I. Allegro espansivo

The symphony expresses - particularly in the first movement - a strong tension (espansiva), which, in the second movement,, entirely gives way to an idyllic calm. Towards the end of this movement two human voices are heard - singing on the vowel a - as if to create a mood of a phlegmatic sort of paradise. The third movement is something which cannot readily be characterized, in that borth good and evil make their appearances without a real conclusion being reahed. The finale, on the other hand, is perfectly straight-forward: a celebration of work and of the healthy unfolding of daily live - all according to Nielsen's programme notes.