The Well-Tempered Clavier – Part 1

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Walkthrough - Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor (3)

Prelude: Bars 18 - 21

8. The bass line is interesting here: bringing out the marked notes by slightly overholding them gives a more musical result than accenting.
9. The suggested articulation emphasises the change of pattern over the next two bars. Don’t overdo the accents; if you prefer, you can overhold the accented notes.
10. The dominant pedal (that lasts right through to the Presto) is established here. The rising soprano line against the static bass over the course of the next four bars implies an increase in musical tension, and a crescendo is natural and effective.

Prelude: Bars 24 - 25

11. Both hands now make a single line that acts as a bridge to the Presto. Stems down = LH; stems up = RH. A certain amount of give and take in the rhythmic flow works well here, in the spirit of the cadenza that follows. My preference is to overhold the LH notes but you may prefer to add a dash of pedal.

Prelude: Bars 28 - 29

12. The Presto section is the climax of the prelude and, because of its cadenza-like spirit needs to be handled flexibly. The tempo will not be much faster than the opening section, if at all. Energise the fingers, and allow the music to breathe slightly in the big jumps (imagine a string player having to cross from one string to another).

Resources and further reading For complete score, see Practising the Piano Annotated Study Edition (click here) Article on using the Practice Stepladder for learning contrapuntal music featuring this work (click here)