Searching for an Identity
Charleroi: Ragtime for the Sentimental Soul, Op.2 No.17
SM-000226457
- Alternative title
- Charleroi: Ragtime pour l'âme Sentimentale
- Composer
- Antonio Martinez
- Publisher
- Antonio Martinez
- Genre
-
Jazz / Ragtime
- Instrumentation
- Piano
- Scored for
- Solo
- Type of score
- For a single performer
- Duration
- 4'0"
- Difficulty
- Very difficult
- Year of composition
- 2015
Description
This melody is the seventeenth destination in the collection of the series "Ragtime at the Red-Light District." This piece occurs at Charleroi's Rue Moulin.
The main character in this piece is a 29-year old distance runner that also spends his leisure time writing music. This person often spends each day jogging half-marathons around some of the city's famous landmarks. That includes running half-marathons around Gosselies Airport, an evening 5-kilometer run beginning at Palais des Beaux-Arts and even running 10-kilometer laps around Charleroi City Hall barefoot.
When not running, the main character often relaxes by composing songs and other melodies. It was after attending an exercise exposition inside Stade du Pays, where the main character began to write some music. This person has written decent romantic songs for the casual music lover, but something struck the main character because the person was single.
So the main character power walked from Stade du Pays to the city's red-light district where the person could seek more inspiration. That inspiration came thanks to one lovely woman. a woman whose resemblance reminded the main character of Scott Joplin's "Leola." The main character sees a piano nearly a heavily-crowded window shop inside the red-light district and began to play the improvised melody conjured up during that power walk. The woman, who happened to be celebrating her birthday that day, walked gingerly toward the main character and revealed her excitement for the song. The two people then departed into the night.
This piece has a format of 4AABBACC8DDA. Scott Joplin's "Leola" and Joseph Lamb's "Bohemia Rag" were the inspirations for this piece, the latter whose influence comes during the fourth section.