Modeled essentially on the seemingly ubiquitous Baroque suite, this is a work with neo-classical overtones but no pretensions, relying on masterful use of counterpoint to convey its complex message. Enescu worked on the piece in the summer and fall of 1915 and by 1917 the only copy of the score was en route to Moscow, being evacuated from Bucharest with the gold reserves and critical documents of the Romanian government. It then seems to have been lost for some years and only a combination of Bruno Walter's influence with the fledgling Soviet regime and some opportunist French diplomatic assistance unearthed it in 1924. By this time Enescu seems to have lost interest in it and there are few records of any performances after the 1916 première by the Ministry of Education Orchestra in Bucharest, for whom it was written.

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