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Bach’s toccatas are among the most improvisatory of his
keyboard works; written in stylus fantasticus, which is a very
unrestrained and free way of composing, using dramatic and extravagant
rhetorical gestures, combining improvisatory passages with other sections,
that range from fugues to dance movements. This almost improvisatory style
of composition can be heard in many of Bach’s preludes, but the difference
in the toccatas is the combination of several different sections into
a single work.
Dütschler’s performances of the opening sections
of these pieces are generally very good. She seems totally at ease with
the spirit behind these semi-improvisatory sections. Witness the F-sharp
minor toccata, with its runs up and down the keyboard. The harpsichord
she performs on adds to the attractive sound of her playing in sections
like this.
Sample 1 Track 6 0:00
She generally plays these pieces with drive and vitality,
though her tempi are never overly rapid. She settles into each piece,
but at times seems to lapse into a more banal interpretation. At the end
of the G minor toccata, in the fugue, she seems to have lost control of
the rhythm - her playing gets a bit heavy and locked into too strict a
beat.
Sample 2 Track 3 4:50
The fugue in the C minor toccata is brilliantly performed.
Dütschler takes this one slowly and creatively, beginning with a
staccato entry of the subject, and building on this with flowing lines
that merge like the tributaries that meet to form a larger river.
Sample 3 Track 5 3:13
But overall, this is an excellent recording of Bach’s
Tocattas, and it certainly deserves attention. While not the best harpsichord
version available, Dütschler’s performance is very good, and the
harpsichord she plays has a very attractive sound.
Kirk McElhearn
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FREE SOUND SAMPLES
(minimum 30 secs)
Toccata
in D minor BWV 913
Toccata
in E minor BWV 914
Toccata
in G minor BWV 915
Toccata
in D major BWV 912
Toccata
in C minor BWV 911
Toccata
in F-sharp minor BWV 910
Toccata
in G major BWV 916
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Ursula Dütschler, harpsichard
