who wrote toccata

Who wrote Toccata and Fugue in D minor?

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. The Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is a piece of organ music written, according to its oldest extant sources, by Johann Sebastian Bach.

What is a toccata in music?

Toccata. In the late Baroque era, as in a number of works of J.S. Bach, the association of the two opposite styles often took the form of an improvisatory first movement (termed prelude, toccata, fantasia, etc.) followed by a fugue, as in Bach’s well-known Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, for organ.

Who wrote Toccata concertata by Emerson Lake and Palmer?

This song is an adaptation of a 1961 classical piece called "Toccata Concertata" by the Argentine composer Alberto Ginastera (1916 - 1983). It was arranged by Emerson, Lake & Palmer by their keyboard player, Keith Emerson, who had a keen interest in classical music.

Who composed the Toccatina?

Russian jazz composer Nikolai Kapustin composed a toccatina as part of his Eight Concert Etudes, Op. 40. The symphonic rock band Sky released an arrangement of the J.S. Bach Toccata, BWV 565, on their album Sky 2, featuring keyboardist Francis Monkman .

Did Bach really wrote Toccata and Fugue in D minor?

Johann Sebastian BachToccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 / ComposerJohann Sebastian Bach was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the Brandenburg Concertos; instrumental compositions such as the Cello ... Wikipedia

What does toccata literally mean?

to touchToccata (from Italian toccare, literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, ...

What is the difference between a fugue and a toccata?

The Toccata is rhapsodic – like an improvisation – and has many features that are unusual for an organ work of its time. The Fugue, too, has elements that are uncharacteristic of Bach.

What is a toccata in classical music?

toccata, musical form for keyboard instruments, written in a free style that is characterized by full chords, rapid runs, high harmonies, and other virtuoso elements designed to show off the performer's “touch.” The earliest use of the term (about 1536) was associated with solo lute music of an improvisatory character.

Why is toccata and fugue so famous?

The piece is perhaps most widely known by its appearance in the opening minutes of the 1940 Disney cult classic Fantasia, in which it was adapted for orchestra by the conductor Leopold Stokowski. It also has a strong association in Western culture with horror films.

What is a fugue music?

fugue, in music, a compositional procedure characterized by the systematic imitation of a principal theme (called the subject) in simultaneously sounding melodic lines (counterpoint). The term fugue may also be used to describe a work or part of a work.

Who is the most famous German composer?

Beethoven (1770-1827) Beethoven needs little introduction and is one of the most famous composers ever. Born in 1770, he straddled both the Classical and Romantic eras, and his wide-ranging music dominated the musical landscape at the time.

What does BWV mean in music?

Bach Werke-Verzeichnis/ preceding a number music / abbreviation for. Bach Werke-Verzeichnis: indicating the serial number in the catalogue of the works of J. S. Bach made by Wolfgang Schmieder (1901–1990), published in 1950.

How old was Bach Toccata and Fugue in D minor?

It could have been as early as c. 1704. Alternatively, a date as late as the 1750s has been suggested. To a large extent, the piece conforms to the characteristics deemed typical of the north German organ school of the Baroque era with divergent stylistic influences, such as south German characteristics.

What instruments are used in toccata and fugue?

J.S. Bach, 1685-1750. Scored for 4 flutes, 2-3 oboes, English horn, 2-3 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2-3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4-6 horns, 3 trumpets, 3-4 trombones, tuba, tympani, celesta, 2 harps, and strings.

Who composed toccata for Percussion and winds?

The Toccata for Percussion Instruments (1942), was written by the twentieth-century Mexican composer Carlos Chávez. It is among his most popular compositions. The composition is written for six musicians playing a number of percussion instruments.

What is the musical style of Toccata and Fugue in D minor?

Baroque musicThe fugue constitutes of sixteenth notes, with a pedal point set up against a brief melody that falls and rises, consecutively. This type of violinistic figure is a signature of Bach and Baroque music, both through a subjective and non-imitative viewpoint.

Where does the word fugue come from?

The English term fugue originated in the 16th century and is derived from the French word fugue or the Italian fuga. This in turn comes from Latin, also fuga, which is itself related to both fugere ("to flee") and fugare ("to chase"). The adjectival form is fugal.

What does the word Passacaglia mean?

Definition of passacaglia 1a : an old Italian or Spanish dance tune. b : an instrumental musical composition consisting of variations usually on a ground bass in moderately slow triple time. 2 : an old dance performed to a passacaglia.

What is toccata quizlet?

What is a toccata? a. a set of variations on a repeated harmonic pattern.

What does Cami mean?

short for camisole : a light piece of women's clothing for the top half of the body, sometimes worn as underwear, with thin straps that go over the shoulders: She was wearing jeans and a leopard-print cami. I usually sleep in cotton shorts and a cami.

Who wrote the toccata?

In the late 16th century in Venice such composers as Giovanni Gabrieliand Claudio Merulo wrote organ toccatas (many with such titles as Fantasiaand Intonazione), often achieving a majestic virtuosity by means of florid scale passages, embellishments, unsteady rhythms and harmonies, changes of mood, and freedom of tempo. Merulo initiated the later common practice of alternating fugal sections(using melodic imitation) with rapid toccata passages. In Rome, Girolamo Frescobaldi(d. 1643) composed toccatas that consisted of highly improvisatory sections loosely strung together, marked by sudden changes in harmonies and figuration. They were intended to be played with a free tempo and could be performed in their entirety or in one or more sections. Frescobaldi’s German pupil Johann Jakob Frobergerwas an important transmitter of the style to Germany. Like his teacher, Froberger delighted in the use of chromatic harmonies (using notes foreign to the mode of the piece); and, like Merulo, he characteristically placed a contrasting fugal section between introductory and closing passages in toccata style.

