Shakespeare wrote in Richard II:

This royal throne of kings, this scepter’d isle,

This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,

This other Eden, demi-paradise…

This precious stone set in a silver sea…

This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England…

The intention of this piece is to be the epitome of that England. The soft, yet strident strings flow beneath the clear tone of the clarinet, while the piano ripples beneath the surface. Some say this is an England of the past: maybe it is, or maybe you just have to look harder to find it.