This poem is an ode to the season of autumn heralding wind and rain and the bright colors of the leaves. The composer enjoys some “word painting” including a hymn style when the text references such things as “blessing the farms” and “the farmer’s prayers.” The poet refers to an old German tradition that a prosperous harvest will find Emperor Charlemagne crossing a bridge of gold and giving a blessing to the land. The work begins with an ostinato pattern on the word “Autumn” in the men’s voices with the women’s rising above with the opening words of the poem. Then the voices exchange places. The composition closes quietly with the same ostinato pattern.