Simpson, himself a keen astronomer, draws parallels between this work and the universe – quiet and mysterious yet pulsating with energy.
The opening section is marked Tranquillo, and begins quietly with the first violin sounding the note D which is joined by an upward moving line.
By this means the vastness of space is evoked, and this whole first section develops slowly but purposefully in an organic way.
Simpson likened the control of the music throughout this quartet to gravitation in space, particularly in regards to the open strings of the instruments, all of which are tuned in fifths.
Eventually the climax subsides, and the tranquillity of the opening is returned, now with the addition of rising scales among the counterpoint which give the effect of the music floating into space as it fades into silence.