"The Silver Swan" by

Scott Joplin Scott Joplin (November 24, 1868 – April 1, 1917) was an American composer and pianist. Dubbed the "King of Ragtime", he composed more than 40 ragtime pieces, one ragtime ballet, and two operas. One of his first and most popular pieces, the ...

is a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that had its peak from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its Syncopation, syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers ...

composition for piano. It is the only known Joplin composition to be originally released on

piano roll A piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. Piano rolls, like other music rolls, are continuous rolls of paper with holes punched into them. These perforations represent note contro ...

instead of in

musical notation Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...

Form

The overall structure of the piece is: Jasen (1978): 100 : Intro AA BB A CC Intro A The structure is unusual for a Joplin rag; Edwards characterized it as a

rondo The rondo or rondeau is a musical form that contains a principal theme (music), theme (sometimes called the "refrain") which alternates with one or more contrasting themes (generally called "episodes", but also referred to as "digressions" or "c ...

. The recapitulation of the A strain at the end is also found in " Magnetic Rag" and "Scott Joplin's New Rag", which appeared about the same time. The

introduction Introduction, The Introduction, Intro, or The Intro may refer to: General use * Introduction (music), an opening section of a piece of music * Introduction (writing), a beginning section to a book, article or essay which states its purpose and g ...

and the A strain are both in B-flat major. At the start of the B strain, the piece modulates to G minor. Edwards describes this section as "well developed". The C strain is in E-flat major. The phrasing is notably uncharacteristic of Joplin rags. While it was typical to repeat the beginning phrase at the halfway point of a strain, or otherwise lead into a different melody that resolves by the sixteenth bar, here it abruptly pauses at the eighth bar before modulating to C minor in the ninth bar. The rhythmic momentum later does not subside on the tonic chord during the first repeat ending of the strain but rather continues as the strain is repeated. The phrasing is then perceived as starting at the ninth bar and ending on the eighth bar through the repeat. Jasen and Tichenor wrote that it "sounds as though it consists of three fragments put together".

Publication history

"Silver Swan Rag" was never copyrighted or published in Joplin's lifetime. Though two companies ( QRS Music Roll Company and National) issued piano roll recordings of it in 1914, the piece was neglected for many years. Interest in Joplin's music revived in the 1960s. In 1970, a copy of the National roll (which did not credit Joplin) was discovered in the garage of a collector. While some doubted its authenticity, the piece was transcribed into

for inclusion in Vera Brodsky Lawrence's ''The Collected Works of Scott Joplin'', published in 1971. The copyright for "Silver Swan Rag" was assigned to the Lottie Joplin Thomas Trust. Later in the 1970s, concerns about the piece's authenticity were allayed by the discovery of the QRS roll, which credited Joplin as the composer.

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audio recording
{{Authority control 1914 compositions Rags by Scott Joplin Compositions for solo piano 1971 in music

Form

Publication history

See also

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