The Fantasy was written to a commission from the Jewish Museum in Rendsburg who asked Goldschmidt for a piece "for harp". Goldschmidt decided to write for an ensemble of harp, oboe and cello and originally intended to write a relatively peaceful, pastoral work. However, the pastoral element became more of a utopia which is striven for but never fully attained. Thus the oboe’s questioning opening melody is continually undermined by opposing elements and never allowed to assert itself fully. That said, the musical idiom of the Fantasy has a particularly rarefied quality, partly due to the unusual combination of instruments which creates a unique, 'arcadian' sound-world.