Karelian Legend op. 99 by Alexander Glazunov

"A young man sat on the shore of the Pielis Lake, where rustling pine forests stood and a cuckoo bird is heard. He is enchanted with listening to the magical sounds coming from the marvelous Koli-Var Gorge. In its mysterious depths, ancient rites are performed to Chernobog. The young man disappeared in that mysterious valley, but as before, the shining waters of the lake, the rustling of the pines and the song of the cuckoo endure..."

In 1916 was among the worst years of Glazunov's life. During WWI and the subsequent years of the Russian Revolution, life in Russia was horrible for the common people as well as the upper class. Glazunov was director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and had to see a huge number of his students march off to their deaths in the front lines, and in the meantime scarcity of resources, riots, and threats of Revolution to come any day. Nevertheless, he composed this work in the summer, away from all the fray, in a place of peace. This work gives homage to one of his favorite places in nature, Karelia, the land just north and west of St. Petersburg.

I feel that in this piece, Glazunov says something two-fold: to just escape everything and disappear forever seems like such an enticing thing, and yet, you will be martyred on your own pyre of fanciful dreams. There is no escape in the end. One can only fight evil in this world and live for others. Glazunov succeeded, I think.
Igor Golovchin and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra on the Naxos label
Paintings (in order of appearance):

Yuri Obuhovsky - Karelia

Vladimir Volosov - Water and Stones of Karelia

Dmitry Levin - Karelia Lake

If you checked what this block of text was underneath here, you are to be commended.
UPDATE (as of Oct. 13, 2019):
FULL PROGRAMMATIC NOTES FOR THE KARELIAN LEGEND:

It was a long time ago - in the gorges of the majestic Koli-var,

The day was done. The waters of Pielis-Lake's granite banks were smooth and quietly swaying. At the steepness of the gorge, the pine forest whispered to bring the farewell dusk of the evening. The cuckoo calls. All is resting...
Only a young man alone - no one remembers his name - only he did not think about rest. He was enchanted by the sound of the otherworldly music that in the air was strewn through the thousands of granite Koli-vara rocks, wriggled through the mountains and again flew into the depths of the gorge. Even the great-grandfathers heard the sounds as children, but they didn’t figure it out, if they had some power to enchant the soul with incomprehensible power.
And the young man dares to penetrate the secret of the gorge. He goes toward the sounds. There is the cave - all the sounds are clear: the strings of the native kantele, obedient to the fingers of the 'invisible' hands, lure with a tune to attract and entice into the cave. And there, conscriptive peals of the sorcerer's horn ring loudly under its arches. And with a wave of magic before the youth, the halls of the underground kingdom were revealed: in them the wild elemental forces of the world with revelry are unified on their glorious holiday.
--- "Give a vow of silence - and you will become part of our secrets" --- the young man heard an odd voice.
He gives his word.
And the gorge's depths trembled from the language of the mighty spell that swept through the halls of the underworld. Then the demons accomplish a frantic rite of service of the night to Chernobog, the evil force of the lord. And a certain priest performed sorcery on an altar. And from the stinking fog of the censer, perverted images of a great feminine temptation surfaced before the young man and, reddened lustfully, inevitably on the young man from all sides the formidable monsters acted in their power and moved, vices and primitive passions, and it became stuffy and vile to him. And in the glee of evil rapture, all the demonic forces rushed into a frantic dance, the young man's ears echoed with new temptations which obscured his memory and again plunged into the cycle of orgiastic actions. But suddenly the revelry from the tongue of the mighty spell stopped, and the young man collapsed, exhausted...
In the morning there in the Koli-vara gorges, near the cave, spread on stones, relatives found him. But once revived, the young man's waking mind only fills with visions of a terrible night and, having forgotten the mystery of the gorge, forgot about the vow.
And again the invocation sounds of the sorcerer's horn were heard. A mighty whirlwind flashed, and on his wings the young man rushed like a madman back into the fatal cave. But from there he never returned...
Sounds of music from this other-world still flow from the gorges of Koli-var. Like the old days, bountiful waves splash on Pielis-Lake's granite slopes. The cuckoo calls in the pine forest.

A bit darker than originally guessed... But I'm happy to share since this was an important inspiration for this work, and had significance to Glazunov while living in a terrible time.

Видео Karelian Legend op. 99 by Alexander Glazunov канала TheNewFlutist