Stock: 
Format: 
Release Date: 15-08-2001
Label: Multi Mediaquest
Catalog Number: AW008
Barcode: 9781903773086
Musical Style: Books & Music
Track Listing:
| Disc 1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Realm of the Ring Lords [10:28]  | 6 | Excalibur - Before The Battle [04:34] |
| 2 | Shining Ones - Heaven Came to Earth [04:26] | 7 | Spirit of the Wise Ones - Land of Elphame [03:08] |
| 3 | Ring of the Dwarf Lords [03:38] | 8 | Lily and the Rose - Grail of the World [04:14] |
| 4 | Tombs of the Ring Lords - Ring Dance [04:34] | 9 | Faerie Queen - Elizabeth 1 of England's Conflict with the Church [02:37] |
| 5 | Mélusine - Mermaid and the Fountain [03:23] | 10 | Beyond the Portal of the Twilight World [15:38] |
Description:
The Ring Quest, represented by the three tiers of conflict between the Gods of Heaven and the earthly realm of mankind peopled by the races who inhabit above and below the ground, is a favourite Holy Grail theme with many writers, painters and composers throughout the centuries. My great, great grandfather's largest operatic work 'The Ring Cycle' was amongst the greatest of these to depict this conflict culminating with the enigmatic 'Twilight of the Gods'. With the music on this album, I have attempted to portray some of the mythical characters of our childhood - the wizards and druids, dwarves, elves and pixies, giants and fairy folk. Some claim that these are the authentic 'Shining Ones' and 'Ring Lords' who have appeared in Celtic history but were, like the female figures of the New Testament, redefined and refashioned when they came into conflict with the oppressive Church State. Using certain allegorical scales, harmonics and rhythmic devices, I have woven together these themes in order to illuminate our understanding of the real 'Lords of the Ring'! The album culminates with 'Beyond the Portal of the Twilight World', a dramatic interpretation of the treatment given to the Early Christians and, subsequently, by them to the, so called, heretics after they became a part of the Holy Roman Church State. The enlightened heroes of the 'Underground Stream' were brutally put down in Middle Ages throughout the horrendous period of the Inquisition by those in the Church who were responsible for creating fear and the Gothic illusion of witches, werewolves and vampires. The track ends, however, on a positive note of the 'Serenity of the Grail' after a reading by J.R.R.Tolkein of the The Mirror Of Galadriel'. The question for the future is whether we will choose one of enlightenment or continue the awful conflicts which set ourselves against our fellow brothers and sisters, whatever our differing faiths and beliefs, in the name of religious dogma. My faith is that the Grail Spirit will eventually prevail when we, at last, understand that oppression, battle and warfare is not the answer!
Biography:
The composer, artist, media consultant and music producer, Adrian Wagner is the great-great grandson of the famous nineteenth-century Grail opera composer, Richard Wagner, whose popular master works include Lohengrin, Parsifal, Tannhauser and The Ring of the Nibelung. Adrian was born in Kent, England, in 1952, and educated at the Choir School, Canterbury and Kings School, Canterbury. From the age of 15, Adrian also studied art and painting at the very well equipped art school at Kings as well as setting up the new photographic society. He studied musical composition and orchestration with his father, who was Director of the R.A.F. music division, and others such as Alan Ridout, Allan Wicks and Paul Patterson at the Royal Academy of Music in London. His professional career began at the age of twenty, subsequent to which he worked with rock musicians and bands including Steamhammer, The Other Side, The Coming, Arthur Brown, Robert Calvert of Hawkwind, Alexis Korner, etc., performing at the Royal Albert Hall and other notable venues. He also worked alongside many artists, poets and actors; putting on exhibitions, festivals and theatre events involving the, so called, underground arts and cultural movement of the early '70s. This was a remarkable period for Adrian and created the seeds for the projects he is so passionately involved with today. A term he coins for this 21st Century movement is 'New Renaissance'!
