Rhythm
One of the first things to notice when you look at your parts in that they are all in cut-time (C). This means that the half-note gets the beat and we subdivide using quarter notes. As you may have noticed from looking at your parts, the fastest rhythm is eighth notes. Originally, all of the rhythms were twice as fast (eighth notes = sixteenth notes, dotted quarters and eighth note rhythms= dotted eighth and sixteenth note rhythms) because the piece was in common time (4/4) and faster to show of virtuosity of the performer. However, when transcribing the piece, Roland Moehlmann decided to make the rhythms more accessible to younger performers while maintaining the intentions of the original work by increasing the duration of the rhythms and writing the work in cut-time. With that in mind, make sure you spend time everyday with a metronome working on the eighth-note figures and runs. Start off slowly to make sure you have the notes under your fingers and use practice rhythms. Once you have the notes under your fingers, add on playing with correct articulation, dynamics, and style. After you have all of these things down at a slower tempo, gradually increase the tempo, making sure you can play it three times perfectly in all aspects before progressing.
In addition, it is critical for you be to feeling the quarter note and eighth note subdivision inside you as we perform this work. Internal subdivision will help us keep the tempo from fluctuating as well as help us with listening across your sections and the ensemble. The cut time rhythm established at the beginning of the prelude remains constant throughout the entire work with the only exceptions being the ritards at the end of the prelude and end of the fugue.