I wrote this piece because I wanted to compose a piece based on a narrative poem where the music stayed faithful to the structure and pace of the text on which it was based. I also had no experience with writing orchestral music at this time, and wanted to explore orchestral colours and the text presented plenty of scope for painting different moods in orchestral colours.

I was, at the time of composing the piece, living in West Kensington and the Kensington Philharmonic Orchestra were my local amateur orchestra rehearsing close to my home. I posted the score to their conductor (unsolicited), who agreed to perform the piece in their next concert at the Chelsea Old Town Hall.

The piece can be performed in a version with a speaker but on the occasion of the first performance it was presented without.

There is so sound recording of this work.