The young composer Witold Lutoslawski had just recently been severely chastized by the Communist-led Polish government and Communist Party (in the presence of the USSR's musical commissar Tikon Khrennikov) for the modernist tendencies of his First Symphony. His career went into an immediate nose-dive, making this commission for an orchestral piece for the orchestra of Radio Warsaw very tempting. This orchestra was known for its light and popular music. He was obviously being given a chance to show he could conform to the party's requirements for accessible music. He later said he could accept this compromise because it gave him a chance to sharpen his compositional skills without worrying about developing modernistic ideas.

It was written for the chamber-sized orchestra that premiered it on the radio, but not published until the next year, in a full-orchestral version. The music is based on Polish folk music from the region of the village of Mochowo in southeastern Poland. The first movement features piccolo and snare drum, music of a light marching character. There follow, in order, a scherzo-like dance, a song, and finale that surrounds a song with two different dances. It is a thoroughly attractive work.

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