring Sampson
Gladiolus Rag
Searchlight Rag
The Nonpareil (Equal To None)
When Your Hair Is Like The Snow
Lose Leaf Rag
Heliotrope Bouquet

Tracks:

School Of Ragtime
Fig Leaf Rag
Sugar Cane
Pine Apple Rag
Wall Street Rag
Solace
Pleasant Moments
Country Club
Paragon Rag
Euphonic Sounds
Stoptime Rag
Felicity Rag
Lovin' Babe
Scot Joplin's New Rag

Tracks:

Highlights From Treemonisha
A Real Slow Drag
Prelude to Act 3
Frolic Of The Bears
Kismet Rag
Magnetic Rag
Reflection Rag
Silver Swan Rag
Lily Queen
Sensation

Customer Reviews:

Wilmot.......2007-01-10

Well done, with the only drawback that Joshua Rifkind is not at the piano. Sometimes the pace is too frenetic.

Delightful colletion of Scott Joplin's music.......2006-08-17

This is a wonderful collection of Scott Joplin's music. Delightful to own, to play over and over and over.

Avoid.......2004-10-30

I have to agree with "A music fan" is his review of March 2003.

The piano used is poor, and not even all that well in tune. The recorded sound quality is muffled and 'processed'-sounding.

And the playing, I am afraid, is an insult to Joplin. What a pity to produce so full a set, and to do it so badly. A travesty.

If you want a superb Joplin set, played "as wrote", on a good concert grand and played with verve and style, and well-recorded, it's got to be the new Guido Nielsen 4 CD set on the Basta label (Basta 30-91262).

For a really fine single CD recorded on a top-notch piano and with playing that brings out all the elegance in Joplin's music (which it isn't wrong to do - Joplin put it in there), try the new Naxos CD played by Alexander Peskanov (Naxos 8.559114).

The Zimmerman set, I am afraid, must be consigned to the dustbin. A pity.

One Star for Pity.......2003-05-05

My review in two statements: DON'T BUY IT. EVER.

One star for pity - and for the effort of going to the trouble of learning Scott Joplin's complete works. I know it must have been quite a task getting the sheet music for these works and it must have been quite a task learning them, but I cannot honestly say that this is a good recording. Richard Zimmerman plays these works on a piano with bad quality sound, and he plays these works with his own embellishments and in his own style. If you're going to take liberties with a written score, you'd might as well not even try to play it at all. Either play it as written, or don't play it. Why can't people understand that?

The Complete Works?? I think not.......2002-08-06

I bought the CD entitled the Complete Works of Scott Joplin but upon receiving it I found that it only contained 14 tracks from the Complete Works book. The CD at the price is certainly a good buy even with the 14 tracks but it should be more correctly labled as the "Almost" complete works - "Sort - Of" Complete works or maybe A Partial Compilation of the Complete Works but a Complete Works it is not. It appears that a more Complete Works also has the same label.. Or maybe I am missing something..