Sunflower Slow Drag (1901) - Scott Joplin & Scott Hayden (With Score / Sheet Music)

Details

Description

Sunflower Slow Drag had become Scott Hayden's first collaboration with Joplin, and was published just short of his 19th birthday. Whether Joplin's interest in him was due to the fact that he was courting Hayden's widowed sister-in-law, or because of his inherent musical abilities, the result was most certainly a providential one. In fact, Sunflower Slow Drag had become nearly as popular as the Maple Leaf Rag had continued to be, with publisher John Stark lavishing praise on it and pushing it in his catalog for many years.

Most of the rag was known to have been composed by Hayden, particularly the difficult A and D sections, while Joplin contributed the trio and a few other thematic touches. By contemporary reports, Hayden was known to be as capable a player as his contemporary James Scott, while Joplin preferred composing and teaching over performing. Joplin manages to tie in some of Hayden's patterns in his trio, which is a pleasantly subdued contrast to the rest of the piece with the last iteration of the D section being intentionally slowed, as it was traditional to do so for the finale of many cakewalks or drags of the time. Incidentally, the Slow Drag was a popular dance of the day for which many ragtime pieces were composed & encased around.
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"Sunflower Slow Drag" - Classic Piano Rag - Pattern: Intro A A B B A Trio Trio D D
Music by Scott Joplin & Scott Hayden, Published by John Stark & Son in 1901
Cover Artist: Unknown

Music description provided & written by Bill Edwards
© 1998-2024 Bill Edwards

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