The original version of this work, for Clarinet and Piano, was written in 1954 in response to a commission from the publishers, Polskie Wydawnictwo Muzyczne, for an easy work for student performers. The five movements arebasedon folk songs from Northern Poland. The first performance of this version was given at the 1963 Aldeburgh Festival by Gervase de Peyer and the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Britten.