Bach: WTC I, Prelude and Fugue in E major

 We have had some fairly long preludes and fugues, up to eleven minutes in total duration. But this pair are the shortest so far with various performances ranging between two and three minutes in length. Bach has stuck to a fairly small range of time signatures so far, usually what we call common time (C) and Bach would likely have called "tempus imperfectus." That "C" time signature and the one with the vertical slash, both come from the older mensural system that used circles, half circles and dots to show meter and division. But this prelude is in the slightly unusual meter of 12/8, compound quadruple time. The score is a single page, as is the fugue, and Bach reminds us that he, as well as Mozart, can toss off charming melodies effortlessly. The prelude modulates to the predictable B major, then the less-predictable B minor, then F# minor, A major before returning to E major. Towards the end there is a kaleidoscope of keys briefly touched on including G major, B major, C# minor before closing with a chromatically decorated plagal cadence.

The fugue has another of Bach's rhythmically dynamic subjects and one that undergoes no exotic transformations. It is as if he is giving us a rest after the E flat minor fugue. The countersubject is just the turn figure from the subject. Not too much to say about this unprepossessing fugue that delights more than it confounds.

Here is Richter with the score: