The Hamburg-born Dahl (his parents were Swedish) left Germany before World War II and based his musical career in Los Angeles. By 1944 he was working as a regular accompanies for comedienne Gracie Fields and it was while touring with her that he completed this composition for brass quintet (two trumpets, horn, and two trombones) with optional tuba in Toronto in May, 1944. It is a pivotal work, for it is regarded as not only having been the one in which the composer found his authentic personal voice, but as the source of the modern revival of the brass quintet. It has even been called (by Julian Menken) "... the most outstanding work in brass repertory."

It is a thoroughly American-sounding piece in three movements, adding up to fifteen minutes. Jazzy figurations merge seamlessly with Baroque-style gestures in the faster parts. The opening "Chorale Fantasy" is based on the old German chorale tune "Christ lag in Todesbanden" (Christ Lay in the Bonds of Death}. The joyful second movement evoked spontaneous applause at the work's premiere, and the third movement, a fugue, brought only redoubled cheering. In addition to the old chorale, musical material of the piece includes transcriptions of the telephone numbers of Universal Studies and composer Gail Kubik, Dahl's friend and the composer of the score for the Gerald McBoing Boing cartoons.

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