The piece may be considered the "archetypal rag" due to its influence on the genre its structure was the basis for many other rags, including "Sensation" by Joseph Lamb. Each of the four parts features a recurring theme and a striding bass line with copious seventh chords. "Maple Leaf Rag" is a multi- strain ragtime march with athletic bass lines and offbeat melodies. In 1903, Stark issued a "Maple Leaf Rag Song", an arrangement of Joplin's music with words by Sydney Brown. The rag was reissued in 1900 or 1901 with a new cover showing a green maple leaf and a photograph of Joplin. The "Maple Leaf Rag" was published between August 10 and September 20, 1899, when the United States Copyright Office received two copies of the score. After approaching several publishers, Joplin signed a contract with John Stillwell Stark on Augfor a $0.01 royalty on all sales of the rag, with a minimum sales price of $0.25. The exact circumstances which led to publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" are unknown, and there are versions of the event which contradict each other. įront cover of the third edition of the "Maple Leaf Rag" sheet music Prior to its publication, Joplin anticipated that the piece would be a success-he told Arthur Marshall that "The Maple Leaf will make me the king of ragtime composers". The "Maple Leaf Rag" was already known in Sedalia prior to its publication in 1899 composer and pianist Brun Campbell claimed to have seen the manuscript of the work in or around 1898. His first published rag was " Original Rags" (March 1899). Īlthough there were hundreds of rags in print by the time of the "Maple Leaf Rag's" publication, Joplin was not far behind. It is possible that the rag was named after the Maple Leaf Club, although there is no direct evidence to prove the link, and there were probably many other possible sources for the name in and around Sedalia at the time. Joplin played as a solo musician at dances and at the major black clubs in Sedalia, among them the "Maple Leaf Club". Joplin arrived in Sedalia in 1894 as a touring musician and stayed with the family of Arthur Marshall, who later became one of Joplin's students and a ragtime composer in his own right. The "Maple Leaf Rag" is associated with the city of Sedalia, Missouri, although there is no record of Joplin having a permanent residence there before 1904.
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