Harmony Club Waltz (1896) - Scott Joplin (With Score / Sheet Music)

Details

Description

Waltzes were both ubiquitous and plentiful in the 1890s, and while other music forms were in flux, the waltz was still a reliable staple. To modern ears however, they seem to go on forever, in which they often do. In fact, many compositions would use the term "waltzes" instead of waltz, given the number of sections in a piece.

In Joplin's case, he had also proved himself to be a capable waltz writer in this early effort. His forceful 2/4 introduction leads into a gentle waltz that grows in complexity and intensity through second section, taking a breather in a nice minor strain. There is some nice development in the D section and a hint of syncopation in the E section with the right hand chords. Another gentle strain and another development eventually leads us back to the A and B sections, with no prominent indicators of his ragtime propensities here since they were not yet fully realized.

Throughout the waltz, Joplin's overall sense of harmonic patterns and completion of phrases is very evident, as is his judicious use of either 16 or 32 bars as necessary to complete a musical idea. The piece was published in his native home of Texas during his travels, yet it remains unclear to this day if "Harmony Club" refers to a place of business or one of the groups he performed with. Nonetheless, Harmony Club Waltz is surely a piece with enough charm worth to celebrate throughout the ages.
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"Harmony Club Waltz" - Waltz - Pattern: Intro A A B B C C D D E E F F G G A B
Music by Scott Joplin, Published by Robert Smith in 1896
Cover Artist: Unknown

Music description provided & written by Bill Edwards, learn more about it here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20220308214107/http://ragpiano.com/pbmusic_joplin1.shtml

Music performed by Guido Nielsen with his album "Scott Joplin: The Complete Works (Rags, Waltzes & Songs)"

℗ 2000 Basta Audio-Visuals
Producer: Piet Schreuders
Music Publisher: Basta Music
Performer: Guido Nielsen