The three contrasting movements portray a wide range of moods, emotions and colourful sound worlds, with musical and technical challenges in equal measure, emphasising both the lyrical and virtuosic possibilities of the solo double bass.

The accompaniment is rhythmic and animated, creating an exciting and high-spirited backdrop which remains vital and vigorous to the end. The confident and impressive outer movements contrast music of a more relaxed and lyrical nature, allowing the soloist to portray melodies of a more sonorous and mellow character.

The piano accompaniment is available for both solo and orchestral tuning

I – EPIC – This movement features three contrasting themes – the first, which gives the movement its name, has a choral texture with an ostinato bass note on the note
E. Then comes the leggero, a livelier theme, rhythmically and harmonically active with fast scales and time signatures that change from 5/8 to 6/8, giving it a joyful, dance-like quality. These two themes give way to a third, slower, expressive theme. Short bridges or links between themes, a solo cadenza, then the initial theme and the coda appear, with phrases from the leggero.