Prelude in E flat BWV 552

This prelude, with its various episodes and interludes, feels more like an overture to me. I think of it as the Christmas Overture, with its long trills complementing the flickering of candles being lit for a candlelit service; some years I play it before a Carol Service and Midnight Communion.

I have never understood why this prelude shares a BWV number with the 'St Anne' fugue. They are both fine pieces of music and provide the start and end of the Clavieruebung Part III, but they were composed after many of the inner pieces and I do not feel a strong connection between them.

For details of the sample set: https://forestpipes.de/?page_id=1793