Product Description
Solace: A Mexican Serenade was written by Scott Joplin in 1909, one of the last of the classic ragtime piano pieces he published through John Stillwell Starks company, before turning his attention to more extended art music composition. It is unique in his music for its use of a stately, underlying contradanza (habanera) rhythm, more commonly associated with popular Cuban dance music of that era. This and the works achingly beautiful melodies have made this one of Joplins most beloved compositions.
In this arrangement for guitar, I have tried to preserve the pieces slow drive and sophisticated harmonic structure, much of which depends on maintaining the habanera rhythm, played by the left hand in the original piano work. This requires some tricky fingerings in a few measures throughout the piece, but with careful attention to finger preparation and functional tension in the hand, they are quite playable. This edition includes both tablature as well as standard notation, which should help in understanding the fingerings. Perhaps more than any other piece of his it is important to bear in mind Joplins admonition: Do not play this piece fast. It is never right to play ragtime fast.
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard's global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.