Carl Nielsen's Serenata in vano, a quintet for clarinet, bassoon, horn, cello and double-bass, FS 68, was composed in 1914.
It was apparently written at short notice, commissioned by Ludvig Hegner of the Royal Theatre for a tour of the Danish provinces.
On 4 June, the Nykjøbing Dagblad reported: "Yesterday evening the Music Society held its fourth concert of the season.
The programme shows that the serenade was played by the members of the Royal Orchestra: Carl Skjerne (clarinet), Peter Robertson (French horn), Ludvig Hegner (double-bass), the bassoonist Carlos Espersen and the cellist Rudolf Dietzmann.
Horsens Folkeblad commented that Nielsen could hardly live up to the other composers although: "his Serenato in vano is actually an amusing effort – in particular the instrumentation in the peculiar configuration clarinet, bassoon, French horn, cello and double-bass is adroit.
The reviews of this concert concentrated on the performance of Nielsen's songs, the main item, while the quintet was only briefly mentioned despite Berlingske Tidende's assertion that "it was a success, and the final movement, which was the best, had to be repeated.