Glass writes, "My plan has been for the symphony to represent a broad spectrum of many of the world's great 'wisdom' traditions", synthesizing "a vocal text that begins before the world's creation, passes through earthly life and paradise, and closes with a future dedication".
Glass escribe, "O meu plan para a sinfonía era que representase un amplo espectro de moitas das grandes tradicións da 'sabedoría' do mundo", sintetizando "un texto vocal que comeza antes da creación do mundo, pasa pola vida terreal e o paraíso, e remata cunha futura dedicación".