WORLD PREMIERE of Scott Joplin’s “Ragtime Opera” Treemonisha 1972 - PITCH CORRECTED

A couple of people commented on my original Treemonisha video that it was pitched too fast - so I present hopefully the correct pitch/speed of Treemonisha. Original text from that first video is below.

A really exciting find in the Marchant Archive! Today we have the world premiere of a fascinating and uniquely American work - Scott Joplin’s Treemonisha. This piece was finished by Joplin in 1910 but he couldn’t find anyone to fully stage it even after personally paying to have the piano/vocal score published. Joplin was of course known for now iconic piano pieces like the Maple Leaf Rag and The Entertainer so no one was expecting a moving multi-style operatic work from him.

Sadly Treemonisha was forgotten for decades until it was finally fully staged at Morehouse College in Atlanta on January 28, 1972. Because there was only a piano and vocal score the piece had to be adapted for full orchestration. T.J. Anderson, the American composer, fleshed out the orchestration with Robert Shaw conducting and Katherine Dunham creating the staging. Members of the Atlanta Symphony were in the orchestra.

The cast:
Alpha Floyd: Treemonisha
Louise Parker: Monisha
Seth McCoy: Remus
Simon Estes: Ned
Chorus: Afro-American Music Workshop

There is another recording of this performance on YouTube but the quality of the archive’s recording is dramatically better. However, the other recording has an extra couple of minutes at the end that is missing from my recording - appears to be some sort of audience sing along.

I hope you enjoy this incredibly unique piece of music. I have never heard anything quite like it. I absolutely love it.

Technical Info:
3 unknown brand/type tapes, quarter track stereo
7” reels
7 1/2 IPS
The tape has some (mostly) subtle wow and flutter - more noticeable during applause and quieter parts. There are also some parts where the cast is stomping loudly on the stage - I tried to EQ out the boomiest frequencies.

00:02 - Overture
06:16 - Act I
36:34 - Act II
49:34 - Prelude
52:26 - Act III