Program Notes - Fire of the Living God

The Fire of the Living God is the last movement from "... and they gathered on Mount Carmel," a surround-sound musical depiction of the great confrontation between the Old Testament prophet Elijah and the false prophets of Baal recorded in I Kings 18.   The brass are split into two antiphonal choirs on either side of the audience and other performers are behind the audience.  The work was begun in March 1994 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, while the composer was an artist-in-residence at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, and was completed in Knoxville, Tennessee, the following March. The work received its premiere in 1995 by the University of Kentucky Wind Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Richard Clary and has been recorded by the Valparaiso University Chamber Concert Band under the direction of Dr. Jeffrey Scott Doebler.

After the day-long, fruitless incantantations and self-mutilation of the propherts of Baal, a nervous tension fills the air as all await the outcome of Elijah's short, simple prayer. A blazing light appears in the sky, speeding earthward; intense fire falls on the altar, consuming not only the sacrifice, but the very stones of the altar itself. The people fall on their faces in awe of the true God, and the false prophets are slain for their wickedness. Contrast of texture is the predominant parameter in this final movement. Massive blocks of sound, some static and others rhythmically active, are juxtaposed against each other. In the closing seconds of the piece, the two brass choirs join forces to play the last phrase of Martin Luther's Ein Feste Berg (A Mighty Fortress), which is quoted as a benediction to Elijah's deliverance and vindication as he stands alone against a host of 450 adversaries.