It is the fifth part of the cycle for piano four-hands, Ze Šumavy (From the Bohemian Forest) Op.
As it was popular in the late nineteenth century to make arrangements of popular works for other instruments, on 28 December 1891 Dvořák made an arrangement for cello and piano of the fifth piece, for a farewell concert tour he gave with violinist Ferdinand Lachner and cellist Hanuš Wihan in the first months of 1892 before embarking for the New World.
The arrangements were first published in the fall of 1894 by Fritz Simrock, who changed the German title given by Dvořák – Die Ruhe (The Silence), a literal translation from the Czech Klid – to Waldesruhe (Silent Woods).
Like the other pieces in Op.68, Silent Woods is a lyrical character piece, bearing the tempo marking Lento e molto cantabile for the main, dreamy theme in D♭ major, which is reprised (Lento.
Tempo I) after a light intermezzo (Un pochettino più mosso) in C♯ minor.