By Kris Bratberg
At the March 20th meeting of the Greenwich Retired Men’s Association Tim Brooks introduced Dr. Peter Muir, an acknowledged authority on American vernacular music with a PhD in musicology. He teaches and performs actively in Manhattan as well as in Westchester and Fairfield counties.
Dr. Muir began his presentation by stating that he was a huge fan of ragtime music. He shared a brief history of ragtime, stating that while the exact origins of ragtime were unknown, it was believed to have originated in the 1880s from within the African American community in the Midwestern states, and became widely popular in the 1890s. Ragtime is an art form that can be found/heard in all vernacular forms of music that have come since, including jazz and country music, with the origins of ragtime coming from African music.
Muir first played the very famous “Maple Leaf Rag” by Scott Joplin, considered the greatest ragtime composer and well known as the “King of Ragtime.” He then played and discussed a selection by Tom Turpin, a saloon owner in St. Louis who was the first African American ragtime songwriter to be published, and composer of over 40 rags. The one played by Muir was called “Harlem Rag.”
After discussing ragtime’s history Muir turned to what exactly ragtime was, and how it was the first American music to use syncopation, “an anticipation of the beat.” The third ragtime song played by Muir is perhaps the most famous and popular of all time, and was composed by Scott Joplin. “The Entertainer” is familiar from its use in the movie The Sting. Muir began by playing just its most famous part.
Dr. Muir also demonstrated how ragtime would sound if syncopation was not used, in order to underscore its importance to ragtime’s sound. He demonstrated how the piano player’s right hand played the melody, including the syncopation, while the left hand played the “boring” part with no syncopation. The left hand provides the “ground beat” which highlights the melody and the syncopation. Muir then played “The Entertainer” in its entirety.
Next Muir discussed how the music establishment rejected ragtime as an art form, even long after it was clearly established as the leading vernacular music of its day. He quoted music scholars describing ragtime as “…pernicious, evil and an enemy of true art.” He then discussed different forms of ragtime including folk ragtime and popular ragtime which was more light and fast and showy for the performer.
Muir then played an example of popular rag called “Dill Pickles Rag” by Charles Johnson. Next he played a lesser known piece that was nonetheless “magnificent,” written by James Scott, another African American composer from the Midwest, called “Grace and Beauty.” Muir discussed how ragtime has become known as piano music, but originally that was not the case. Early on it was played by many different instruments, including the banjo, piccolo and even military bands. The most important instrument early on, however, was the voice, and he demonstrated by playing and singing a medley of several rags, inviting the audience to sing along. These included “Hello My Baby” and “Alexander’s Ragtime Band.”
Muir discussed how ragtime never really ended but instead morphed into jazz around the time of the First World War. He described how ragtime was more structured and rigid, and jazz became freer flowing. To illustrate he played a late ragtime piece by Jelly Roll Morton called “Perfect Rag.”
To wrap up his discussion and performance Muir talked about how ragtime enjoyed a major revival during the 1970s and explained how ragtime music is still being written today. He performed a delightful ragtime song that he composed himself, called “Arcady Rag” and then finished up with a fun ragtime song that used the first three notes of a Rachmaninov composition and turned them into a rag called “Russian Rag.”
The performance and talk ended with an informative question & answer period.
The talk can be viewed by going to the RMA website at https://greenwichrma.org, and clicking on “Speakers.”
The RMA’s upcoming presentation, “Greenwich: Knowing the Way. Showing the Way. Leading the Way,” by Fred Camillo, is scheduled for 11 AM on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. Fred Camillo will discuss how he is meeting the many challenges facing the Town of Greenwich. The public is invited to attend in person and via Zoom. Fred welcomes questions from the audience. To ensure that your question is posed, you are invited to submit questions in advance. Send your question to PeterEBerg@gmail.com.
Fred is a lifelong Greenwich resident who graduated from Greenwich High School in 1980. He is currently serving his third term as First Selectman after serving 11 years as the State Representative for the 151st District, and as Assistant Minority Leader. His professional experience includes being a small business owner, having been one of the founders of Greenwich Recycling Co., and working as a high school teacher, baseball coach, and real estate professional.
His community service includes serving on the boards of the Greenwich Council of Boy Scouts, the Greenwich Baseball Foundation, the Greenwich Junior Babe Ruth League, the Greenwich Old Timers Athletic Association, the Cos Cob Association, and Adopt-a-Dog. He also is an associate member of the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol. He is a former Representative Town Meeting member, chair of the Board of Parks & Recreation, and the Republican Town Committee. His legislative and community work has earned him awards from the Uniform Professional Firefighters, the Cos Cob Fire Police Patrol, the Greenwich Council of Boy Scouts, the United States Humane Society, Stamford Republican Town Committee, the CT Votes for Animals Legislator of the Year, Adopt-A-Dog of Greenwich’s first-ever Humanitarian award winner in 2021, and the Connecticut Italian-American Legislative Education Fund Caucus. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Manhattanville College, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and history and a Master of Arts degree in education.
To stream the presentation by Fred Camillo at 11 AM on Wednesday, April 3, click on https://bit.ly/30IBj21. This presentation will also be available on local public access TV channels, Verizon FIOS channel 24 and Optimum (Cablevision) channel 79.
Note: The views expressed in these presentations are those of the speakers. They are not intended to represent the views of the RMA or its members.
RMA speaker presentations are presented as a community service at no cost to in-person or Zoom attendees, regardless of gender. Any member of the public who would like to receive a weekly email announcement of future speakers should send a request to members@greenwichrma.org. The RMA urges all eligible individuals to consider becoming a member of our great organization, and thereby enjoy all the available fellowship, volunteer, and community service opportunities which the RMA offers to its members. For further information, go to https://greenwichrma.org/, or contact members@greenwichrma.org.
