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The Nightingale Rag was published by Joseph Lamb in 1915. It is Classic ragtime at its finest. Note: The Illustration contains the name Nightingale Rag but the Sheet Music is titled Ragtime Nightingale. I first heard John Arpin perform the Nightingale Rag on CBC Radio some 25 years ago. I was moved by the lyrical beauty of the tune and Mr. Arpin’s interpretation. |
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Joseph Francis Lamb (December 6, 1887 – September 3, 1960) was a noted American composer of ragtime music.
Joseph Lamb was interviewed and recorded in his home August 12 and 22, 1959 on Folkways Record FG 3562. In that interview he says he was influenced by James Scott’s Ragtime Oriole so he thought he should be able to write about a Nightingale. He "borrowed" an 8 note bass phrase from one of the selections in The Etude magazine to begin his piece. He said he didn’t have the slightest idea of how a Nightingale sounded but he added some bird noises. He was particularly fond of some "bird" sounds he heard in Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin’s Nightingale Song and used that as the introduction to the last strain.
Like Joplin’s rags, the Nightingale is separated into strains but instead of the traditional 4 strains, Lamb used 3 strains, repeating the first strain as per usual but closed with the majestic second strain.
The piece has a very classical sound and is more difficult to play than it sounds. Interestingly enough, it is now included in the piano syllabus for the Royal Conservatory of Music (Canada).
The Ragtime Kidd 