This work is a tuneful three-movement excursion for woodwind quintet. For most of its length the music's texture consists of vibrantly accompanied melody, and the various instruments take turns singly or in combination carrying the melodic lines which frequently recall operatic style and often feature adroit chromatic slides. In some spots in the outer movements the instruments trade phrases in dialogue, and in some the technical demands rise to virtuosic proportions.

The opening Allegro marziale is sprightly and high-spirited from beginning to end. It starts out striding confidently and soon loses its marziale feel as it shades into an some intensely songful expressions. Flute, oboe, and clarinet carry most of the melodic responsibilities, and horn and bassoon step into the spotlight near the end.

The subsequent Andante is cast in an arch that features a musing introduction and coda which has a searching feeling at the beginning and a settled feeling at the end. The second and fourth parts consist of an urbane and serenade-like cantilena, and the central section is clouded slightly by a turn to the minor mode.

The concluding Allegro begins with a mock-dramatic minor-mode statement of its rondo refrain and switches unobtrusively between the minor and major modes as it gradually resolves its concerns. The horn introduces a slower section that recalls the cantilena of the second movement, and a major-mode presentation of the rondo refrain brings things happily to a close after it passes through some minor-mode incursions that persist almost to the end.

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