It is believed to have been composed by Mussorgsky when he was 41 years old (1880). This work was published in the St. Petersburg magazine "Novosti" (News). It is dedicated to his friend, the actor I. F. Gorbonov, to celebrate his 25 years of stage activity.

At the beginning of this piece, which is in 4/4 time, "Larghetto" is indicated along with "Fantasia, in the folk style." Although not explicitly stated, the structure of this piece takes the form of a kind of variation. First, an 8-bar main theme is presented. The first half is presented monophonically, with the left hand accompanying from the second half. Subsequently, without altering the theme itself, it is presented again in a four-part chorale style. And when it is presented once more after that, the rests in the theme are removed, but the main line remains unchanged. Furthermore, although treated in three voices, the texture becomes thicker due to the bass being doubled in octaves and the inner voices sounding in chords. Here, it becomes Meno mosso grandioso, with the instruction "Marcato il canto" for the theme and "Il basso ben marcato" for the bass. From the section that follows, the theme begins to be altered. Also, the time signature changes to 2/4 from this point onward. First, at Allegretto scherzoso non troppo allegro, a single line of eighth notes played alternately by the left and right hands, and another single line played by the right hand alone, appear in alternation. Subsequently, it becomes A tempo non agitato (alla zingara), and a section primarily in three voices based on the theme is presented, emphasizing the second beat. In this way, after presenting the theme about three times using different methods, the piece concludes.