A “dark horse” in the first volume of Ragtime Wizardry is the second-to-last selection, Bryan Wright’s Thompson Falls Rag. Arpeggios—many with double notes—abound in this rollicking, tricky-to-play, fun pianistic showpiece. My favorite strain is the minor-key C section, featuring meter changes and extreme dynamic shifts. The piece’s frenetic agitation is briefly interrupted by the beginning of the B section, marked “sweetly.”
The score for Thompson Falls Rag is exceptionally clean, a work of art in itself. CDs and sheet music folios for both volumes of the Ragtime Wizardry project can be purchased at rivermontrecords.com (BSW-2228 and BSW-2247).
