It was written when Mycielski was studying with Nadia Boulanger, during the preparations for the premiere of Karol Szymanowski’s ballet Harnasie at the Paris Opera. The basis for the libretto or, more precisely – like in Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring – for an outline of some pictures is the Greek myth of a youth in love with his own reflection. The composer presented the outline in one of his letters: 

Narcissus is asleep […] – the first and second female dancers enter and dance around the sleeping Narcissus[.] Narcissus wakes up, stands up, dances with them […]; suddenly, there is a complete change of rhythm, enters the third female dancer and immediately the fourth […]. General dance of the five, during which first the 1st dancer throws [… the violin], 2nd [… the cello] […], 3rd [… the flute] and […] 4th [… the clarinet]. Then [translation from French: Narcissus freezes and a circle of dancers forms around him – a dance suite.] [...] Narcissus is left alone. [...] [H]e will come closer to drink water (a harp glissando is a must – for the sake of tradition!), will see himself and will start dancing alone. [...] [A]t some point the female dancers will carry in, rhythmically, a huge narcissus flower [...] [W]hen eventually Narcissus stands next to the flower (which they will have stuck in the ground by the water), he will dance only with his arms and a bit with his legs and they will form the background. [translation from French: When Narcissus falls down by the flower, the orchestral allegretto will come to an end] [...] and on the last chord a cresc. and diminuendo, the curtain falls. I’m sending this plan in complete secrecy, because it is so vivid that I’m afraid that someone might snatch Narcissus from me (Mycielski’s letter to his mother, 20 July 1935). 

The work begins with a calm prelude highlighting the sound of the string quintet complemented by the harp, the piano and the percussion (timpani), and then woodwind instruments. Successive dancers – in accordance with the composer’s decision – bring in attribute-like instruments, which find their reflection in the highlighting of the colour of the violin, cello, flute and clarinet. They are treated both as solo instruments and as various colour combinations. The entries of the dancers are in a calm tempo and rather rarefied texture, in contrast to crowd scenes with their quite fast tempo, highlighted three-part pulsation (metre of 3/8) and fuller instrumentation. 

The Adagio [Tableau II – Narcissus is left alone] is a chamber orchestral song written for woodwind instruments supported by the piano, French horn ostinato and double bass pizzicato. The composer was particularly pleased with this fragment, writing: “I have succeeded brilliantly, the sound will be really excellent” (Mycielski’s letter to his mother, 20 July 1935).

Tableau II (Apotheosis), beginning with the dancers bringing in the flower (Allegro vivace), emanates extraordinary energy stemming from a high dynamic level and sharp rhythm (persistent quaver continuum in 12/8). Relief comes in the middle fragment (solo dance of the main protagonist), after which Mycielski begins intense build-up of the final climax – he makes the texture increasingly dense and rhythm more complicated, intensifying the effect with a growing dynamic level until fortissimo.

Despite his struggles with the musical matter (of which Mycielski informed his mother in detail), the score of the ballet was fairly quickly finished and in 1936 talks were held about presenting the work in Paris. However, the plans changed, because Mycielski returned to Poland, where he became active as composer and writer.