If we ask why Johann Sebastian Bach grouped his pieces for solo violin into "Sonatas" and "Partitas," the answer lies immediately in the works of his predecessors, and primarily in Johann Adam Reincken's Hortus Musicus. Bach was familiar with these pieces, and as he often did with compositions he greatly admired, he transcribed them for the harpsichord. This combination of sonata form and dance suites aptly illustrates the evolution of 17th-century German instrumental music. At the beginning of the century, this repertoire consisted mainly of dance music.

In the 1620s, with the arrival of the Italians, and particularly Carlo Farina, at the Dresden court, several innovations took root in Germany: firstly, the prominent role of the violin, and secondly, the forms of Italian music, the sonata and its two variations, solo and trio. It quickly became apparent how they combined genres in an original way, readily blending dance movements with sonata structures, with their alternations of slow and fast tempos. Furthermore, they remained ardent defenders of the viola da gamba, especially the bass viol, which they often placed in dialogue with the violin. This combination of the viola da gamba and violins, and of the sonata and suite, quickly became a defining characteristic of this repertoire.

This program also illustrates the journey that Johann Sebastian Bach made (said to be partly on foot) from his native Thuringia to the major northern cities of Lübeck and Hamburg, where he met Böhm, Buxtehude and Reinken.

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