The
second movement entitled The Four Horsemen presents each rider in the
sequence announced in Revelation chapter 6 and describes the devastation
they bring upon the peoples of the earth.
The
first Horseman comes riding a white horse. He has "....a bow; and a
crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer."
This horseman comes to deceive and represents the false gospel. He kills
through deception and by leading men away from the one true God. The
second horseman comes on a red horse. He represents the nations at war.
The texture of the music is war-like. Marked "allegro," it has
an eastern flavor with virtuoso woodwind passages and dramatic
statements from all brass instruments.
When
the third horseman appears, he comes riding a black horse. This horseman
represents hunger and famine upon the earth. Although the structure of
in this section is very tonal, there are some very dissonant passages
that depict the slow death brought about through malnutrition. The tempo
marked "Marziale" is a slow prance of the horseman announcing
to the world an impending slow death through starvation.
The
fourth horseman makes his entrance into the world scene on a pale horse.
This horseman represents the trauma of death and the suffering of hell.
The music at this point is atonal but centers on E. It endeavors to
describe the sufferings of peoples of the earth brought about through
famine, pestilence, and diseases for modern medicine has no cure. Loud
cries of anguish and despair are heard as well as painful, hopeless
sighs.
