In early 1729 Bach became director of the so-called "Schottischen Collegium Musicum" a music organization of students and local citizens. The remarkable results of this undertaking are the concertos for harpsichord. Today it is almost certain that practically all of these concertos were transcribed from concertos for melody instruments (mostly violin or oboe).
The D-major Concerto, BWV 1054, originated as a transcription of Bach’s Violin Concerto in E major, BWV 1042. The principal source for our edition is the autograph score of Bach’s harpsichord concertos preserved in the Berlin Staatsbibliothek (Mus. ms. Bach P 234), where BWV 1054 forms the third item. To accommodate the upper limit of the harpsichord keyboard, Bach decided to transpose the piece down a whole tone, which allowed him to retain the frequently occurring peak pitch e3 without altering the melodic line.
The D-major Concerto owes its popularity to the clear and straightforward formal design of its movements no less than its overall mood of relaxed merriment. This mood also finds expression in Bach’s choice of the rondo form for the final movement, a form otherwise seldom encountered in his concertos.