 Two fragments are on paper with 1723 watermarks, leading musicologists like Christoph Wolff to conclude that Bach may have written a version of "Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott" as part of his first cantata cycle.Alfred Dürr proposes a time frame of 1728 to 1731 for its initial composition.The 80b version may have already contained all four stanzas of Luther's hymn.