MOVEMENT II – FROM MUSIC HEARD IN A DREAM: "I emerged from walking through deep, though not harsh, woods to find myself at the edge of a lush, green, serene meadow. I felt great peace and tranquility. The floor of the meadow was dense with flowers that resembled oversized tulips, but with tops like lids, as in the Venus Flycatcher. The plants were of varying size, and as I walked into the meadow and approached each flower, it opened its lid, revealing a bowl of clear liquid inside. In the liquid was a fish, which came to the surface, emerged, and sang in a beautiful, clear, yet deeply moving voice of love. Each fish sang the same song: a rising major second interval on the syllable "Ah." Since each fish was a different size, I was surrounded by dozens of differently pitched rising major second intervals. Each flower/fish opened and sang in response to my approaching presence; the sound and feeling were incredible.
This fish motive found its way into the work I was composing at the time, The Avatar, but the whole musical experience of the dream was filed away for later. (I was so intrigued by both the symbolism of the fish and by the use of this musical interval in prior compositions that I undertook informal research in some depth.)"
MORE ABOUT INTO THE LIGHT": "In June 1991 I began writing Into the Light, beginning with the second movement, at a convent/retirement home for nuns in Owensboro, Kentucky, where I was teaching at a music camp for children. Only a few weeks earlier, my then brother-in-law, J. P. Kunz, had been diagnosed – out of the blue, without warning or symptoms – with a tumor in his abdomen. He was only 32, a fine architect, with a loving wife and three small children. I knew when I went to teach at the camp that he had only a short time to live, and by July 4 he was dead. The contrast of the happy children, beautiful countryside and peaceful surroundings, where many of the old nuns knew they would die, effected an inner reexamination and reflection on my part.
Teaching at the camp was non-stop, so I got little composing done, but when I returned home I finished the second movement in a little less than two weeks. The first movement took about six weeks to write. I was looking for balance and contrast for the second, and by that time I had my title, which led me a bit. I have left open the precise meaning of the title Into the Light, but I had in mind several possible interpretations or references, including, but not limited to, the following: (a) the after-death experience (NDE) so often spoken of recently, (b) a metaphor for enlightenment, understanding, or love, (c) the concept of God, or things or beings associated with God."
– Steve Rouse