Galen Wilkes’ Authentic Ragtime folio contains many fine piano rags, including the joyous Sedalia Stomp, the rustic Boone County Rag, and the greatly-loved eulogy The Last of the Ragtime Pioneers. Redwood Rag (1982) is an ultra-stately Classic rag in the resonant key of E-flat major—the piece’s frequent right hand octaves are notably luminous, like a glowing sunset. The bittersweet B section ventures into C minor.
Every section of Redwood Rag has the same structure of repetition: the first and third lines in each section (four measures apiece) are identical. The right hand figurations involving chromatic sixths remind me of the similarly beautiful rags of Joseph Lamb. Authentic Ragtime and other sheet music by Galen Wilkes can be purchased at his website galenwilkes.com.
