O Beauteous Heavenly Light, op. 34, no. 2 (1998)

Karl Henning (b. 1960) — O Beauteous Heavenly Light, op. 34, no. 2 (1998) for organ

The composer writes: “I drew up O Beauteous Heavenly Light as a freehand harmonic game. Spare harmonies casting sonic shadows into space. In writing it, I was thinking less in terms of ‘an organ piece,’ and more of reminiscence of walking into a quiet basilica, and as I accustom myself to the feeling of the place, realizing that the quiet is not a silence, and there is, not so much organ music, as a hint of organ music.”

American composer Karl Henning (b. 1960) was educated at the College of Wooster (B.Mus), University of Virginia (M.A.), and the University of Buffalo (Ph.D.). His teachers include Charles Wuorinen, Louis Andriessen, Jack Gallagher, Judith Shatin, and Walter Ross. After his doctoral work, Henning lived for four years in and near St. Petersburg, Russia. There he studied the canals, bridges, cathedrals, white nights, and starry winter skies of St. Petersburg. This was a period of informal arts study which he feels in many ways equal in importance to his years of formal training. His music has been played and sung on three continents (North America, Europe, and Australia). In addition to his compositional pursuits, he remains active as a clarinetist.

Published by Lux Nova Press (http://www.luxnova.com) in “Three Short Pieces for Organ” (LNP-0263)