Composer:	S. Joplin	Suppliers:
Editor:	Geoff Grainger	Sextet	A/T/T/B/B/GB(B)
Publisher:	Ditty Box Enterprises	Publication:	DBE 003

Add to cart:

Purchasing information Notice for leaders/bass players
Length: approx. 5½ mins., sounds best when first tenor and first bass are doubled.
Bethena is not only a very charming piece but was probably the first waltz written in the ragtime idiom. As supposed by Edward A. Berlin, the reason for its haunting melancholy is due to the death of his young wife, Freddie Alexander of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1904 only two months after their marriage. Bethena was Joplin's first work after her death and he dedicated the waltz to Mr & Mrs Dan Davenport of St Louis, Missouri, both of whom Berlin believed helped Joplin through this tragic period. Berlin also speculates that the attractive young lady shown on the cover of the original sheet music may be Freddie and that the name Bethena was a nickname.
Bethena was published by Bahnsen Music Co., St. Louis, Missouri, USA.