Be Ignited

"Be Ignited" was composed in June, 2020, in response to life in the Pandemic that was ravaging the United States and other parts of the world at the time, along with the ongoing issues with gross violations of social justice, human dignity, and human life. The title, Be Ignited, is from the last line of a poem by Mary Oliver, “What I Have Learned So Far.” In it, she asks: “Can one be passionate about the just, the ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so...the gospel of light is the crossroads of—indolence, or action. Be ignited, or be gone.” That last line, “Be ignited, or be gone,” is so challenging, and felt appropriate to the time in which this music was composed. This work conveys a variety of emotional states and musical expressions, from agitated, (“Furioso”), to mysterious, to grief (“Gravé”). The writing of the music began with the extended melody in the “Grave” sections. That melody had a particular connection with grief. However, grief is not the only emotional response for many people, and certainly not for the composer during the Covid-19 crisis. Given the deaths of George Floyd and others, and the mass protests motivated by police brutality, more forceful and even angry music seemed appropriate. That is found in the “Furioso” sections. And, then, there is the uncertainty brought on by all the changes to life, work, and schooling during the pandemic, which is represented by the sul ponticello and pizzicato passages (the unusual tone quality and the plucked strings)