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The Royal Wedding Rag
Ragtime composers liked to write for important events and occasions, inaugurations, coronations and wedding and funerals etc.
I had the honour of writing a rag for the wedding of the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles. "The Royal Wedding Rag" was a wedding gift for the couple in the form of sheet music and CD. This means I haven't allowed the music to be released or used commercially but I have some nice royal thank you letters to keep as souvenirs.
Anyway, after 4 years or so since the happy event I thought I might add the mp3 to this blog for anyone to freely listen to or download.
I also arranged this piece as a piano duet (if I can still find the score) so If anyone would like the sheet music for solo or duet then please let me know.
Composed on the 9th of April 2005
Silent Movie Rag
Here's a Raggy piece I wrote about 10 years ago originally for
accordion (Leprechaun Dance) and eventually became a piano
solo called The Magic Lantern Rag. I still can't make my
mind up what to call it!
This frenetic piece is a joy to play and reminds me of the silent movie days (not that I was there). The speed is really at the discretion of the performer.
The strong percussive style highlighted in the middle section features in a number of my ragtime tunes (not sure why though).
I have loved Ragtime ever since I first heard my Uncle Frank play the 'Maple Leaf Rag'
Ragatina
I couldn't decide whether to call this piece 'Ragatina' or
'Ragamuffin' (some might call it Raga-rubbish) but either
way it remains as a nice memorable A-B-A ragtime (ternary
form) composition having fewer sections than a traditional
rag (hence Ragatina).
Play exactly as written with good accents and slurring (not slurrying).
Again, the strong percussive style highlighted in the middle section features in a number of my ragtime tunes (not sure why though).
I have loved Ragtime ever since I first heard Joplin's 'Maple Leaf Rag'. 'Elite Syncopations' also grabbed me.
Cuba Libre (with a lime wedge)
Not proper ragtime but I call it it Rag/Latin/Classic Fusion.
Originally arranged for a Clarinettist (as was 'Ragatina'
and 'Silent Movie Rag')
It is basically an improvisation generously topped with jazz & blues phrasing. The L.H. dotted crotchet rhythm gives it a distinctive Latin-American 'lilt' and the ridiculously lavish arpeggio section gives it.... I'm not exactly sure!
The 'Lime Wedge' ingredient also features somewhere in the middle.
I still remember my first Cuba Libre in Spain leading to a couple to many...
Composed March 2005 and published in ’10 Character Studies for Piano’ as a replacement for ‘Angels Music Box’
Glad Rag
A throw-away rag with too much engine oil. Some technical challenges here for the student.
I will add some more rags when I get a round tuit...
The 3rd Way
I started out writing a simple novelty tune for students to
improve their ability to play scales in 3rds. The title 'The
3rd Way' popped into my head and thought it was a suitable
title. Soon I was including all kinds of 'new labour'
references in the thing. The fairy dust opening will feature
Mrs Thatcher morphing into Tony Blair.
The twin sugary sweet (con saccharino)
major/minor 3rd progressions at the start are now
representing Tony & Gordon's initial relationship (as the
general spin was). The augmented descending
triads represent an added interval causing new labour to
descend into chaos. The D minor section has the following
words...
To-ny wants' to go to war
May-be he'll get round the law
We
can build a new Je-ru-sa-lem in Bab-y-lon
We're O. K. be-cause
there's wea-pons of mass de-struc-tion.
Jack is not a man of
straw
Claire is such a fright-ful bore
Spinner's weav-ing
all their oil-y plans, mem-oirs grand
Plant the Red Flag in the
Sand!
The fairy dust now shows Blair/Brown morphing into Cameron/Clegg and the 'sweet' music begins all over again...
I just need to start on the video for You-Tube...
All for a little piano etude.
