Instrumentation: Clarinet in B flat Violin Viola Violoncello Piano Performers: David Rowden | Clarinet Peter Clark | Violin Molly Cob | Viola Paul Stender | Cello Vache Jambazian | Piano Performed Live at the Salon, Melbourne Recital Centre - November 8. Notes: St. Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022), a mystic and theologian of the 11th century, stands as one of the few Eastern Orthodox saints to write extensively about his direct experience of God. His collection of hymns, only recently translated into English, offers profound insight into the traditional and mystical understanding of God's immanent presence with humanity, contrasting with His unknowable transcendent essence. In Orthodox theology, this duality is understood through the concept of God's "energies"—His active presence in the world, distinct from His inaccessible essence. In his 38th hymn, St. Symeon uses the metaphor of fire engulfing grass to explore this profound mystery. He asks, "How can I, all but grass, dare to touch the fire?"—expressing the awe and fear of the Divine’s immense power and holiness, which by His nature should consume the fragile human soul, yet paradoxically, reaches out in love and communion. This hymn captures the mystery the Church has contemplated for millennia: how God, in His glory, chooses to enter into a loving relationship with creation. This work takes the form of St. Symeon’s hymn as its foundation, shaping harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and formal elements around the structure of the text. The instruments embody the hymn’s various expressions, exploring themes such as humanity's search for purpose, depictions of the Divine, and the barriers that separate humanity from the Divine. Ultimately, the work reflects how humanity can transcend these barriers to experience true communion with God. Through music, the mystery of divine interaction—both consuming and life-giving—is explored, inviting listeners to engage with the mystical relationship St. Symeon so vividly describes.