Matthew Davidson

solo piano

Composer's Note:

Mystical Moving Madness is dedicated to Jeff and Anne Barnhart, on the occasion of them finding a new abode, and is a tribute to Jeff's ragtime masterpiece, Mystic Memories. Fandango Festoon is named after the color (not the genre of music), is a tribute to the work of ragtime pioneer Louis Chauvin, and is dedicated to Bryan Wright, who so excellently played and recorded Chauvin's Heliotrope Bouquet. Finally, Gila-Monster Gum-Drops is a pastiche of the late, great composer Robin Frost, and is dedicated to composer / documentarian Peter Lundberg, and violinist / scholar David Reffkin in the hope that my ragtime work scintillates almost as much as their conversation.

Review:

Matthew de Lacey Davidson’s latest composition (Three Ineffable Rags, 2026) is a suite of three short piano rags. Davidson’s tonal style is dissonant yet soft-edged. Mystical Moving Madness, dedicated to Jeff and Anne Barnhart, is a slowly strolling two-step with a surprise quotation of Jeff’s Mystic Memories (itself another quality contemporary rag) at the end. Fandango Festoon (fandango being a vibrant pinkish color) is in the unusual rag keys of D and A major and contains tango elements. The deceptive cadence (vi, B minor) in measure 12 of the A section has a surprising twist when that section returns later in the piece: the second time, the music rests in C minor.

I enjoy the roving harmonies and unusual chord colors of these brand-new rags. The non-traditional final chords of these pieces are notable in this regard (the closing measures of Mystical Moving Madness are shown above). Gila-Monster Gum-Drops is described by the composer as a pastiche of themes by Robin Frost; it is an uptempo piece that Stride and Novelty specialists would enjoy playing.

- Brandon Byrne, Syncopated Times