The first movement concentrates on texture as the music creeps out of the depths of the instruments to the bright upper registers; after a partial return to the manner of the opening as if to gather up more energy, the movement explodes in violent rhythms and then subsides. The music of the second movement evokes a rhythmic folk-like dance as the material is passed around amongst the five players so that they constantly change partners. The callers refrain, which brings them all together intermittently, gets shorter and more shrill as the movement proceeds.
