The work, marked Tragique, is, perhaps surprisingly, composed with great energy, victorious textures, and major tonality. This is likely because the term tragique in Russian can also imply something heroic. Furthermore, the Italian performance direction indicates “festivamente,” a notion seemingly contradictory to one of despair or pathos.

The wildness of this piece recalls the second Poem Op. 32 as well as certain preludes and études by Rachmaninoff. The harmonies are primarily built on dominant chords with raised fifths and diminished ninths, a dissonant texture favored by Scriabin in his middle period, and one he would explore more fully in the following Poème Satanique Op. 36.