All but one of Bach's toccatas open with an improvisatory prelude and conclude with a final fugue, following the north-German tradition.
Critical Reception
Johann Nikolaus Forkel, an early biographer of Bach, dismissed these toccatas as 'youthful efforts' (Jugendübungen).
Performer Biography
Pieter-Jan Belder, the harpsichordist on this album, won the Leipzig Bach harpsichord competition in 2000.
Composition History
J.S. Bach's seven toccatas are the earliest group of pieces in his catalog defined by a collective title, though their organization was likely not his design.
Performer Biography
Pieter-Jan Belder has made over 150 album recordings, including integral recordings of Scarlatti's keyboard sonatas and Bach's Well-tempered Clavier.
Instruments
Pieter-Jan Belder performs these toccatas on a harpsichord built by Titus Crijnen in 2014, modeled after a Ruckers instrument from 1624.
Compositional Technique
Bach's toccatas belong to the 'stylus fantasticus' tradition, a free and improvisatory style described by Athanasius Kircher and Johann Mattheson.
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