Like Robert Schumann who often favoured the horn, Sir Michael Tippett who died on 8 January 1998 makes full use of the instrument&lsquo.s tonal possibilities in this work. He translated the Romantic genre of horn quartet into a modern tonal language: ".All movements contain characteristic calls and triad arpeggios. Sometimes the call itself is the theme, as in the fugue. Sometimes the calls are the accompaniment to a solo, such as in the nocturne.". (Tippett)

The forms of the four movements, however, are traditional. The structure of the fist movement is reminiscent of the form of a strophic song. The second movement is an allegro, the slow third a nocturne in the traditional ABA form. And fially the last movement is a capricious fugue.

Debussy's famous Clair de Lune adapted and revised so that beginners of all levels can perform the work, is in a tonally eased and reduced version, giving priority to the main theme of the piece. This version was made for bassoon quartet, for beginners who intend to learn the original work in the future.