Immediately, Ex.1 - Tovey's "human feminine element" - enters warm and serene in C major. The scoring, as often in the Fantastic Variations, is original and ingenious. The strings are divided in 14 parts, and the "feminine" melody is heard only on half the violas and half the 'cellos. A resonant pedal C, several octaves deep, is maintained by trilling strings and pianissimo timpani triplets, plus pizzicati in half the violins, violas and double-basses; slowly rising trills in solo flute, oboe and bassoon; and a high counterpoint that continually re-shapes motive 2a (see Ex.3).

The music returns to E major for a Con moto variation that augments the main motives of the "Thema" - figure a on horns and timpani, b expressively on woodwind and strings, and all with an undercurrent of slithery chromaticism Brian is reaching down into the essence of the "Old Rhyme", and beginning to tap its latent store of the macabre. Suddenly, Allegro molto, the chase is on! Flutes, muted trumpets and side drum hare off frantically in flickering semiquavers, pursued by an angrily buzzing tuba-and-bassoon line as sinister as it is ludicrous (Ex.4).

Quadruplet cross-rhythms in pizzicato strings complicate the texture, and then a sidedrum roll ushers in a new majestic Lento variation, where horns and trombone enunciate a threatening version of figure a against woodwind and trumpet flourishes (Ex.5).

Again, the scoring calls for comment: the violas and 'cellos are made to carry the uppermost melodic line, while the violins are kept below them until the episode is quite far advanced. Only then are they allowed to take over the "feminine" melody in full brilliance, carrying it high for its final appearance against rippling harp arpeggios. Development continues with mounting passion, metamorphosing the elements of Exx.1, 2 and the quintuplet turn.

The climax comes as the music momentarily touches Bb minor, in pealing quintuplet figuration on full woodwind against dramatic sostenuto emotion in full strings, with the entry of a brass-sad-timpani figure, derived from motive b, that establishes a new rhythm: . This rhythm is developed as the tonality swings back to, and closes grandly in, E major.

A blasting fff C on cuivre horns, underpinned by tapping sidedrum, abruptly switches the tonality to C major and sets us off on the second "chase" sequence, which begins apace in the strings (Ex. 7).

"Sibelian" echoes return in a blizzard of sextuplet semiquavers in divided strings - or rather, this must be a pre-echo, since it anticipates a passage in the as-yet unwritten Tapiola. The sextuplets only reinforce the impression of headlong flight. From here on, Brian maintains a desperate momentum while splitting up the orchestration in mosaic fashion, intercutting contrasting groups of instruments in a way he was to refine in many of his mature symphonies. The scoring is full of telling details, for instance the effective employment of trumpet trills and the bold use of the percussion generally, especially the glockenspiel.

Sounds of riotous glee enter the final moments of the chase (Ex. 9), and then a hushed staccato development of motive 2a suddenly sweeps us up to the moment of truth. "LaMuerte, Der Tod, Thanatos" glares at us with all the stagey power a pipe-organ can lend (Ex.10).

A short, shocked silence gives way to one of the pitches of the climactic chord - Bb, furthest from the work's home key of E -sounding softly on tremolo double-basses. Then the timpani quietly denies Bb's claims by sounding a repeated E, recalling us from the individual tragedy to its place in the general moral scheme of things The "Chorale Finale" which follows in E major is, as Tovey said, "unquestionably a Requiem for the Three, and for no others". Strings, woodwind and horns muse over a broad version of Ex. 2 in rich harmony, the organ quietly closing the phrases with ecclesiastical chords. The final Largamente bars take a last turn towards C major, treating "Did you ever see such a thing in your life?" to multiple canonic augmentation, before the organ's ultimate doleful entry and a rising orchestral flourish brings this cautionary tale to a close with two resounding triads of E major.