Description
Johnson is one of the “Big Three of Ragtime Music” along with Joplin and Lamb. This piece in the style of an 1800’s Fox Trot. Another great arrangement from Steven Mathiesen. Percussive Arts Society Review: Not necessarily one of the more recognizable names, but certainly one of the more prolific composers of ragtime music, Charles L. Johnson’s “Alabama Slide” is arranged here by Steven Mathiesen for a new audience with a marimba band orchestration. Scored for xylophone, marimba quartet, and optional drumset, at first glance this looks familiar to the marimba ensemble treatment of rags by G.H. Green and others, but there are a few variances to note. The xylophone part, unlike some of the Green rags, is much less virtuosic and extensively doubled by the first marimba. While a bit of chromaticism is to be expected, the accompanying marimba parts are also very accessible, featuring almost exclusively quarter-note rhythms with very few double-stops at a moderate foxtrot tempo throughout. Alternate parenthetical notes are provided for the lowest marimba part, facilitating performance on a low-F marimba if a 5-octave instrument isn’t available. The drumset part is sparsely notated for snare drum and bass drum voices (plus one indicated cymbal roll), requiring some attention to flesh out stylistically. The customary march form is observed with multiple statements of the primary and secondary stanzas followed by a trio and requisite key change. The primary stanza returns in the new key to conclude the work. Directors looking to expose their ensemble to ragtime music, but without a confident xylophone soloist and with less independent ensemble players, may find this arrangement to be a suitable option. Josh Gottry