Ataraxia - Shades of Living Light (2021) Hi-Res

"The brightness that I see is not spatial, yet is far, far more lucent than a cloud that envelops the sun. I cannot contemplate height or length or breadth in it; and I call it “the shadow of the Living Light." And as sun, moon and stars appear mirrored in water, so Scriptures, discourses, virtues, and some works of men take form for me and are reflected, radiant in this brightness."

— Hildegard von Bingen in a letter to Guibert, translation adapted from Peter Dronke.

Shades of Living Light is an orchestrated, conceptual, gapless piano album borne out of the desire to both celebrate and explore the process of becoming. In creating these compositions, I drew from the emotional experience of realizing a sudden shift in consciousness: viewing some immutable reality with a new lens. Standing in the same spot with someone you love year after year. Interpreting the lyrics to a song you love differently after an immensely kairotic moment. Hearing a younger version of yourself play the notes of a song your mother wrote years before you were born on a set of long-forgotten cassette tapes.

All of these experiences share similar colors of nostalgia, melancholy, the comfort and discomfort of unanswered questions, and the quiet, unmistakable, beautiful fear of all that is yet to come.

Emmy Pehrson is a pianist, composer, producer, and English educator living in a chilly corner of the Pacific Northwest.

(Full album purchase contains 20 page digital booklet with companion poems, digital collages, graphic art, and other extra content to enhance and deepen the album listening experience.)