The following synoptic outline provides a brief indication of the individual identity of each number. As an integral part of this process, close analytical attention will be given to certain details which emerge through the consideration of the large-scale harmonic character of each number, with specific intervallic relationships, principally the minor third and perfect fourth/fifth, providing a point of recurring reference for the analysis. The focus on these selected factors is based on the importance attached to them by Tippett himself, the specific intervals of the minor third and fifth being extracted from the context of the spirituals to construct the main source of the attempted unification of the diverse musical materials. In chapter 5 the accumulation of these details will be viewed through a wider perspective which will take as its starting point Tippett's own comments.

Part I

Part I consists of eight distinct and clearly demarcated numbers with an interludium providing a point of connection between the second and third. Each number features its own unique texture as well as harmonic identity, often standing in a somewhat disjunct relationship to its surrounding contexts.

1. Chorus

The initial orchestral texture reflects the extra-musical image of descent, with the chromatically descending bass line moving from the opening C# to a point of arrival on E in bar 0: 6. This motion is covered by the E minor sonority in the trombone parts, which then initiates its own descending motion, arriving on the dyad formed between C and E in bar 0: 5.