Divine Madness:
The Oratorio
Definition:
Unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits.
The Divine Madness Oratorio, composed by Daniel Asia and based on the eponymous poetry book written by Paul Pines, is a testament to madness as a force which drives men to be creators. Such men lived on the razor's edge and pushed the boundaries of their minds, often self-destructing into the abyss of history. With an intense blend of classical, jazz, and avant-garde influences, Divine Madness is a demonstration of the chaos which gives birth to human innovation and creativity. Pine’s poems are expressions of this madness, as found in the figures around whom they are woven. These include the great American prophet of democracy Tom Paine, as well as Van Gogh, Einstein, Heisenberg, John Winthrop, Leonard Bernstein, Telemachus, Columbus, among many others.
With the Declaration of Independence turning 250 years old in 2026, this piece celebrates the revolutionary spirit of America and human kind.
“… if any man come to the gates of poetry without the madness of the muses, convinced that skill alone will make him a good poet, then shall he and his works of sanity be brought to naught by the poetry of madness.”
-Plato-
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