Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848

The prelude is a lively two-part texture, using a series of broken chords which swap between the hands. It is in a fast ³
₈ time signature and is made up largely of semiquavers. Later on in the piece, the semiquaver line splits between the hands before ending with a short coda in an improvisatory manner. A prelude is a short, introductory piece. It is reinterpreted in track 4 of Charles Mingus' 1972 album Let My Children Hear Music.

The three-voice fugue is unusually devoid of the commonly used fugal devices, such as augmentation, diminution, inversion, pedal point or stretti. The cheerful subject is characterised by descending broken 6ths in light quavers. One of the countersubjects is constructed with running legato semiquavers, whilst the other consists of longer note values. The fugue has an extensive sequential episode which develops through related keys before the reappearance of the three voices.