Prelude in C major, BWV 846

E299512

keyboard composition prelude solo instrumental piece

Prelude in C major, BWV 846 is one of Johann Sebastian Bach’s most famous keyboard pieces, renowned for its flowing arpeggios and often used as an introductory work for piano students and performers.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Prelude in C major, BWV 846 canonical	6
No. 1 in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I	1
Prelude in C major, BWV 846 (in the WTC ordering)	1

Statements (46)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	keyboard composition ⓘ prelude ⓘ solo instrumental piece ⓘ
approximateCompositionPeriod	early 18th century ⓘ
associatedCollection	The Well-Tempered Clavier ⓘ surface form: Das wohltemperierte Klavier I
associatedComposer	Johann Sebastian Bach ⓘ
catalogNumber	BWV 846 ⓘ
characteristicFeature	continuous flowing arpeggios ⓘ regular broken-chord pattern in the right hand ⓘ simple harmonic progression underpinning the figuration ⓘ
commonInstrumentToday	piano ⓘ
composer	Johann Sebastian Bach ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Germany ⓘ
culturalStatus	one of Bach’s most famous keyboard pieces ⓘ
educationalUse	introductory piece for piano students ⓘ used to introduce Baroque keyboard style ⓘ used to teach broken-chord patterns ⓘ
famousArrangement	Ave Maria ⓘ surface form: Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
genre	keyboard prelude ⓘ
harmonicFunction	demonstrates functional harmony in C major ⓘ
inspiredWork	Ave Maria ⓘ surface form: Charles Gounod’s Ave Maria
instrumentation	keyboard ⓘ
key	C major ⓘ
languageOfTitle	Latin alphabet, German/Italian musical terminology ⓘ
movementType	prelude ⓘ
notableFeature	clear, stepwise harmonic progression ⓘ widely recognized opening of The Well-Tempered Clavier ⓘ
notation	written in common time ⓘ
numberOfBars	commonly around 35 measures (depending on edition) ⓘ
opusNumber	none (catalogued by BWV number rather than opus) ⓘ
originalInstrument	harpsichord ⓘ
pairedWith	Fugue in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ
partOf	The Well-Tempered Clavier ⓘ surface form: The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
pedagogicalReputation	frequently included in beginner and intermediate piano curricula ⓘ
performancePractice	also performed on harpsichord ⓘ often performed on modern piano ⓘ
period	Baroque ⓘ
positionInWork	first piece in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I ⓘ
recordingAvailability	extensively recorded by classical pianists ⓘ
style	Baroque keyboard style ⓘ
tempoIndication	not explicitly marked by Bach ⓘ
texture	homophonic with broken chords ⓘ
tonalCenter	C major ⓘ
tuningContext	example piece for well-tempered tuning systems ⓘ
typicalDifficultyLevel	early intermediate for piano students ⓘ
workNumberInCollection	Prelude in C major, BWV 846 self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: No. 1 in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Well-Tempered Clavier → contains → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

album “Piano Book” → includesWork → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

subject surface form: Piano Book

Prelude in C major, BWV 846 → workNumberInCollection → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: No. 1 in The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I

Fugue in C major, BWV 846 → precededBy → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

Fugue in C major, BWV 846 → follows → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

Fugue in C major, BWV 846 → hasCompanionPiece → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

Prelude in C minor, BWV 847 → precededBy → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

Fugue in C minor, BWV 847 → isPrecededBy → Prelude in C major, BWV 846 ⓘ

this entity surface form: Prelude in C major, BWV 846 (in the WTC ordering)