Earliest Located Witmark Arrangements
Not counting O'Hare's band and orchestra scores of his own compositions such as Levee Revels, his earliest located published orchestration is of Howard Whitney's Frog Puddles.
O'Hare would go on to arrange several other Whitney pieces for band and/or orchestra such as I Wants a Ping Pong Man (1902), A Lucky Duck (1903), Hop Scotch and Little Shoes (1904), The Mouse and the Clock (1906), and Jolly Clowns (1908).
J. A. Silberberg's Lumb'rin' Luke, copyrighted on October 18, 1901, appears to be O'Hare's earliest cakewalk orchestration.
O'Hare would arrange many other popular instrumental pieces, earning a reputation for craftsmanship that has long outlived him. On this page, you will find examples of his work in this area, beginning with ragtime violinist David Reffkin's insights into O'Hare's work on three representative orchestrations.
Reffkin, who shared his comments via email, directs the San Francisco-based American Ragtime Ensemble. |
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David Reffkin's Comments on Selected Orchestrations
R. Anthony Zita's Slavery Days (Witmark 1906)
Ampico roll #53864; source: IAMMP
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According to David Reffkin, O'Hare's orchestration of Zita's lightly syncopated Slavery Days illustrates the orchestrator's professionalism and sensitivity to the variety of ensembles playing the piece. Although Zita quotes Stephen Foster's Massa's in the Cold, Cold Ground, Reffkin explains that O'Hare reveals sophistication absent in early minstrel shows and stock arrangements. O'Hare calls on more instruments than customary. For example, he signals flute to change to piccolo, drummers to change from playing on the drum's hoop to sand paper as strain A repeats, and dance orchestras to play the melody with bells and to tremolo on each note to sustain it, but concert bands to limit the bells or strike each note only once.
Approximately 1971, the Dawn of the Century Ragtime Orchestra, which grew out of California's Maple Leaf Club, recorded O'Hare's orchestration of Slavery Days on its first LP.
Approximately 1971, the Dawn of the Century Ragtime Orchestra, which grew out of California's Maple Leaf Club, recorded O'Hare's orchestration of Slavery Days on its first LP.
Henry Lodge's Red Pepper (Witmark, 1911)
Reffkin again comments on O'Hare's use of a variety of timbres in his orchestration of this Henry Lodge's Red Pepper. For instance, he assigns sections of the melody to viola and bass. He uses numerous trombone slurs--a device frequently used by the better composers of band ragtime--and string glissandos throughout. These slides from one note to another command listeners' attention. In the percussion section, O'Hare calls for a xylophone as well as some particularly unusual surprises--a large oriental gong and a bull's horn or waldteufel.
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Listen to Fred Van Eps play O'Hare's banjo arrangement of Red Pepper
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Charley Straight's Humpty Dumpty (Witmark, 1914)
O'Hare arranged Humpty Dumpty for band and orchestra. According to Reffkin, O'Hare's orchestration contains several interesting features. "The first thing to notice," Reffkin suggests, "is the credit for O'Hare--'Orchestration by'--a more sophisticated term than the usual 'arranged by.'" O'Hare employs many articulation marks for winds as well as special cello effects, including harmonics, pizzicato, and pizzicato with the thumb. The latter effect, according to Reffkin, "creates a more rolling guitar-like texture."
Reffkin's Overall Evaluation
Reffkin begins his overall evaluation of O'Hare as orchestrator:
In all three examples, and in other arrangements of his, O'Hare tended to use more detailed articulation marks and notations than are found in standard orchestral repertoire publications. The musicians would have appreciated this and played more to the specific instructions, causing the arrangement to have a more distinctive sound and the orchestra to have a more unified sound. All three of these example pieces were published in expanded instrumentation (not always the case in publications) including oboe, bassoon, and French horns. All call for divided first violin section, rather than the typical one player or unison section.
Reffkin adds that O'Hare commonly used counterpoint as he alternated cello and trombone in the counter melody "instead of merely doubling." Because counterpoint did not exist in the original rag, arrangers needed to add it. "There were mediocre and excellent counterpoint writers," Reffkin concludes; "O'Hare was of the latter."
Miscellaneous Arrangements
Perhaps as a result of O'Hare's Levee Revels, Plantation Pastimes, and Cottonfield Capers, Witmark assigned occasional projects that would have appealed to those who loved popular African American-themed music, including cakewalks and rags. However, O'Hare's overall orchestra and band arrangements of popular music ran the gamut of popular instrumental styles.
The Town Pump (Witmark, 1902)
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Gloomy Gus (Witmark, 1902)
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Laughing Ben (Witmark, 1902)
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Uncle Josh in Town (Witmark, 1903)
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Ethiopia (Witmark, 1903)
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Sakes Alive (Witmark, 1903)Listen to Sakes Alive
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At the Post (Witmark, 1903
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Lucky Duck (Witmark, 1903)
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Creepy Creeps (Witmark, 1903)
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In a Pagoda (Witmark, 1904)
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Listen to a digital version of Lickity-Split
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Recorded on Edison Gold Moulded Record # 13995 but not found
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Araby (Witmark, 1905)
The Mouse and the Clock (Witmark, 1905, band; 1906, orch.)
Lords and Ladies (Witmark, 1906)
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Dew Drops (Witmark, 1907) |
Old Daddy Peg Leg (Witmark, 1907-1908)
Background image, top of page: Cover detail from The Story of the House of Witmark: From Ragtime to Swingtime