A meditative but anxious beginning leads into a nervous middle section followed by a developped cadence for the violinist: actually a complex 3 part fugue based on the main theme. The conclusion of the work culminates on a climax which afterwards calms down and ends in an ambiguous and crepuscular atmosphere. Duration ca. 11'
Most motives of the piece are exposed in the solo violin introduction (bars 2 - 16):
- Bars 2 - 3: the two notes E and F (dissonant interval of second, seventh or ninth).
- Bar 4: ornamentation motive on E and F.
- Bars 5 - 8: first main theme of the work [1].
- Bars 8 - 10: 'transition' motive.
- Bars 11 - 13: second main theme [2].
- Bars 14 - 15: ascending fourth motive.
- Bars 16 - 17: sort of B-A-C-H motive, but actually a quote of Ralph Vaughan Williams' 4th symphony:
- Bars 21 - 22: seventh and ninth motive on E and F.
- Letter B, bar 25, secondary choral-like theme (strings and muted horns). This will be heard later at climax of the work (Letter O, bar 225).
Progression:
- Letter C: bar 31, theme [2].
- Letter D: bar 35, theme [2].
- Bar 37, Vaughan Williams' theme (violin).
Central part:
- Letter G: after a long progression based on already known figures, comes the central part of the piece (animato 12/8) build on a new syncopated motive.
- Bars 64 - 66: ascending fourth motive.
- Bar 71: a new secondary motive played by the horn.
- Bar 72: the solo violin answer.
- Bar 76: 'transition' motive (oboes, solo violin).
- Bars 77 - 81: the fourth (rhythmically augmented) + bars 79 - 80, Vaughan Williams' "B-A-C-H" theme.
- Letter H, bar 82: tempo moderato based on the syncopated motive.
- Letter I, bar 89: tempo animato, a nervous and short fugato (woodwinds) based on ascending and descending fourth intervals already heard a short time before (bar 79, solo violin).
- Bar 95: beginning of a long progression based on Vaughan Williams' theme rhythmically diminished.
- Bar 99: solo violin, theme [1] (trill).
- Bar 100: solo violin (pizz.) secondary animato motif
- Bars 101 - 102: solo violin, syncopated motive.
- Bars 104 - 105: solo violin, ascending fourth motive.
- Bars 106 - 107: solo violin + piccolo theme [1] (trill).
- Bars 113 - 119: rhythmical climax! (saturation)
- Letter K, bar 120: presto subito, acceleration based on fourth ascending intervals and syncopated motives. Brutal and bawling B flat major chord!
Cadenza (solo violin):
- Letter L, bar 137: long and developing fugue mainly based on theme [1].
- Letter N, bar 217: culmination.
- Bars 217 - 224: orchestral transition based on the second theme [2].
- Bars 225 - 230: 'choral-like' theme, climax (bar 230).
Crepuscular epilogue:
- Bars 232 - 237: tranquillo, theme [1].
- Letter Q, bar 238: adagio. Long and descending melody on theme [1] (strings: fff -> ppp).
- Letter R, bar 243: lento. reminiscence of the beginning (bars 14 - 16).
- Bars 245 - 246: pizzicati played by celli and double basses on the notes E and F (dissonant second).
- Bar 247: 'transition' theme.
- Letter S, bar 248: last ascension (fourth intervals, strings).
- Bars 251 - 252: the solo violin plays the theme [1] in augmentation.