Although this work drew its inspiration from one of the legends of the "Kalevala"—the epic collection of Finnish poems that moved Sibelius to compose his more famous quartet of orchestral pieces—it was also inspired by the lakes and pastoral scenery of Lyadov's own native Russia. The Enchanted Lake is an approximately seven-minute work of gentle descriptive character, more the product of a Rachmaninovian post-Romanticism than of Debussy's then-fashionable Impressionism.

That said, it still portrays a vivid nature scene in splendidly imaginative orchestration—orchestration that is somewhat scaled-down in the elimination of trumpets, trombones, and percussion. The work begins quietly and lazily, the various instruments and sections of the orchestra chiming in by turn, as if the sun were rising and rousing them from a peaceful sleep. Sonorities slowly pulsate and often quiver and murmur—especially in the strings—the whole conveying an obsessive sound world that seems to come in gentle, soothing waves. Tension soon develops in the central portion, however, but portends nothing threatening, only perhaps a sense of yearning. In the latter moments the music returns to the serenity and quiet of the opening, and gently undulating strings gradually fade to bring on the lovely, peaceful ending.

© Robert Cummings, Rovi