Joachim Bernhard Hagen was employed as a musician at the court of Princess Wilhelmina, sister of Frederick the Great and wife of the Margrave of Bayreuth. Although primarily a violinist, his compositions for lute show, by the demands they make on a player, that he must have been a skilled performer.

Hagen’s music for the lute continues the tradition of the great lutenist Sylvius Weiss in a period when the instrument was losing popularity. His work may be regarded as the last major contribution to lute repertoire and is indicative of the changing tastes of the period. Hagen’s career spans much the same period as those of the sons of J. S. Bach, a time of transition between the Baroque and the Classical.