I. Beneath the Mongolian desert "The path, carved into the rock, plunged into the bowels of the earth. Little by little the darkness gave way to a strange light. Then the entire subterranean city appeared, radiant and ancient: the mysterious kingdom of Agartha." A single lengthy and lyrical theme is heard throughout the movement.

It begins in the cello’s low register, with an undulating piano accompaniment, and continues to rise, becoming more and more radiant, until the appearance of the Ci...