Timothy Lee Miller

Bass Clarinet, Violin, Cello, Guitar, Piano, and Two Percussion

Composer's Note:

Latin for "divine inspiration," Divinitus is an exploration of spiritual awareness, which led me to places during the writing process that I did not expect. Initially, it was my intention to write about the story of the conversion of the Apostle Paul, which tells of an event that occurred along the road to Damascus in the life of Saul, a Roman citizen in approximately 33AD. However, as the writing began, I was compelled to pursue another direction, perhaps of divine inspiration (thus the name), and what sprang to life was a very personal telling of my own spirituality. Inspired by Charles Ives fourth symphony, much of the work was composed using polytonality to create a feeling of complexity and expansiveness as is consistent with the human perception of God and the Heavens. It is also representative of the multitude of emotions that the subject of spirituality can evoke. Much of the thematic material comes from Judeo-Christian influences, such as traditional hymns. The opening section is layered with four traditional hymns -- Blessed Be The Name, Eternal Father Strong to Save, On Jordan's Stormy Banks and Fairest Lord Jesus. As the piece transitions into the second section the violin plays an excerpt of How Great Thou Art. The second section explores ideas laced with tonalities that are vaguely evolved from a Phrygian-dominant scale, from which much of the music of ancient Israel and the Middle East are derived. The third section travels back through a polytonal web of notes that are somewhat serialized, only in that they are in a prescribed order based on a pitch set that I created. It was also originally loosely serialized rhythmically speaking; however, as the writing progressed, it became necessary to create a more cohesive plan in order to ensure the performance did not suffer. Therefore I paid more attention to the ensemble of notes rather than just the line itself. The final section is more prayerful and reflective and represents a respect for the Divine in all things. A final hymn -- Holy, Holy, Holy -- can be heard in the piano, while the rest of the ensemble develop previous ideas in a final play of polytonality, finally relenting to a more penitent ending.