In 1945, the drama Golden Eagle, by Clifford Bax, Arnold's brother, began playing in London. It did not run for long, and closed shortly after a production with Bax's incidental music took place at the Westminster Theater in London on January 29, 1946.

Clifford Bax's drama covers the years 1565 - 1567 in the life of Mary, Queen of Scots. This period encompassed the Queen's marriages to Darnley and Bothwell, the murders of Darnley and Rizzio, and the uprising of the Scottish nobles that led to her arrest at Carberry Hill and imprisonment.

Five of Bax's short pieces serve as preludes to the five scenes of the drama; a sixth closes the play; and there are also several songs that appear in the play itself. Bax's prelude, for piano and strings, opens the play, introducing a scene in which Mary's secretary, Rizzio, writes at a table for Mary as her young cousin, Darnley, waits for her. In "Rizzio's Song of Ronsard" we learn of Rizzio's jealousy of Mary's suitors. Later the characters dance to a piece for harpsichord, after which Mary decides to marry Darnley. The prelude to the second act is a pavane for piano and strings, after which the audience learns that ten months have passed. A red curtain at the door suggests the horrors that are to come, and not long after Rizzio sings his simple "Song," he is murdered. The prelude to the second scene of the second act, again for piano and strings, reflects the change in situation, for Mary and Darnley have left Edinburgh and nearly a year has passed.

The music that introduces the third act incorporates a trumpet, reflecting Bothwell's aggressive plan to kill Darnley. The second scene of the act also features a prelude, this time for only piano and strings, in which minor keys create a lugubrious tone. Bax's final scene takes place at Carberry Hill on June 14, 1567, as Mary says a prayer before being taken away by her agents of the Scottish nobility. Bax's setting of Mary's prayer, for trumpet, piano, and strings, is alternately downcast and inspiring as Mary moves from lamenting the loss of her loved one to asking for strength and aid in defeating her enemies. She hopes to "win back [her] freedom, and to come forth again as the royal sun that is now setting will come forth tomorrow!" The close of the music, however, makes it clear that this is not going to happen.

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