This Detroit classic from 1898 is one of the earliest and best examples of a Ragtime waltz. Though the influence of Scott Joplin’s Maple Leaf Rag on Ragtime-as-art was profound and lasting, other pre-1900 rags were similarly written with craft and refinement. Pieces such as Echoes from the Snowball Club and Charles L. Johnson’s Doc Brown’s Cakewalk (1899) also helped lay the groundwork for Classic Ragtime.
Broadly speaking, the form of Echoes from the Snowball Club is ternary, with the main theme(s) in F major bookending a central C major theme. More specifically, the piece’s structure is Intro-ABAC-DED-ABA-Coda, with the introduction and coda being of substantial length and interest. The character of the piece is Schubertian—with graceful nobility. Sheet music for Echoes from the Snowball Club can be downloaded at imslp.org.
