The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1901-06-09
AN ANALYSIS OF RAG TIME
SOMETHING OF THE NATURE AND
QUALITY OF THE MUSIC.
One Writer Who Thinks It Fad Which
Owes Its Popularity to Cues
tonabIe Sentiment.

Harlequin. New Orleans.
/ note that the American ASSOCIATION Of |
has condemned rag. time" as
'ulmusical," stupid etc. The musicians,
In their wholesale dcnunciations, halted
short Of the truth, Your 'ragtime" Is
distinctly lccherous. You may measure the
clement of lechury IN any instance by the
scope OF success. This Is ID rather hard
opinion. but II will appear to you remorse-
lessly true II son viii reflect upon 1t. Cite,
II you please "Goo.soo Eyes" which has
attained phenomenal popularity 1t bears
the same relation to music that the per-
Torrance OF a ribald variety hail does to
the stage,
The giants CT music have been powerless
to analy2e It's subtle language. As SAID
Jean Paul Richter OF Il, Away, away!
Thou speakest to me Of things which in
oll my endless lite / have not found aud
shall not ind" The ccstacy of his en-
thuslasm, thus embodied. exactly expresses
the degree OF analytical precision which
even the greatest of musicians hive at.
tanned ~ compromising the language OF
music Yet We speak of the power OF
musician to express III mJsC his thought,
just MS In poetry We say the very sound or
that poets words repeats his idea. Certain
ly We would reVct dean of applying the
reiterated and steady - ncopatioh OF rag,
time TO the Last Rose ct summer ana
certainly II requires no prriency 10 nave
forced on one the consciousness that the
musical visions In I'm Have TO Telegraph
hy Baby are distinctly or lady, mprdl.
ly MS we'll as physically on-Color, even IL
VIC bar the words. Instance too Ma Han
nah Lady another pronounced success,
There are two peculiar phenumena IN
yolyed. one is, that the fresh minded Amer.
team people should be 80 fond OF So-cdlitd
rag. ume Another thai the characteristic
which distinguishes 'rag-time should be
u musical ecccnuicity woven into the 81
tects OF even the suhlimost music.
II Is interesting to note too, the words
that accompany the average rag limr
gong The argument is reiterated 30 strong
Is that Il can not possibly he shaken. IN,
stance for example this exalted poeJCIl
nfiiaius. blowing ftsh from Franklin
street, New orleans, to the pmlieus oil
Dreamy eyes that sparkle and she looks
SO mighty cute,
said coluisi gen lcnan, par lauS SUI MY
snc's n warm potato ana a red hot radIator
Shes .ho 'wlimest baby In the bunch
Musical SKIN IS dehed 10 put these words
with as powerful lecberous effect 10 any
] thing but rag time music unc steRdlN
/ reiterated scncopntionl and the Imagination
I Is likewise NCNcu 10 hIllNf il'lu N''t''A
/ music or The words clean scntlmehl' h'
| theorcm works out both ways. It's coroi
/ larry rtiteratcs Its truth. .
4 But popular tastes are not regulated y,
/ the oplniuu OF body OF musicians. hhs
! time" Is Southern SAmbo's own, He hA'
/ been singing IL since away sex IN SlnNNl!
times. From the eri &C effort OF the New
! Worker the music aud the Nelsc-tn
| reuesis g.1d evolution of 'rng-time musl
s,aV Sp traced back to southern S0mho1
..Gural poetical overflow. Instance
81 went to church last sunday morn
Wild ma baby
With ma good thing:
/ De ma son pass dc wine aud bread,
! But / said | take beer instend-
Cause Am thusty.'
This Is sample Of real red-hot rag
time aud. although II is to he found !
| the music stores, It Is an easy gamble I'M
| il Is also sung on Louisiana aud Georsl
plantations by darkies VINO 40 hol huo.
that there is such thing as Willlhs ihuSp
| The COMPOSER beyond the question or
doubt borrowed it from its own nauN'
natural home, and, If we had tue trlsk
+. 20 back far enough We dOuhileSs COMO NJ
embryonic ''rag-ttme'' In darkest AlIlca.
n do not believe there Is popular ieh
ization of the real nature of rag time,
II Is tuneful, rs Is al negro melolE; "a
rhythm is engaging ~ Is lhu' anu NJ, ~
AM fads. will prevail for a period ny
II is a musical appeal, varying IN sunutl
IA phvsIcal passion. requires no strcnuol
effort of the analytical faculty plainly =,
nerceiye Not so long ago an entirely az
ierent phnse of musical feeling nara
higher. artisticallr, held and comnian,,nH'
nopular appreciation cheap sentiment az
. correspondug to minor key poetry. 10
Two Little Girls IN Blue, az one W.
tremendously popular, Is an illnsIfatio
and from this maudln sentiment, TINS cla
az populnr ballad ranges upward otteh
very sweet little sentment4lltes' hhe ~
and Let's Makeup Again.
Tho interesting question 10 me u, WI
viii he The next popular ragef VINO
I touch eventually the keynote oil the sIt'
a ,brohblnp. eager American heart ana ma
if really ring With the melody OF MS ;,
; fering and strife, It's greatness anu glhi
= eur and trdth2 The minor singers we w
Md who will he the master 70 aWah
tho real larks aud hooking hrdsf W.
Viii he the character Of the music OF 9
y paetbovens and Mcndelsohnsi Grand "
II nave 10 be, indeed, TO reflect the Ina)es
~ This mighty country Of freedom, o. NJ
> i1eas long delayed. painfully worked o
= A. soon MS the stage IS disadvantages
c cheap controlling pirates. we snhh hs
Il tbc nnte But IN then, | fear, indeed q
n o"r music will continue 10 reject W
e capacity az enjoyment. their lnte!l'g ,h
thsIr perceptions and the stature IN SUI
T.. ~ tbe men We shall conuune =" ~.
p. Furors exploited In the deleetnble shape
10 when Reuhen Comes 10 Town