I wrote this in response to a competition advertised from New Zealand, for an orchestral work for the Millennium. It was not selected for performance. Unfortunately one never knows why not—was it the title (stolen from Browning—but very appropriate in my case), was it the content or was it not spectacular enough for a sort of Folk Festival? I felt it was a good piece and that it had enough in it to appeal to wide audience: Whale song, NZ bird song (bellbird and little grey warbler), Lilburn quote (trombone theme from the 3. Symphony) as well as lots of quotes from my own recent work: Piano Poems (1. Poem) and Ophelia Songs 3.