bach prelude and fuge in c minor book 1 no 2 from the well-tempered clavier

[phototaker97]

i started learning this piece about two or three weeks ago and am playing the first three bars relatively well. at a slow tempo. about 42 bpm.

this is a piece that i would like to use for my college audition repertoire, but i wasnt sure whether or not it was an acceptable piece. can anyone tell me if it may or may not be?

also, if it is acceptable, does the pace in which you play something (obviously once ive become comfortable with the music i will be able to play it with more speed, but until then) matter in an audition? is there a set pace for some pieces?
usually when i see sheet music it has a recommended tempo above the music, however, it is in a new book i got and none of the pieces have tempos or a tempo range indicated. i listened to some recordings and different people play it at ranges from quite fast to about medium speed. does anyone know what a good speed to play this piece at would be, and what kind of tempo ranges i am looking at needing to have for my audition repertoire?
i dont exactly have a teacher anymore so i am a little bit out on my own at this point, and have been for some time. im dont really know what i am doing when i look at pieces and what is acceptable for audition repertoire. i know what types of pieces the audition requires (as most colleges have a general list of what they require for auditions) but i dont know what difficulty levels are acceptable or expected (i also realize this depends on the school and how competitive the music program there is to get into).

if anyone can help, that would be appreciated.
thanks!

[j_menz]

This piece, as with most of Bach's works, does not have a fixed tempo. It is at the discretion of the performer, according to (informed) taste. For dance based movements, the nature of the dance provides some guidance, but that is not the case here.

For an audition, as long as you are within the range of conventional tempi there shouldn't be an issue.

I can see no reason why it should not be a suitable piece. It is a 3 voice fugue, so that places it at the easier end of the scale. How well you play it, however, will be of much greater significance. And there is a lot you can do with this particular piece to make it really shine. The fugue, in particular, is a very fine example of the art.

[phototaker97]

Thank you so much! This was very helpful!