Processional and Bacchanal is a single-movement piece which depicts an approaching, riotous Bacchanal.

A slow repeated rhythm underpins the music, which gradually accumulates other ideas and layers, before finally being piled-up and pushed to saturation point. The kinds of images found on ancient carvings - of Dionysus surrounded by a parade of maenads and satyrs, all dancing, drinking and playing music - suggested various ?scenes?. And the idea of seeing this procession gradually approach from the distance, before drawing the spectator into its raving frenzy ? provided a formal model.

Besides trying to reflect a primal sense of intoxication and ecstasy, the overall crescendo of the piece (moving from one extreme to the other) also representsthe regenerative, phoenix-like life-cycle of Dionysus, as he is reborn each spring, and then burns himself out.