Rain... rain... rain... we are buried in rain, / It will rain forever, the swift wheels hiss through water, / Pale sheets of water gleam in the windy street. / The pealing of bells is lost in a drive of rain-drops. / Remote and hurried the great bells beat. / ... / The wind hurls blows at the rain-starred glistening windows, / The wind shrills down from the half-steen walls. / We flow on the mournful wind in a dream of dying; / And at last a silence falls.
—Conrad Aiken, The House of Dust: A Symphony, Part VI

This piece uses harmonic, melodic, rhythmic, and structural layers to create cohesion while building and releasing tension. The introductory A section (mm. 1–9) uses open voicings and successive arpeggiation to suggest space while painting layers of harmonic color, graduating from major to minor to half diminished and, finally, to fully diminished hues. The first harmony we hear is the juxtaposition of an E major triad with a D major seventh chord. The major thirds (G-sharp and F-sharp, respectively) then relax into their minor counterparts. Jumping up an octave, the next gesture responds with a C minor seventh chord that melts into a sus4 chord based on G-flat, resulting in a half-diminished effect. The fully-diminished seventh arpeggio in measure five is the climax of the phrase. While fully-diminished seventh harmonies generally come into full-alignment with bells' overtones, this particular example floats over a non-chord pedal tone (low C). These unstable harmonies seem to wash and blend together like wet pigments, gradually shifting from major to minor harmonies—an idea that will return as a theme throughout the piece.

The B section lasts from measure 10 until measure 40 and is split into two halves. In the background, harmonic layers continue to come into and out of focus while the melodic layers take center stage. For instance, the bass melody has two forms: 1) C–A–C-sharp or 2) an expansion that includes an interfix, C–A–D–C-sharp. The melody played by the manuals (A–B–E–G–D or, alternatively, B–A–E–G–D), which is often conjoined to the pedal melody via the D, also has an expanded form. The second half of this section "reveals" that the upper melody has a suffix: an F-sharp. The two melodies and their variations operate in constant counterpoint.

As we transition into the C section (beginning m. 46), that affixed F-sharp disappears again. However, it will return towards the end of the section, in measure 102. This middle part is divided into multiple subsections, all of which employ rhythmical layers based on the upper melody of the second section (A–B–E–G). Multiple harmonic and melodic layers continue to come into and out of focus while the rhythmic tension builds. The climax of the piece lasts from measures 102–113, when both the abridged and expanded versions of that upper melody occur simultaneously. This results in interweaving cycles of stratified rhythms and melodies.

The piece then works backwards, retransitioning into B' and, subsequently, A' sections. Finally, in the last measure, we hear the elusive F-sharp once more. The resulting harmony is reminiscent of the major sonority that initiates the piece. In this way, even the formal structure of the piece is a series of layers sandwiched within other layers. With harmonies washing on top of one another, melodies working in counterpoint, and rhythms whirring in cycles, At Rain-Starred Windows weaves together elements from across its musical scope to create a spacious yet cohesive architecture.

—Tom Gurin