temperament

[A440A@AOL.COM]

  remoody writes:

>Sorry, transposing the C# WTC to C is way beyond me. I would like to ask who
is capable of doing this?  <snip> Wondered why Bach
wrote it in C# instead of C, or if he in a sly moment transposed it FROM C.

Greetings, 
    I think Bach wrote this as he did to display the usage of the highly 
tempered key of C#.  The alternating notes of the harmony don't perceptibly 
"beat",  they are too fast and never struck together.  
    Perhaps an easier excercise would be to play the prelude in C in the key 
of C# on a well tempered piano.  This will show how bad the "wrong" key will 
sound.  In ET there will be no difference, but in a Werckmeister or something 
like it,  the C prelude will sound very poor in the key of C#. 
REgards,
Ed Foote RPT