Ragtime

Ragtime – also spelled rag-time or rag time – is a musical genre that enjoyed its peak popularity between 1895 and 1918. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated, or "ragged", rhythm. The genre has its origins in African-American communities like St. Louis years before being published as popular sheet music for piano. Ernest Hogan (1865–1909) was a pioneer of ragtime music and the first to publish in the musical genre. He is also credited for coining the term ragtime. Ben Harney, a white Kentucky native has often been credited for introducing the music to the mainstream public. His ragtime compositions helped popularize the genre throughout America. Ragtime was also a modification of the march made popular by John Philip Sousa, with additional polyrhythms coming from African music. The ragtime composer Scott Joplin (ca. 1868–1917) became famous through the publication of the "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899) and a string of ragtime hits such as "The Entertainer" (1902), although he was later forgotten by all but a small, dedicated community of ragtime aficionados until the major ragtime revival in the early 1970s. For at least 12 years after its publication, "Maple Leaf Rag" heavily influenced subsequent ragtime composers with its melody lines, harmonic progressions or metric patterns.

Ragtime (musical)

Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty. The music includes marches, cakewalks, gospel and ragtime.

Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in the United States in the early 20th century: African Americans, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; upper-class suburbanites, represented by Mother, the matriarch of a white upper-class family in New Rochelle, New York; and Eastern European immigrants, represented by Tateh, a Jewish immigrant from Latvia.

Historical figures including Harry Houdini, Evelyn Nesbit, Booker T. Washington, J. P. Morgan, Henry Ford, Stanford White, Harry Kendall Thaw, Admiral Peary, Matthew Henson, and Emma Goldman are represented in the stories.

Productions

Original Broadway production

The musical had its world premiere in Toronto, where it opened at the Ford Centre for the Performing Arts (later renamed the Toronto Centre for the Arts) on December 8, 1996, the brainchild of Canadian impresario Garth Drabinsky and his Livent Inc., the Toronto-production company he headed. The US Premier was in Los Angeles in 1997 and ran one year before opening on Broadway on January 18, 1998 as the first production in the newly opened Ford Center for the Performing Arts. Directed by Frank Galati and choreographed by Graciela Daniele, Ragtime ran for two years, closing on January 16, 2000, after 834 performances and 27 previews. The original cast included Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie, Peter Friedman and Audra McDonald, who were all nominated for Tony Awards, and also included Judy Kaye, Mark Jacoby and Lea Michele. The production was conducted by David Loud.

Ragtime (novel)

Ragtime is a novel by E. L. Doctorow, published in 1975. This work of historical fiction is mainly set in the New York City area from 1902 until 1912, with brief scenes towards the end describing the United States entry into World War I in 1917. A unique adaptation of the historical narrative genre with a subversive 1970's slant, the novel blends fictional and historical figures into a framework that revolves around events, characters and ideas important in American history.

In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Ragtime number 86 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to 2005.

Plot summary

The novel centers on a wealthy family living in New Rochelle, New York, simply named "Father," "Mother," "Mother's Younger Brother," "Grandfather," and "the boy," Father and Mother's young son, who perhaps narrates the novel from the perspective of an adult reminiscing about the people and events of his childhood (the narrator is never identified as the boy, and could be, in fact, the adult child of Coalhouse Walker). The family business is the manufacture of flags and fireworks, an easy source of wealth due to the national enthusiasm for patriotic displays. Father joins the first expedition to the North Pole, and his return sees a change in the sexual politics of his relationship with his wife, who has experienced a taste of independence in his absence. Younger Brother is a genius at explosives and fireworks, but is an insecure, unhappy character who chases after love and excitement. He becomes obsessed with the notorious socialite Evelyn Nesbit, stalking her through the city and eventually embarking on a brief, unsatisfactory affair with her that leaves him even more isolated.

Taal

Taal is the Dutch and Afrikaans word for language and was used as an early name for Afrikaans; it may also refer to the South African creole language Tsotsitaal.

The word Taal can also refer to:

Places

Arts and fiction

Other

Taal (instrument)

The taal (Assamese: তাল; Odia: ଗିନି, Gini ) is a pair of clash cymbals, which make high-pitched percussion sounds. The word taal comes from the Sanskrit word Tālà, literally means a clap. It is a part of Indian music and culture, used in various traditional customs e.g. Bihu music, Harinaam etc.

Materials used

The clash cymbal, taal is made of bell metals i.e. bronze, brass, copper, zinc etc. Each cymbal is connected with a cord which passes through hole in its center. The pitch of different types of taal vary according to their size, weight and the materials used. A player can also adjust the timbre by varying the point of contact while playing.

Types

There are many types of Taal, categorised by size, weight and appearance.

Taal (film)

Taal (English: Rhythm) is a 1999 Bollywood musical romantic drama directed by Subhash Ghai. Taal was an official selection for the 2005 Ebertfest: Roger Ebert's Film Festival. Taal was screened retrospective, during the 2014 International Film Festival of India in the Celebrating Dance in Indian cinema section. The film stars Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai, Amrish Puri and Alok Nath. It was also dubbed in Tamil as Thaalam. It was quite successful in India and overseas, becoming the first Indian film to reach the top 20 on Variety's box office list.Anil Kapoor, A.R. Rahman, Alka Yagnik and Anand Bakshi each won a Filmfare Award for their work in the film.

Synopsis

Manav (Akshaye Khanna) comes to visit India with his wealthy father Jagmohan Mehta (Amrish Puri), his aunt and uncle, and his father's employees. In Chamba he meets Mansi (Aishwarya Rai), the beautiful daughter of a spiritual singer named Tara Babu (Alok Nath); Jagmohan Mehta owns the Mehta & Mehta group and is into investing in Chamba; their families meet, and Jagmohan and Tara Babu become acquainted and friendly toward each other. Manav and Mansi fall in love, but when Jagmohan learns of this he packs the family up and moves them to their house in Mumbai, with the excuse that Mansi and her father are of low social status. However, he is nice to Tara Babu's face and invites him to come and stay with him in Mumbai if he, Tara Babu, ever happens to be visiting there. Mansi is distressed by Manav's departure but he assures her that he will not abandon her and that everything will be fine. She gives Manav his scarf which she modified, making it say "Manavsi", a juxtaposition of their names.