Bach's cycle of seven concertos for harpsichord with orchestral accompaniment has survived in the form of a valuable fair copy of the score in Bach's own hand, which -in view of the fact that most of the other original manuscripts have been lost -represents one of the most significant sources of his instrumental ensemble music. The more detailed circumstances of how and for what occasion this jewel was composed have not yet been fully researched. However, on the basis of investigation of the handwriting and the water�marks it can be established that the score probably originated from the year 1738, or perhaps 1739. If the later date is favoured, it could be assumed that the works were written in connection with Bach's taking up the post of director of the Leipzig Collegium Musicum once again after a two-year break on 2nd October 1739; but the scrupulously laid-out fair copy does not really seem to fit into the picture of the works with the less formally organized student ensemble. It seems more plausible to connect them with a visit of Bach in Dresden which written evidence proves took place in May 1738, during which he was sure to have been musically active in court circles or at private aristocratic gatherings, for example with concerts at the home of Count Keyserlingk, who was a music-lover. But no matter where Bach appeared in public with his harpsichord concertos, he would have succeeded in drawing his audience's attention to his mastery as composer and virtuoso.

The Concerto BWV 1056 presents numerous problems as far as the original work is concerned. Possibly it was originally in G minor; when Bach put the works together into a cycle he may have decided to avoid a doubling of this key, which also appears in BWV 1058. The form of the three movements creates in this work an even more simple and concise effect than in the other concertos and could therefore be interpreted as an indication that the composition is a relatively early one. Essential elements of Bach's concerto style are already clearly recognizable. Among these are the motive development of the accompaniment in solo sections as well as the integration of the soloist into an interwoven polyphonic texture. This surpasses an aesthetic concept even the traditions of the concerto form genre.