Nielsen: Serenata In Vano

The Philharmonia Chamber Players perform Serenata in vano, a quintet written in 1914 by Danish composer Carl Nielsen. Scored for clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double bass, the work was described by Nielsen himself as a ‘humorous trifle’. The quintet portrays two gentlemen playing a tune in a chivalric manner to lure a fair lady out onto her balcony, but to no avail. Since the performance is in vain (‘in vano’), they return home to the tune of a march played for their own amusement.