"An attempt has been made in the first trio to express as far as possible by means of instruments alone something for which the resources of voices and a text are perhaps more suitable. It is meant to portray a conversation between a Sanguineus and a Melancholicus who are in disagreement throughout the first and most of the second movement; each tries to draw the other over to his side, until they settle their differences at the end of the second movement, at which point the Melancholicus gives up the battle and assumes the manner of the other."
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