Between 1922 and 1927 Hindemith wrote his "Kammermusik" ("chamber music") series, seven primarily concertante works for small ensembles. In these works, modeled after the example of J.S. Bach's Brandenburg Concertos, Hindemith makes an important transition from late-Romantic/Expressionistic tendencies to a neo-Baroque style that employs a clearer sense of tonality and traditional contrapuntal procedures.

Kammermusik No. 5 employs one of the largest ensembles in the series, consisting of a large wind group supplemented by cellos and double basses. The work is cast in four movements; all but the second are between three and five minutes long. The first movement is a toccata. At nine minutes, the slow second movement is the musical and emotional heart of the work. Here the solo viola engages in a lyrical monologue accompanied by winds; a constrasting central section resembles a passionate recitative. The third movement is a contrapuntal scherzo, while the finale is a set of variations on a Bavarian military march which, nonetheless, closes with an unexpectedly elegiac coda.

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