Wadley Publications

This Brass Quintet won the  1996 Fine Arts Festival Music Award at Illinois State University , an international competition.  Songs of the Warrior , a Brass Quintet in three movements, utilizes thematic material derived from a twelve-tone row, presented in three contrasting styles.  While the piece stands on its own as absolute music following traditional formal structures, the titles of each movement do suggest a setting befitting the mood or atmosphere evoked by the music. I. The Cannon’s Mouth Following a slightly modified version of the classical sonata allegro form, this movement presents the thematic material in a freely atonal setting, Much use is made of variations of ancient two note war-horn calls, which would command soldiers to advance into direct combat with an enemy. II.  Amidst the Fallen The second movement evokes images of the aftermath of battle and the horrors left on the field of war.  Dynamic and rhythmic elements in the music prod...

“All those who wander” is a reference to a poem written by J.R.R. Tolkien as part of The Lord of the Rings.  That poem speaks of the character Aragorn, originally introduced to the reader as a ranger known only as “Strider.”  This piece is a musical re-telling of Aragorn’s wilderness travels through the White Mountains and the haunted Paths of the Dead, a journey which will ultimately reveal him to all as the “lost” (and returning) King of Gondor. This piece premiered on April 8, 1996 as part of Craig Wadley's Graduate Composition Recital under the title Aragorn: The King's Return.  It was revised and republished in the current version as All Those Who Wander in March of 2016. LISTEN on YouTube PURCHASE on SheetMusicPlus

The Ring-Bearer's Tale was written in 1996, well before Peter Jackson's film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s  The Lord of the Rings,  which is arguably the defining novel of the fantasy genre.  Many of the characters in this epic novel are larger-than-life:  Gandalf, Saruman, Aragorn, and others.  Interestingly enough, the true heroes of Tolkien’s tale are very simple folk:  hobbits.  Bilbo Baggins and his nephew Frodo are among the most beloved characters of the story, quite possibly because they are not so much different from you or me, yet they accomplish great and heroic deeds nonetheless.  This piece for unaccompanied flute focuses on five moments from  The Lord of the Rings  in which our down-to-earth heroes encounter situations both marvelous and terrible.  As the title suggests, the musical narrative follows the adventures of Frodo and his faithful companion, Samwise Gamgee (who also bore the One Ring for a time). I. Rive...