This Prelude and Fugue was probably composed during Bach's Weimar period (1708-1717), a time in which he served as court organist for the Duke of Sachsen-Weimar. There is some chance, however, it came during his tenure as Kapellmeister in Cöthen (1717-1723). Whenever it was written, the work exhibits Bach's routine mastery of this form. In the Prelude half, his contrapuntal writing is just as interesting, just as compelling as that in the latter, fugal portion, though it is less busy and a bit less driven. The Prelude is slightly longer than the Fugue, taking up about five of the nine minutes typically consumed in a performance of the work. The piece opens with a modest-sounding main theme that quickly takes on a stately, serious air in its lively pacing and subtle thematic developments. Following a brief pause, the Fugue portion busily begins and soon, the music descends to the keyboard's bass regions, after which it rises to storm the heights—several times! Throughout the Fugue, the music develops and expands, inner lines come to the fore, main lines recede to deftly blend, and the whole yields an often ecstatic piece of exquisite contrapuntal writing.

© All Music Guide