4 was composed in Rio de Janeiro in 1926, and was premiered on 24 October 1927 at the Salle Gaveau in Paris, in the first of a pair of concerts devoted to works by Villa-Lobos.

The performers were Edmond Entraigue, Jean-Lazare Pénable, and Mr. Marquette, horns; Jules Dervaux, trombone.

The first North American performance took place on 16 October 1940 at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

The score is dedicated to Villa-Lobos's patron Carlos Guinle [pt], the brother of the dedicatee of Chôros No.

The third, concluding part is contrasted to everything that precedes it, and is closer to jazz or Cuban music than to anything Brazilian.