Recently I listened to and commented on an unfamiliar piece by Beethoven (HERE) and one by Brahms (HERE), so to finish out the “three Bs,” I thought I’d listen to a piece this week by Bach.
My first thought was, “I wonder if Bach wrote a Toccata and Fugue in D Major since he has such a famous work in D Minor.” My second thought was, “What is a ‘Toccata’ anyway?” To answer my second question first, “toccata” (from Italian toccare, “to touch”) is a virtuoso piece of music typically written for a keyboard, and it is composed to exhibit the performer’s “touch” or technique. To answer my first question, no – I could not find a Toccata and Fugue in D Major by Bach. However, much to my surprise, I did find a second Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Bach, known as “Dorian,” HERE. And though I did not find a Toccata and Fugue in D Major, I did find a Prelude and Fugue in D Major. That was close enough for me, so I listened to this composition this week. Of course, Bach composed some very famous and familiar melodies (like “Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring,” “Sleepers Awake,” the Brandenburg Concertos, and so many more), but the Prelude and Fugue in D Major is not one of them. Oh, it’s a pleasant enough piece, the sort of music one might hear while sitting in a pew waiting for a church service to begin -- though probably not while waiting for a funeral service as the piece, written in a major key, is not somber enough. I did enjoy this Prelude and Fugue, though I don’t think it’s a piece I’ll revisit any time soon. However, while Bach’s work earned BLUE in my rating scale, the performance by Monica Czausz merited my top rating, GREEN. That footwork was incredible! I suspect she’d have no trouble at all learning to drive a stick shift car!
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A New Hope:As the header above says, each week I will listen to a piece of classical music that I've never heard before, and then I will report out what I thought about it. Archives
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