J. S. Bach | The Well-Tempered Clavier – Prelude in C min, BWV 847 (1722)
 
The well-tempered clavier from J. S. Bach is one of the greatest masterpieces in music history, as well as a milestone in the codification of the western musical language. Bach composed the two books - each made of 24 preludes and 24 fugues in each of the 12 major and minor keys - with the didactical purpose of demonstrating the superiority of the well-tempered tuning system against the meantone temperament that was mostly diffused at his time. Far beyond the mere illustrative purpose, the two books include a variety of musical ideas, a structural consistency and a poetical richness that has few equals in any art. The second prelude is built upon a captivating repeating motif of running sixteenth notes, which captures the listeners’ attention and holds it until the sudden change of texture and tempo of the coda.