The first Wandelweiser release by composer Paul Beaudoin, bright shining light, is now available as a digital album download at Bandcamp. Consisting of the composer’s complete organ works to 2025, the five tracks on this album are performed by Carson Cooman, organist at Memorial Church, Harvard University.

Paul Beaudoin is a composer, educator and interdisciplinary artist, born in Hialeah, Florida. He studied at the New England Conservatory of Music and received a PhD in Music Theory from Brandeis University. His music has been performed by the Lydian String Quartet, the Buffalo Quartet and as part of the Piano Spheres series in Los Angeles. In 2015 Paul was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship that brought him to Estonia where he continues to compose and write.

Paul Beaudoin writes about bright shining light: “This is not a typical organ recital album. The music moves between fragile resonance, sustained intensity, harmonic pressure, brightness, stillness, and force.” bright shining light is an hour of inspiring organ music that employs all the power of that instrument to draw the listener into a state of contemplation and reflection.

The title track of the album opens with a deep, full chord that builds upwards from the lowest registers of the pipe organ. This is a powerful, weighty sound much like the initial sensation of seeing a bright shining light. The notes are all sustained tones, with no perceptible rhythm or beat. The tones in the chord are changing pitch at what seems a glacial pace, but the sound is never static. The chord crowds itself together, suggesting the image of a great cathedral nave reaching ever upwards. As the piece proceeds, higher tones are heard above the bass register, thinning out the sound. The overall feeling becomes more reserved and somber as the piece winds down to its conclusion.

The liner notes state that “bright shining light was composed in memory of Alexei Navalny and all those who fight oppression.” There is a definite sense of quiet strength and unyielding resistance here, aided by the perceptive playing of Carson Cooman. The power and intensity of the pipe organ is fully exploited, even without the presence of keyboard pyrotechnics. bright shining light presents a rewarding sonic experience that is both artistically inspiring and resolutely defiant in its realization.

et caecitas eorum lacrimas eis efficiet, the second track, translates as “and their blindness shall make them weep.” The composer writes that the piece “…captures the tension between certainty and doubt, inviting listeners to consider the impact of their convictions.” This track continues to exploit the full resources of the organ, opening with a bold, sustained tone in the middle register that is soon joined by more notes to form a chord of intensity and power. These pitches are sustained and vary only slightly once established. At 1:00, a bass pedal tone is added, providing a solid foundation. The texture of the chords thin and thicken as the piece proceeds, reflecting certainty replaced by doubt. At times, the feeling is majestic but without the need for overwhelming the listener with raw power. A high flute tone quietly hangs in the air at the finish accompanied by a soft bass tone that provides a soft landing for this impressive piece.

The longest track of the album, at over 23 minutes, is notes of union and longing. This opens with a very low sustained tone, soon joined by a new notes in the middle register. More notes follow to form a lovely chord whose pitches slowly change to create a series of warm and welcoming colors. The tempo is unhurried and the tones are without beat or pulse. At 2:40 some dissonance creeps in as the texture above thins and the low tone in the bass drops out adding an anxious feel. After a short pause, a new chord is formed in the middle to upper registers. The addition of a strong bass tone adds a warm foundation that suggests union after longing. These feelings of separation and union flow in and out as the dissonance in the chords come and go. The chord textures change with and without the bass, while the higher registers dominate to yield a variety of emotional colors. The coming and going of the strong bass tone always decisively shifts the mood to one of warmth and welcoming. When slightly dissonant, the tones in the higher register effectively suggest alienation and longing.

Paul Beaudoin writes that “In this piece, my intention was to convey the emotions of union and longing through a delicate interplay of voice-leading and harmony, creating a space for introspection.” The tempo throughout the piece is always slow and deliberate, producing a sense of dignity and gravitas. A very high sustained tone at 14:45 suggests completion, even as the other notes in the chord are searching for resolution. A sense of the familiar is heard in the transparency and consonance of the upper register chords as the piece glides to a peaceful finish. notes of union and longing is a graceful, contemplative piece that gently invites the listener into quiet reflection.

stillness emerging, track 4, is written for organ and fixed electronic media. The liner notes explain that “…the fixed electronic soundfield serves as a sonic canvas, providing a rich and immersive backdrop against which the organist paints with musical phrases.” This opens with a soft, low rumbling followed by higher tones that soon join in. As in the rest of the album, these are dense chords that are comprised of sustained tones that slowly change in pitch. The higher tones are most prominent, but very soft with a hospitable feel. Bass pedal tones continue to rumble below, but are almost inaudible.

There is a mystical feeling to all of this. As the piece continues, the dynamics in upper notes seem to be slowly increasing, as if emerging. The electronic sounds and the organ blend seamlessly; it is hard to hear where one leaves off or the other begins. A whoosh of wind and a low, recurring scratching in the bass add to the intrigue. The entire piece is quietly serene and the dynamic contrasts are achieved by smooth variations in the texture. stillness emerging ends as it began – quietly.

The final track of the album is grace abounding and this opens with a soft pedal tone in the bass. Airy flute tones are heard above in a simple melody and the feeling is both meditative and comforting. Paul Beaudoin writes that “grace abounding explores the concept of grace not as a static, singular experience but as an ever-present force that reaches beyond us, continually flowing and overflowing.” Accordingly, the pedal tone in the bass weaves in and out of the texture with the melody in the upper registers always in the foreground. A sustained, higher pitch often soars above, brightly underlining the melody. At the finish, a resolving chord is heard in the lower registers. grace abounding artfully portrays a process that is constantly at work in our lives, despite our human failings.

bright shining light invokes all the majesty of a large pipe organ but expresses that power in harmonic nuance and textural subtlety, drawing the listener into deep reflection as well as into an emotional reaction. Those who appreciate the grand sounds of the cathedral organ will not be disappointed, but should be prepared to find themselves thinking meditatively about this music as well as experiencing its exhilaration.

bright shining light is available for digital download at Bandcamp.