This work was composed by Cesar Franck in 1881, and was inspired by Burger's Ballade. The dramatic and religious character of the Poem is set from the beginning by the horns and later, by the bells.
The approaching Ride is preceded by a broader passage and then, in a quick 9/8 rhythm the horns are heard again, answered by the cornets and the trombones.
After some agitated passages there is a brilliant Andante movement after which the rhythm becomes more and more animated.
At last the Ride appears, the gallop becoming wilder and wilder until it finally dies away in a chilling roll on the cymbal.
