It’s the simplest piano piece, ever. The entire piece, until the last three measures, exhibits the same repeating rhythm, bar by bar. Furthermore, the second half of each measure is identical to the first half, so the player is free to look ahead to the next measure and prepare it. Yes, the notes change from measure to measure even though the rhythm does not. But the changes are subtle and easily controlled.
This is the first item in “Bach 48” by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), a two-volume collection of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys, twice over. The set is a monument to Bach’s limitless musical ingenuity, with idea after idea tumbling across page upon page.
