Dictionary of Music - Birding America

ap 335mance the syncopation (accents on unexpected beatsand unevenly divided beats) is so marked that themusic sounds polymetric (as if two meters werebeing used at the same time; see POLYMETER). Theso-called “father of ragtime” was the black composerand pianist Scott Joplin (1868–1917), whosemost popular composition was “Maple Leaf Rag”(1899). A number of women composed piano ragsthat were every bit as popular as Joplin’s. Amongthem were May Frances Aufderheide (1890–1972),Julia Lee Niebergall (1886–1968; “Red RamblerRag,” 1912), and Adaline Shepherd (1883–1950;“Pickles and Peppers,” 1906). Other important ragtimeartists were Eubie Blake (1883–1983) and JellyRoll MORTON. One of the important forerunners ofjazz, ragtime was replaced by jazz in popularity,though it continued to appeal to a great many people.It occasionally influenced serious composers,most notably Stravinsky, whose works include Ragtimefor eleven instruments (1911) and Piano Rag-Music (1920). In the late 1900s the American pianistand composer William Albright helped revive interestin ragtime. See also JAZZ; STRIDE PIANO.rall.An abbreviation for RALLENTANDO.rallentando (rä len tän′ dô) Italian. A directionto perform more and more slowly. The same asRETARD and RITARDANDO. Often abbreviated rall.Rameau (rA mō′), Jean-Philippe (zhäN fē lēp′),1683–1764. A French composer and theorist whois remembered both for his compositions, especiallyhis ballets, operas, and keyboard music, and for histreatise on harmony, which is considered the basicwork on classical harmony. Published in 1722,Rameau’s Traité de l’harmonie réduite à sesprincipes naturels (“Treatise on Harmony Reducedto Its Natural Principles”) discusses all the basicprinciples of classical harmony—a tonal center (seeKEY, def. 3), roots and inversions of chords (seeCHORD), and how chords, especially triads, are puttogether (see HARMONY, def. 2). Originally anorganist, Rameau wrote harpsichord compositions inthe socalled GALLANT STYLE, much like those ofFrançois Couperin. Later he began to write operasand ballets, carrying on the tradition of French operafounded by Lully. Outstanding among these are theopéra-ballet Les Indes galantes (“The GallantIndies,” 1735) and the opera Castor et Pollux(1737). In the early 1750s the supporters ofRameau’s style of opera clashed with those whofavored comic operas in Italian style (see COMICOPERA). The production of Pergolesi’s La Servapadrona touched off a famous quarrel called laguerre des bouffons (“the war of the buffoons”). Pergolesi’sside was taken by a group of intellectualsknown as the Encyclopédistes (“Encyclopedists”),among them Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Rameauundertook his own defense, writing numerous articlesin which he upheld his treatment of harmoniesand his use of instruments. Soon after Rameau’sdeath, the controversy collapsed, and his music wasregarded as a model for students and composers.range Also, compass, gamut. The entire series ofnotes, from the lowest to the highest, that a voice ormusical instrument is capable of performing. In thisdictionary the ranges of the most important instrumentsare given in the article for each instrument,and the range of the various voices (soprano, tenor,and so on) in the article for each type of voice. (Seealso TESSITURA.)rank In organs, a set of pipes controlled by a singlestop. Most stops control just one rank of pipes,all of the same kind. A mixture stop, however, whichsounds several notes at one time, controls severalranks of pipes, usually three or four. (see alsoORGAN.)ranz des vaches (räN dā väsh′) French. A typeof tune played on the alphorn by Swiss cowherds.There are numerous versions of such tunes, playedin different parts of the Alps. Occasionally composershave used such melodies in serious compositions,as, for example, Beethoven in his Symphonyno. 6 (Pastoral Symphony) and Rossini in the overtureto his opera William Tell.rap A kind of improvised rhythmic chatter, oftenin rhyme, over REGGAE, rock, or some other populardance music. Rap originated in New York City in thelate 1970s as an outgrowth of toasting, a rhythmic,