The text is a prayer for safety and a peaceful death. The final two variations musically portray death and heavenly joy. Written in Weimar, circa 1717, this chorale is based on a hymn published in 1663. The text is related to the prayer Salve Jesu, summe bonum and tells of the passion of Christ. Due to the questions surrounding the chronology of these variations, there are differing opinions as to the order in which they should be performed.
Sources list incongruous compositional dates as well as incompatible numbers of variations.
Bach may have worked on this set of variations over a long span of time, making alterations which ultimately resulted in a more cohesive set. The later variations demonstrate a strong correlation between the text and the musical setting, thus reflecting a more mature writing and depth of spirituality. This set of canonic variations was originally submitted by Bach to the Mizler Society, a group of learned musicians, as an example of his musical knowledge. The canon is the strictest of all contrapuntal writing. Published in 1748, this example of complex compositional technique has been compared and contrasted to a number of the Goldberg Variations.