This work was written during the period of Lilburn's tuition with Ralph Vaughan Williams. It immediately announces the presence of a distinct musical personality and reveals a quality characteristic of the mature composer: his very sharply realised visual sense. The sullen chords and ensuing flow of the opening paragraphs, for example, evoke a long line, like a wave gathering and breaking. This is almost a barren severity, like the rocky New Zealand coast the music obviously celebrates. Eden-like joys engage us in the second movement, where a twisting stream of semiquavers alternates with an almost mazurka-style dance in dark earthen colours. Lilburn trusts and celebrates his senses, and inextricably links his experiences to the natural world he loves. The finale serves as a hymn to the power of the sea, rivers, plains and mountains that bring renewal and hope.