Lento is monolithic; major and minor triads generate a sequence of processionals. The tempo is more or less constant. It uses the same orchestral forces as Wagner's prelude to Parsifal though deployment is radically different. Most of Lento is scored for strings only. A central episode turns the spotlight on the trombones and the bassoons. Otherwise woodwind brass and timpani serve primarily to lend weight to restatements of the two principal subjects.
