While Honegger was on tour in the United States, the American art patron Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge commissioned him in July 1947 to write a piece, either a sonata or a chamber work, that would treat the English horn as a soloist.

[1] As soloist she had in mind Louis Speyer, English horn player of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, to whom the piece is dedicated.

[3] Honegger described the movements as such: "The first part is based on very simple themes of popular character which stand out against the background of string harmonies from which they arise.

"[4] The soloists perform largely in counterpoint rather than in imitation and dialogue, especially in the second movement where the flute flutters 32nd notes over and around the English horn's warmly expressive lines.

[6] The second movement has been compared to a prayer of thanksgiving tinged with the quiet gratitude of one who has recently survived an almost fatal illness.