The dynamic power of Bax's first three symphonies originates in the battle between disparate ideas with each movement. After the Third Symphony Bax reached something of a crisis—he sought a new direction. During the period of "transition" the composer embarked on three pieces entitled Northern Ballad. It is possible that Bax intended the three movements to form one large piece, but this was never realized. The piece entitled Northern Ballad No. 2 is often described as the best of the three and Bax's best late tone poem, and some writers believe it to be, aside from the symphonies, the composer's greatest work.

No sketches or short score for the Northern Ballad No. 2 exist, so we cannot be certain it was first composed in 1927, although this seems likely. We do know that Bax created the full score in December 1933 - January 1934. Bax, once obsessed with Ireland, now seemed to be looking to the Nordic countries for imagery and inspiration. Dedicated to Adam Carse, Northern Ballad No. 2 received its premiere and only performance during Bax's lifetime on February 16, 1946, in London's Royal Albert Hall, by the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Bax's orchestra is typically large and includes three flutes with piccolo, two oboes with English horn, three clarinets with bass clarinet, two bassoons with contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, harp, percussion, and strings. Bax manipulates the orchestra expertly in this concise 16-minute work to convey tremendous emotional power. His use of instrumental color in Northern Ballad No. 2 is evident from the outset of the piece, in which bassoons and contrabassoons sound a quiet progression of open fifths that is interrupted by a sforzando chord in the woodwind and trombones. As the horns begin a pulsing idea on three notes, the harp presents arpeggios while the strings perform an E major seventh chord over a low E flat. The entire piece proceeds in a like manner, juxtaposing families of instruments. Bax's experimentation with woodwind-dominated instrumental color in the Northern Ballad No. 2 would inform the rest of his symphonies.

It is clear from Northern Ballad No. 2 that the music of Sibelius had a profound effect on Bax. The two primary sections of the piece, the opening, chromatic, and dark material, and the lighter segment featuring flute and clarinet, seem to grow from the same roots. Still insistent on delineating the formal aspects of his works, Bax separates these ideas with a brief string interlude. A slow, bouncy motive in the lower winds, punctuated by a gong, constitutes the first part of the primary material, which continues with an arching woodwind tune. Each segment of the exposition begins quietly and thinly orchestrated, then expands in both dynamic and instrumentation. Most impressive is the coda, marked Poco più mosso, which ends the work on a positive note. A galloping rhythm in the horns passes through the rest of the orchestra, leading to a huge close that is marked by a repeated motive on the side drum.

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