Above delicate string tremolos from cellos and basses, the violas begin con sordino (subtly mixed with a little flute sound) twice with a short motif, to which the solo violin responds both times on the G string with an extension. The oboe joins in with a short, bow-like motif, followed by a soft solo horn. Together, they create a calm (tranquillo!), wistful soundscape. Within it, the solo violin begins its musical narrative, playing wide arcs with rhapsodic figures. 

A flute, then the orchestra violins fill the sound with an additional motif until the solo violin itself reaches a rhapsodic climax on high G sharp, and after a second attempt on high G, then falls two octaves to end on the low G of its G string.
 
An orchestral interlude with harp sounds follows, rising wistfully, imitating the rhapsodic lyrical violin figures and intensifying them into an intoxicating orchestral passage. 

The solo violin resumes its wide, bow-like rhapsodic figures, but then dramatizes the sound with rhythmic, forceful double stops in seconds, to which the cellos respond with upward runs, bringing movement to the music. The violin doubles with its rhythmic seconds, the cellos with their runs, until the whole orchestra erupts in an upward run in fortissimo.

This is immediately followed by a quiet string melody accompanied by the harp, which is continued narratively by the solo violin. The oboe sings expressively, repeating a melodic downward movement familiar from the first part. But this lyrical idyll is suddenly interrupted—first quietly, then more and more decisively—by the woodwinds with their pounding rhythmic staccatos. They drive the solo violin and orchestra, especially the horns and trumpets, to ever more intense passion. 

But the harp accompaniment leads back to lyrical moments for the time being. The orchestra violins, then the solo violin, sing their lyrical rhapsodic melodies from the opening section. After further rhapsodic playing, the solo violin descends virtuosically into its darker, more expressive registers until the orchestra, con fuoco and with full force, drowns out the violin and takes over this descending phrase loudly, placing it in the space itself.

But the solo violin rises again with the support of a horn sound. It begins softly and with harmonics, is soon supported rhapsodically by the orchestra violins, and concludes its narrative section with its downward movement from the highest G to the low G. Once again, the impressionistic sound space opens briefly, as at the beginning of the movement, and builds more and more to a powerful orchestral climax. The orchestra slowly fades away to make room for the solo violin and its solo cadenza. 

The sixteenth notes continue to resonate even longer in the violin's solo cadenza, played with virtuoso double stops.

After the orchestra returns, picking up once again on the short motifs that dominate this movement, the violin ends with a long melodic ascending and descending arc, returning to the low G. A quiet echo from the orchestra concludes the movement. 

Accompanied by a delicate orchestral soundscape, the solo oboe sings a contemplative melody in a piangevole style, which originates from a Welsh song (“Yr Hen Dderby” = “The Old Oak”) and runs through the entire movement. The solo violin enters a little later with its own complementary melody, which artfully combines with the oboe melody as it progresses through this harmonically beautiful soundscape.

Light, relaxed tremolos in the violins and violas mingle with the melodies, which are then taken up by various other wind instruments: English horn, clarinet, and flute accompany the violin melody, which continues to develop freely until the end. It is best to let yourself be carried away by the melodies until the beautiful sound comes to an end.

Grace Williams' friend Elizabeth Maconchy described this Andante sostenuto as “contemplative and serene.”