This is my interpretation of Bach’s Prelude in C Major, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book 1, BWV 846.
I remember this being a “must play” piece at school, among those of us kids that were learning piano. Beethoven’s Für Elise and the first movement of the Moonlight Sonata, along with Joplin’s The Entertainer, were others in that same category.
This is not surprising, as the Prelude is both unusually accessible (being technically relatively straight forward) and incredibly modern sounding harmonically. There is very little if anything about it that would give away the fact it was composed in the early 18th century, and not far more recently, if someone were to hear it for the first time knowing nothing of Bach or his works.
The Prelude’s “must play” stature among aspiring piano students persists, not least thanks to its inclusion in Trinity’s 2023 Grade 5 Piano exam repertoire list and books.
This piece, more than any other, is one I find myself re-interpreting almost every time I play it. As such, next time, when I record it together with its partner Fugue, it will undoubtedly sound quite different!
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Video Recording
Audio Recording
Sheet Music
The Piano & Gear
- Kawai CA49 digital piano
- Zoom H1n audio recorder
- Insta360 Ace Pro camera
- Audacity (audio editing)
- Shotcut (video editing)