Paean: "earth's crammed with heaven"

"No lily-muffled hum of a summer-bee,
But finds some coupling with the spinning stars;
No pebble at your foot, but proves a sphere;
No chaffinch, but implies the cherubim;
And (glancing on my own thin, veinèd wrist),
In such a little tremor of the blood
The whole strong glamour of a vehement soul
Doth utter itself distinct.  Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afire with God."

This work is inspired by a line from Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Aurora Leigh.  The poem reveals Barrett Browning's belief in the immanence of God in even the smallest parts of His creation, and of the abundance of heavenly things in the natural world.  I present the line of poetry within the context of a paean or hymn of praise, seeking to explore the connection between Barrett Browning's intense religious fervor and the more pantheistic visions of Mahler's Fourth Symphony, with which this work was first performed.  To this end my composition assigns clearly differentiated musical material to 'earth' and 'heaven', but explores the connections between the two, demonstrating that ultimately they are both woven from the same musical fabric.  The bright sustained harmony and lyrical melody at the beginning and end of the work reflect Barrett Browning's quietly restrained joy in her belief of God's all-encompassing presence.