Tennyson’s poem opens with rather conventional imagery (crashing sea, coldness, grayness). So, too, the music starts with a texture that mimics the endless crashing waves—a cascade of falling voices resolving suspensions only to create new ones: “break, break, break, …” The main narrative is then taken up by the choir in a style that is thick with suspensions that reflect the narrator’s yearning…

“At every moment there is a potent direction, a flow that informs the listener that something interesting is happening now…”
—Dr. Gary D. Cannon, director Emerald Ensemble & Cascadian Chorale
Thank you for stopping by!
Enjoy your time exploring my music and looking through my scores. Please reach out if you have any questions or if you would like to work together on a project!
If you are interested in talking, we can meet one-on-one over Zoom! Just make a reservation on my Calendly page.
Guest on “Moveable Do” Podcast!
Listen here:
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The Movable Do podcast (October 27, 2020) “Composer and conductor Steve Danielson interviews other living composers to learn about their journeys, successes, and learning experiences.
“This week, Hawaii-based composer Chris Fraley discusses how his background as a math and science wiz influences his love for counterpoint. Featured in this episode: Eire’s Call, The Plains, Hine Ma Tov, and the premiere of the recording of A Light Exists In Spring. Plus, experimentations with Just Intonation.”
For more information about any of the featured pieces, click below:
- Eire’s Call (Tone Poem No. 3)
- The Plains (SATB)
- Hine ma tov (SATB, SATB & Piano, SAA & Piano)
- A Light exists in Spring (SATB)
Pitch Matters
Learn how music works, focusing on an experiential approach to how sounds combine. Visit PitchMatters.com and learn why pitch matters!
A Random Sampler
Paintings of Song (Recording)
Recorded live at Fraley’s 2003 recital, Paintings of Song, is an idea born of the desire to paint images with music, intermixing art song with instrumental music, using the unique expressiveness of each to enhance the other. Over 50 minutes of music featuring Kevin Krentz (cello), Kwan Bin Park (violin), Karen Janes (string bass), Stuart Lutzenhiser (tenor), and others. Track List includes: the “Love Quartet” (String Quartet No. 2), the Fish Trio (Piano Trio No. 1), Eire’s Call (Tone Poem No. 3), Piano Preludes No. 1 and No. 4, The Crossing, Only You, Perceptions, A Thought for Your Penny.
CD*More Music to Follow…
I don’t yet have pages created for all of my pieces, so, this list is somewhat incomplete. For a nearly complete list of compositions, visit Catalog Index (also found in the Catalog menu).
a cappella, Cello, Christmas, Duet, Flute, Piano, Sacred, SATB, Song, String Quartet, Tone Poem, Violin, VocalMissa Cantus (Missa Brevis No. 3)
A Third Mass Setting I did not intend to write a third mass—at least not yet! But upon finishing the Kyrie from Missa Dramatica, another Kyrie just poured out of me. Thus, Missa Cantus was born. The name reflects both the shorter, song-like structure employed in each movement as well as the more overt use […]
a cappella, Latin, Mass, Sacred, SATB