Bach wrote a substantial number of keyboard works for pedagogical reasons, including those in the famous Well-Tempered Clavier, as well as the Little Preludes (6) and Little Preludes (12). This C major effort is the opening piece in the latter set and while it is quite simple in its technical demands, like virtually all the works in the set, it nevertheless offers a worthwhile listening experience. Bach did not assemble the Preludes (12) (BWV 924-30, 939-42, and 999) into a set himself, but their grouping is logical and is often retained in recordings and on recital programs. The Little in the set's title refers not just to the modest requirements of the piece, but to its length, which here is about a minute. In this Prelude in C major—as with several others in the set—Bach derives a motif from a broken chord for use as his main theme, repeating it throughout and accompanying it with varying but simple harmonies. This motif—a lively, running, four-note creation—varies only slightly, statements of it rising or descending by small steps on the keyboard, while the left-hand writing punctuates and ornaments more than harmonizes it. The results are simple but often mesmerizing.

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