What is a toccata?

Toccata, musical form for keyboard instruments, written in a free style that is characterized by full chords, rapid runs, high harmonies, and other virtuoso elements designed to show off the performer’s “touch .”. The earliest use of the term (about 1536) was associated with solo lute music of an improvisatory character.

Why are the intonazione and the toccata called free forms?

the intonazione, and the toccata in a category frequently referred to as “free forms” because of the inconsistency and unpredictability of their structure and musical content— sections in imitative counterpoint, sections of sustained chords, sections in virtuoso figuration. If a distinction must be made, it might be said in very…

What is the Toccata style?

Toccata, musical form for keyboard instruments, written in a free style that is characterized by full chords, rapid runs, high harmonies, ...

What is the juxtaposition of fugal and improvisatory passages?

The juxtapositionof improvisatory and fugal passages—which appealed to the Baroquefascination with the union of opposites—became a prominent feature of the toccatas of the organist-composers of north Germany, culminating in the works of Dietrich Buxtehudeand, later, J.S. Bach. Buxtehude’s toccatas, in contrast to, for example, those of Frescobaldi, are shaped by an underlying formal structure. Two, even three, fugal sections often alternate with toccata passages, and the fuguesubjects are frequently variations of a basic motif. In the late Baroque era, as in a number of works of J.S. Bach, the association of the two opposite styles often took the form of an improvisatory first movement (termed prelude, toccata, fantasia, etc.) followed by a fugue, as in Bach’s well-known Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565, for organ. Toccatas were occasionally composed after the Baroque era, a notable example being the third section of Claude Debussy’ssuite Pour le piano(composed 1896–1901).

What is a toccata?

The word "Toccata" means a keyboard composition designed to exhibit the performer's technique. A good fit for Keith Emerson. More songs from Emerson, Lake & Palmer. More instrumental songs.

When did Emerson first hear the Toccata Concertata?

Emerson first heard "Toccata Concertata" in 1969 when he was playing a concert with his band The Nice in a bill with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which performed the piece. He worked up a new arrangement, and after Emerson, Lake & Palmer formed, they decided to record it. The song ended up being a lynchpin of their fourth album, Brain Salad Surgery, and a live favorite.

History

The only extant near-contemporary source for BWV 565 is an undated copy by Johannes Ringk. According to the description provided by the Berlin State Library, where the manuscript is kept, and similar bibliographic descriptions, e.g. in the RISM catalogue, Ringk created his copy between 1740 and 1760.

Performance

The performance time of the piece is usually around nine minutes, but shorter performance times (e.g. 8:15) and execution times of over 10:30 exist. The first section of the piece, the Toccata, takes somewhat less than a third of the total performance time.

Reception

In the first century of its existence the entire reception history of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor consists of being saved from oblivion by maybe not more than a single manuscript copy.

What is the toccata in Bach?

Bach’s take on the toccata is typical in that it has a great many fast arpeggios (notes of a chord played in a series rather than simultaneously) and runs up and down the keyboard but otherwise is generally free form and gives the composer much latitude for personal expression.

What is the name of the first part of Bach's Toccata?

The first part of Bach’s piece is a toccata, the name of which is derived from the Italian toccare, “to touch.”. It represents a musical form for keyboard instruments that is designed to reveal the virtuosity of the performer’s touch.

Who is the most famous composer to use the fugue?

This particular fugue, with its accompanying toccata, is not only the best known of Bach’s many fugues but the most famous of fugues by any composer. Betsy Schwarm.

When was the Toccata and Fugue written?

Bach probably composed the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, between 1703-7, but no one is sure of the exact date. It's important to remember the BWV catalogue number as well - there are actually three pieces of organ music written by Bach with the same name! One of these Toccata and Fugue sets, BWV 538, is even in D minor, but it's known as the 'Dorian', which distinguishes it from Bach's more famous organ music.

Who wrote the first Bach score?

The earliest score contains many un-Bach-like dynamics and markings, in a copy made by Johann Ringk (1717-78), who was a student of one of Bach’s students. No original manuscript survives, so perhaps we'll never clear up the mystery. Bach News. See moreBach News.

Is the Toccata a fugue?

The Toccata is rhapsodic – like an improvisation – and has many features that are unusual for an organ work of its time. The Fugue, too, has elements that are uncharacteristic of Bach. In fact, there are strong reasons to suggest that Bach’s celebrated Toccata and Fugue was not originally in D minor, nor written for the organ.

What minor is the Toccata in?

As the title gives away, this piece is in D minor. And confusingly enough, it’s not the only Toccata and Fugue in D minor that Bach wrote.

What is the most well known piece of organ music ever written?

Famed for its iconic opening, Bach’ s Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565) is one of the most well-known pieces of organ music ever written.

What genre is the piece "Uneasy" from?

You’ll probably recognise the piece from multiple horror, magical, and supernatural films, as it has all the ingredients to accompany the uneasy.

Overview

Reception

History

Structure

Performance

Sources

Further reading

External links