The six sonatas for violin and obbligato harpsichord, BWV 1014-1019, were composed during Bach's final years in Cöthen between 1720 and 1723. The opening Largo of BWV 1017 is a Siciliano, a binary dance form widely used in the early eighteenth century. The compositional style and impassioned tone resemble those of the obbligato violin solo in the celebrated alto aria "Erbarme dich" from Bach's St. Matthew Passion.