Critical Description of J.S. Bach's Prelude no. 12

This piece is taken from Book 2 of J.S. Bach’s Forty-Eight Preludes and Fugues (also known as The Well-Tempered Clavier). A prelude could take almost any form, the only conditions being that it should be in the same key as the fugue and form a suitable preparation of the listener’s ear and mind for what is to follow, although Bach’s preludes were usually a clearly defined musical personality, of which the fugues …

…admired. It can be admired from a pianist’s point of view, that it is worthy of being a lesson in piano playing and in fact was possibly written as such. Also as a listener, it is simple enough to be listened to in a passive way, for instance if you played in the background whilst you were in the middle of something else, yet it is detailed enough to be studied and critically analysed.