At a walking tempo, a doleful cello plays a four-note sequence through the heartfelt support of a violin section. The strings fade to an elegant and melancholy piano solo, then return in full. The second movement, more cheerful, features the piano playing brightly until it segues to the hopeful notes of strings and brass. A choir joins for the third movement, singing whole note chords under the ballad of uilleann pipes. The movement builds to full ensemble and plays a majestic triumph, then ends with a bittersweet tune on piano—a false ending followed by a coda of dark baritone voices and low brass.
