After a first short episode - an evocation in which all the harmonic elements are presented - the long second part of Arcadia, which is suddenly very fast, starts from high regions of the instruments: while all of the musical figures become faster and faster, the limit of harmony gradually decreases. The unrest of this part leads us to two short flute and viola cadenzas - something like a useful breath, a reflection after a long run; but the rest doesn't last very long because a regular harp figure forces the flute and viola to begin another tense episode that culminates in sharp high notes on the flute.
The return of regular figures leads this part to an end; all becomes calmer: a rarefied descent - slow scales with different velocities, then wide harp chords in a reprise of the beginning of the work, finally something like an unsettled carillon: Arcadia finds its conclusion with words of distant, pensive serenity.