The novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is the inspiration for this tone poem. Conrad’s story tells of a young European who is determined to embark on an adventure of discovery to the heart of Africa. He sets off on a search for a European trader who has "gone native" in the Congo and who becomes worshipped by the inhabitants.

I don’t aim to retell the story. Rather, I have taken as my theme for the piece the nature of colonialism. A number of elements are drawn upon.

Firstly, there is the idea of a grand European power, represented by the opening maestoso theme, an anthem of sorts. This opens the piece in grand fashion, yet appears in later incarnations in more martial "invasion" style, and later again, in a curtailed, fragmented and almost defeated style. The triplet accompanying figures of the grand anthem are also prominent in the slow central section of the piece. The targeted colony is represented by two elements: a river, which is the lifeblood of the target country, and the indigenous population. The river has two themes. The first is a simple 5 note motif which recurs throughout the piece in various guises, but its simplicity and power is always there, in a juxtaposition of an A minor chord and its Eb major antithesis.

The power of the river, fast-flowing and dangerous, is represented by an uneven non-scalic semiquaver sequence, which again takes many guises throughout the course of the piece representing the difficulties it presents to the explorer and also the conflict between the would-be colonists and the indigenous people.

The second aspect of the would-be colony, its population, is represented by a simple melodic theme with equally simple harmonic underpinning. There is an insistent rhythmic accompaniment based on a "bell rhythm".

The solos are interspersed with triplet fanfares harking back to the accompaniments of the opening anthem, a reminder to the colonists of the grandeur of home and the expected profits of the process of colonisation.

The piece then moves into a development section in which all the thematic material is presented again in different formats with increasing ferocity and complexities of rhythmic and melodic material.

Ultimately in this musical version the powerful European colonising force loses out, but the interplay of the two cultures leads to a final section in which the river and population themes become more westernised as a result of the interactions.