It is transmitted in Preller's manuscript. (Johann Gottlieb Preller (1727-1786) was a musician of the generation of Bach's pupils. The music books for organ and clavier compiled by him and his fellow pupil Johann Nikolaus Mempel are important sources for reconstructing Bach's compositions.) Preller attributes the composition to "Bernhard Bach." Possible composers corresponding to this name include Johann Bernhard (1676-1749), J.S. Bach's second cousin who was active in Eisenach, or J.S. Bach's short-lived son, Johann Gottfried Bernhard (1715-1739). While the theory attributing it to Johann Bernhard of Eisenach is common, given the music's strong resemblance to J.S. Bach's style, the possibility that it is a work by Bach's son, or even Bach's own work misattributed, cannot be ruled out.

The work is a concise piece of only 25 measures, written for two voices. It features a well-balanced theme that appropriately incorporates stepwise motion and leaps, ascending and descending lines, and repeated notes. J.S. Bach was a genius at conceiving such themes rich in potential. Furthermore, the method of contrapuntally combining the first and second halves of the theme is truly fitting to be called an "Invention." Regardless of the composer's identity, it is a concise, tightly structured, and intellectually profound work.