The history of the work is comparatively recent: it lay undiscovered until1917, when the manuscript in the hand of two different contemporary copyists came to light; entitled Solo pour Ia flute traversiere, it has since come to be accepted by scholars as a genuine work of Bach, although it is still uncertain when and for whom it was written.

ln determining the key of his transcription, the editor has taken account of the fact that the composer achieves a climax at the end of the first movement by employing the highest note of his instrument. The marks of articulation and ornaments in the original consist merely of two staccato dots, three slurs, two trills and three mordents; he has refrained from affering any suggestions for practical performance.