Finzi wrote incidental music for a BBC broadcast of the Shakespeare's play in 1946, reworked it for a special stage presentation in 1952, and finally extracted a 10-number suite for small orchestra. The  most important of these, in Finzi's view, are the Three Soliloquies, which provide soft background music for the three lovers' sonnets in Act 4 Scene 3. The suite includes also a courtly Introduction, "Moth" (a scherzo with a song inside), a Nocturne, "The Hunt", a Dance, a Quodlibet for the clowns, and the Finale.

This publication includes both Four Songs Op.28a, and Small Suite for Orchestra Op.28b, also includes fanfares and other music for stage use only.