The Washington herald., 1907-05-05

Ragtime is now keeping syncOpatiOn to
a swan theme more familiarly known un-
der its dusky guise Of coon song, for.
strive how we may 10 prolong the stay Of
the most feverish of all native compost
tlons, the fact remains that the catchy,
uneven tempo must 90 the path of its
equally fascinating predecessors. Cap
tain Jlnks OF the Horse Marines was
once hailed as a delightful novelty II
was the welcome guest of every healthy
throat. vet to-day when Ethel Barrymore
strums it on the piano in her play of
Captain Jlnks'' the audience never fails
10 smile at remembrance of the old-fash-
ioned air
The history of popular melodies proves
that there are cycles in their variety just
as there are III plays. The pIaintive bal
lad may be the fad OF few seaons, to
be followed by something perversely diff
ferent. But who would have foreseen the
passing Of raztime? When the call for
this particular type of composition was
most enthusiastic a minority of its hear
ers made the prediction that IL would
travel the same road to which the bicycle
was also doomed. This idea was indig-
nantly repudiated by the advocates Of
rag" and the finale was left TO time.
Never in the musical history of this
country has so laughable and vet so
really earnest. a war ragged about form
of music as that which hung on the
robes OF victory of the coon" compost
tons Musicians of ideas redolent of the
supremacy of the classic over all other
schools haughuly shrugged their should
ers and unreserVediy expressed their orig
inal contempt for the foot-tapping. head
wagging airs. An insult 10 the musical
fntelHgence of the country" said some.
while others gave mental eXclamations
by the mere lifting of their eyebrows.
Indeed. feeling in regard 20 ragtime be-
came so intense that persons have been
known to leave the room where such mu-
sic was played.
And now we have evidence Of the use
Iessness Of all such intensity, for with
the Struggling exception ragtime and its
variations will soon be placed i'm an alc0ye
adjoining those compositions of the
Little Annie Rooney and Comrades
class This is in measure deeply 70 be
regretted. for rag music offered its
benefits. II might have been called a
musical tonic, for its effect on humanity,
with a few disgruntled exceptions, was
nothing short of magical A catchy
"coon" song could set a room full Of peo-
PIE ia a lively humor. Ii quickened the
pulses. and certainly aided digestion. Con-
versation flowed more readily. and care
was for the moment completely banished-
The passing OF ragtime has not so far
Invoked a worthy successor in the way OF
popular type of song. With the dimn-
ishing popularity of rag. it seems more
difficult than ever To secure something
which the public viii warm TO its heart
Songs crop up for a short period OF APP
prOval, but they are as rapidly laid away
The public is compelled to take its choice
from current musical comedies. and il IS
a noticeable fact that ragtime is lament
ably missing.
II cannot deny" said Julius Whitmark
OF the publishing house of Whitmark a.
sons. that ragtime and cocn songs have
lost their grip. I attribute this % the
fact that the American public is the
most tickle in the world IN regard TO its
musical fancy. and, again, 90 the m-
mistakabIe conclusion that coon songs
were done 10 death At one time thers
was hardly a play, musical or otherwise
that did not conceal a coon song some
where to be sprung at the proper moment
when il was sure 10 delight the audience
It seemed as if the people could never
get enough ragtime. The orchestra play
ing during "a tragic play enlivened tht
saddened audience between acts by a lit
tie rag That took away the impression
of Julius Caesar or whatever the TRACE
dy might be- and gave the audience
cheerful thoughts. Look over the theatel
musical programmes Of a few years bacA
and YOU viii find proof of what / am
telling you. JUST the other day I heard
weIl-knOwu actor Of powerful dramati,
roles expressing his thankfulness because
OF the loss i'm popularity OF coon songs
I can now regulate TO some extent tht
effect of my performances. he said
Imagine an intense, tragic scene in Whicl
the audience sits with baited breath. ths
curtain m0uTnfuIlv descends 10 the SOUND
of the s0bs Of the heroine Boom, III,
curtain is down, Real tears have beer
streaming down the cheeks Of the star
who thanks God he has not become s,
caH0us as 10 be able TO suffer arIisucaIll
without doing so IN reality His lip.
Quirer with the emotion of the role, ant
lie remembers how David GaTrick az hi
moments. He RECEIVERS sufficiently &,
make "a reluctant bow i'm answer to hi.
curtain call aud then, overcome by feel
ing. moves toward his dressing room
when suddenly he comes quite to himsel
again. What sound is that2 Oh, fO
words iu some potenuy, expressive for
eign tongue. for plain American is no
enough. 1t is q ragtime melody tina
strikes upon his sensitive ear, and crate.
most disCordantly. In "a moment a de
lighted buz peuetrates the curtain Th,
audience becomes merry. Feet keep tim,
20 the uneven air, and some persons hun
il so loudly that one would imagine tn,
time summer and the place a roof garden
AS the actor listens he pours forth male
diCtiOus on the fortunate head of IN,
author of My GaTs High-born Lady
of 'ThegeH be a Hot Time in the OlC
Town Tonight
Mt Wtmark believes thar rag-tim.
and coon songs viii never c0mpletels
die; that the great flood Of approval which
brought forth an OveTabundance of trasl
70 flood the market and stare at ons
fr0uf the windows of every music stor,
all over the land Is "A thing Of the past
which has in reality proved beneficial iF
that a coon song must be exceptionally
good nowadays in order 70 please.
An excellent illustration of this lies ir
the acceptance Of Bill Simmons" one OF
the few surviving coon" melodies Maud.
Raymond had commissioned the Wit
marks 10 ind her a good coon song
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