Thunderbolt Rag (S. J. Stokes, 1910) is a straightforward “popular” rag in ABAC form with some neat idiosyncrasies. Prolonged A7 and Dm chords and low left hand octaves in the A and B sections give the piece a stormy, minor-key feel, contrasting nicely with sectional cadences in C major. The F major C section is 32 measures long.
Thunderbolt Rag is one of 12 tracks expertly played on Christina Pepper’s new album Ragtime Gems Volume 1 (pictured); the album is available for purchase at ko-fi.com/christinapepper as both a physical CD and .mp3 download. Christina Pepper has a strong social media presence and is a prolific content creator on YouTube. Sheet music for Thunderbolt Rag can be found in the York University Digital Library.
