The key of D major in Bach's works is inherently a joyful, cheerful, light, and optimistic key. Consider works such as the Inventions, Sinfonias, The Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1, Toccatas, and Partitas.

All share a common joyful character. This Prelude is also a truly delightful one.

Here are three pieces of advice for performing this Prelude:

1. Articulation In the pattern of eighth notes in the right hand from beats 3-4 of measure 2, which appears throughout the piece, lightness can be achieved by pairing two eighth notes and shortening the off-beat note of the latter pair. If this off-beat note is sustained too long, it will sound heavy, as the same note follows.
3. Counting When playing the same eighth-note pattern in the right hand from beats 3-4 of measure 2, count carefully. Some performers tend to deviate from the tempo in this section, playing it unnecessarily slowly.
5. Two-Voice Interplay Consider the right hand as an interplay between two voices. For example, in measure 5, from beats 1-2, imagine the alto posing a question, and then from beats 3-4, the soprano answering that question. Subsequently, these two voices may appear simultaneously, but they often appear alternately. The character of this Prelude will change depending on how independently you can articulate these two right-hand voices.