The Well-Tempered Clavier – Part 1

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Walkthrough - Prelude and Fugue No. 2 in C Minor (4)

Prelude: Bar 34

14. This chord should come as something of a surprise. You may play a solid chord, or spread it from the bass up, or even arpeggiate it down and then back up if you wish:

15. The Adagio section is a recitative. While attention should be paid to the rhythmical values (observe the changing note beams carefully), these two bars should sound free.
16. A double (or multiple) mordant works well here.

Prelude: Bars 37 - 38

16. Relax the tempo at the end, and make a diminuendo by matching the RH to the decay of the LH held octave C. Notice the hidden mordant figure (CBC), and overhold the notes of the C major chord (adding an optional mordant on the E) if you wish:

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)