| Solace | |
|---|---|
| byScott Joplin | |
 1909 cover of "Solace"[1] | |
| Form | Habanera / Mexican serenade |
| Published | 1909 (1909) |
| Publisher | Seminary Music Co., New York[2] |
| Audio | |
Joplin, "Solace", Performed by Constantin Stephan | |
"Solace" is a 1909habanera written byScott Joplin.
Though Joplin labeled the piece "aMexican Serenade",[2][3] its origins are more probablyCuban,[4][5] and it is considered to have a habanera (andtango[4][5]) rhythm in three of the fourstrains[note 1][6] – something unique for a work by Joplin,[5][6] although a brief habanera bass did appear in his previous composition of that year, "Wall Street Rag".[2]
"Solace" is marked "very slowmarch time",[1][4][5] and while it is difficult to determine the intended speed, it has been playedandante (around ♪112).[4] The first two strains have akey signature of C major, while the third and fourth are in F major.[1][5]
Similarities betweenLatin-American music and Joplin's more familiarragtime had been noted as early as 1897 byBen Harney.[2] Tangos were introduced to the United States as early as 1860 byLouis Moreau Gottschalk's "Souvenir de la Havane".[5] Perhaps the first example of tango composed by anAfrican American was Jess Pickett's rag-tango "The Dream", played at the1893 Chicago World's Fair.William H. Tyers' "Maori" was a famous African-American tango published a year before "Solace",[4][5] though the two pieces do not share resemblance.[5] In contrast, the first strain of "Solace" contains a theme closely resembling part of Will H. Etter's "Whoa! Maud", published four years before "Solace".[2]
"Solace" was registered for copyright on April 28, 1909,[2] when Joplin was in his early forties and recently married.[5][7]
Alongside "Gladiolus Rag", "Pine Apple Rag", "The Ragtime Dance" and "The Entertainer", "Solace" was one of Joplin's compositions which featured in the soundtrack of the 1973 filmThe Sting and helped to revive his music's popularity.[8]
Moreover, the piece is also featured prominently in the 2013 video gameBioshock Infinite, which is set in a floating city in the year 1912.
