The Vision of St. Augustine, in addition to the baritone soloists and SATB chorus, calls for a full orchestra expanded with celeste, piano, harp, and an abundance of percussion instruments. Commissioned by the BBC, it was premiered in January 9, 1965 with Tippett conducting, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as soloist. The centerpiece of the Vision of St. Augustine is his vision of eternity. Experiencing a vision is rare, and attempting to describe it is even more so. Conveying the experience of another's vision is nearly impossible. Tippett admits at the close of the work that he has failed. "I count myself not to have apprehended." Yet he has taken an extraordinary journey beyond the finiteness of time.

Tippett became absorbed with Augustine's (354-430 A.D) Confessions during his education, particularly his account of the vision of eternity in Book IX, chapter 10. Tippett, long fascinated by the paradox of time, through his study of Judaeo-Christian concepts of time as linear and ancient oriental concepts of time as cyclical, used the vision of Augustine to explore the meaning of time. His view was that if one were to make a concentrated mental effort to experience past, present, and future as one, the end result would be ecstasy, timelessness, transcendence of the finite world, Augustine's vision—eternity. Augustine accepted the linear concept of time as finite, but perceived that time exists in the mind as past memories, present experiences, and future expectations. The task for the soul is to emerge from the forces of past, present, and future to the eternal presence of divinity. Tippett attempts this "reach to exceed humanity's grasp" with the baritone solo, the metaphor for the present that follows Augustine's account of the vision combined with the chorus, the symbol of the past and future with its commentary on Augustine's narrative. Out of these disparate and conflictive forces, transcendence erupts. Tippett shows us that with effort, humanity has the potential to reach transcendence through music.

Tippett avoided any reference to the tradition of the Music of the Spheres in the Vision of St. Augustine so as not espouse transcendence as attainable through manipulation of patterns and numerology. Instead he turned to the music of the angels, those messengers of God whose language discloses the music of transcendence, and consequently, the connection to the Divinity. Tippett's principal vocal technique is glossolalia, those vocalizations or excited repetitions of vowels to depict the character of angelic singing. Glossolalia, a term from the Greek, are the wordless sounds and shouts accompanying ecstasy. Glossolalia is most prevalent in the vision of eternity, particularly in extension of the final syllables of "alleluia." Unison singing beginning with the lowest male voices extending through the ranges of the highest female voices creating vast arches, using short note values and antiphonal singing complete the angelic vocalizations, and require virtuoso singing from the chorus.

Tippett's penchant for collage or mosaic is particularly evident in his orchestral writing. At times he uses ostinati in combinations, or sudden outbursts of sound interrupting mystic silence. At other moments the instrumentation is sparse, sometimes working against the vocal or choral lines, and then again supportive of the melodic lines. The first vision is depicted at the culmination of Part One. Tippett underscores the difference between the two visions by having the angels play in Part Two, the vision of eternity. Thus he can musically and dramatically distinguish between angels and God, and employ his complete resources for the vision of eternity.



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