Dated October 27, 1927, the short score of Northern Ballad No. 3 is entitled only with the Roman numeral "III." Because the numbering of the pages of the manuscript begins with "31," it most likely was intended to be part of a larger work in several movements that Bax never finished. Scholars believe that the other two Northern Ballads constitute two more movements of the planned piece. In February 1933, Bax orchestrated his "III" and gave it a new title, "Prelude for a Solemn Occasion." Nobody knows what solemn occasion this may have been. Furthermore, the music is not very solemn. Evidently Bax was not proud of the piece, for he did not have it performed during his lifetime and omitted it from the article on his music in the fifth edition of George Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians (although an unspecified Northern Ballad that was included may in fact have been this work). The Northern Ballad No. 3 was first performed as part of a broadcast centenary concert from BBC Studio Seven in Manchester on September 22, 1983. All three Northern Ballads were on the program.

The three pieces we have come to call the Northern Ballads Nos. 1, 2 and 3 first appeared at a time of musical crisis for Bax. His previous symphonic style had revolved around conflict between disparate material in each movement. Seeking a new direction, he began to look to the Nordic countries for imagery and inspiration, and particularly to the works of Sibelius.

In the Northern Ballad No. 3, 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, organ, and strings. Despite the potential this creates for dense textures, the score is refreshingly transparent and expansive. Its mood is desolate, and buried within the piece is a melody that presages the main theme of the Sixth Symphony, played here in fourths by trumpets. The contrasting, secondary theme has a plodding, ceremonious character that is strikingly different from the brassy first theme. The second theme is cold and harsh, and remains that way throughout its later development. Bax does not successfully rein in his material, which gets the best of him and wanders about with none of the organization and orchestral manipulation we find in the superior Northern Ballad No. 2.

© All Music Guide