I know many of you have heard of one of J.S. Bach's greatest pieces, his Toccata and Fugue in D minor.
Toccata means "to touch". It is a technique (form of composition) on the piano or organ, where rapid playing over many of the keys on the keyboard are played [touched]. Many times this is light/quick touching of the keys.
The toccata form of composition was mostly prevalent in the Baroque period-and the quintessential composer of this form was Johann Sebastian Bach; although he was not the only Baroque composer to use this form as Alessandro Scarlatti [father of Domenico] and Pachelbel and others also composed toccatas.
From: Wikipedia. Toccata: "Beyond the Baroque period, toccatas are found less frequently. There are a few notable examples, however. From the Romantic period Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt each wrote a piano toccata. Schumann's ambitious Toccata in C Major is considered one of the most technically difficult works in the repertoire and the foremost representative of the genre in the 1800s. The Liszt toccata is a very short and austere composition from his late period, and is practically a toccata only by name."
In the first video - piano version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor -watch for the toccata technique around the 55 and 1:19 marks and when the fugue starts around the 3:00 mark.
Please turn up the volume and enjoy these great toccatas-and remember, it's all in the touch. :-)
J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor [piano]:
Alessandro Scarlatti: Toccata #7:
Pachelbel: Toccata in F Major:
J.S. Bach: Toccata in c minor [toccata-movement 2 at about the 3:37 mark]:
Robert Schumann: Toccata in C Major:
Toccata means "to touch". It is a technique (form of composition) on the piano or organ, where rapid playing over many of the keys on the keyboard are played [touched]. Many times this is light/quick touching of the keys.
The toccata form of composition was mostly prevalent in the Baroque period-and the quintessential composer of this form was Johann Sebastian Bach; although he was not the only Baroque composer to use this form as Alessandro Scarlatti [father of Domenico] and Pachelbel and others also composed toccatas.
From: Wikipedia. Toccata: "Beyond the Baroque period, toccatas are found less frequently. There are a few notable examples, however. From the Romantic period Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt each wrote a piano toccata. Schumann's ambitious Toccata in C Major is considered one of the most technically difficult works in the repertoire and the foremost representative of the genre in the 1800s. The Liszt toccata is a very short and austere composition from his late period, and is practically a toccata only by name."
In the first video - piano version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in d minor -watch for the toccata technique around the 55 and 1:19 marks and when the fugue starts around the 3:00 mark.
Please turn up the volume and enjoy these great toccatas-and remember, it's all in the touch. :-)
J.S. Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor [piano]:
Alessandro Scarlatti: Toccata #7:
Pachelbel: Toccata in F Major:
J.S. Bach: Toccata in c minor [toccata-movement 2 at about the 3:37 mark]:
Robert Schumann: Toccata in C Major:
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