Description

Scott Joplin is celebrated as the United States’ first well-known black composer, making his name as a writer of piano rags. His life was a constant struggle with adversity, and Joplin died relatively young in 1917, at the dawn of the recording age. Few remembered Joplin’s music until a revival in the 1970s brought The Entertainer and others to the world’s attention. Nowadays Scott Joplin has taken his rightful place in the gallery of great American composers.

The duets included in this collection are, The Entertainer, The Maple Leaf Rag, The Easy Winners, The Elite Syncopations and The Favorite.

They have been arranged as duets for two Violas and include all sections of the original compositions. The YouTube link showcases the clarinet version of these duets. The duets are suitable for players at an intermediate and an advanced intermediate level. Musicians will find these Ragtime duets ideal for formal and informal performances, light and fun, yet still a serious and vitally important part of the American musical heritage. The overall performance time for all five is around 25 minutes. Click HERE to see and hear short samples of these duets on YouTube played on Clarinet.

Teachers will enjoy using these arrangements as a fun way to help with phrasing, syncopated rhythms and light articulation.

These duets are available for different instrumentation elsewhere on Sheet Music Marketplace.