User:StradivariusTV/Toccatas, BWV 910-916

The Toccatas, BWV 910–916, are a series of toccatas composed by JS Bach for keyboard sometime in the early 18th century.

Sources and form

No autograph manuscript of the toccatas survives. They appear in many student copies of Bach's work, though no one manuscript contains all seven pieces. The toccatas are instead linked by their form, which is usually composed of four parts:

1. A stretch of running passages, followed by a slow section.
2. An allegro movement, usually fugal.
3. An adagio.
4. A double fugue.

Not all the toccatas follow this pattern, however. For example, the toccata in G major is in three sections and more reminiscent of the concerto form.

The individual toccatas

Toccata in F-sharp minor, BWV 910

• I. Prelude: presto and adagio
• II. Fugue: presto e staccato
• III. Adagio
• IV. Fugue

Toccata in C minor, BWV 911

• I. Prelude and adagio
• II. Fugue: allegro
• III. Adagio
• IV. Fugue: allegro

The two fugal parts are more a single fugue: they share the same subject and tempo (though the second part introduces a new countersubject). In addition, the second adagio is less than a single bar in length.

Toccata in D major, BWV 912

• I. Fantasia: presto, allegro, adagio
• II. Fugue: adagio
• III. Presto
• IV. Fugue

The D major toccata was the first to gain commercial exposure, being recorded by harpsichordist Wanda Landowska in the early 20th century.

Notable performances

• Glenn Gould (piano, 1963, 1976, 1979)
• Peter Watchorn (harpsichord, 1999)
• Colin Tilney (harpsichord, 1988)
• Angela Hewitt (piano, 2002)

References

• Steglich, Rudolf (1971). Toccaten. Munich: G. Henle Verlag.