The structural repeat is transposed, varied and redistributed, and an agile coda has the soloist in cahoots with its orchestral counterparts.
Having decided to stay on stage, the soloist turns around and the strings join in, providing a lilting, jazzy habanera-style accompaniment.
The mezzo-soprano soloist begins with a descending major triad.
The place of the soloist in singing chant has changed, judging by the recorded evidence.
But song opera aspired to epic status, something most clearly seen in the relationship between chorus and soloists.
The concerto begins with a brief fusillade of demisemiquavers from the violins, underpinned by the bass drum and capped by flourishes from the soloists.
Here we are treated to the rare spectacle of a soloist interrupting the beginning of his own episode to momentarily rejoin the ripieno.
The first, consisting of seven chapters, deals with the era of chants for the soloist (from their origins to the sixth century).
