By Harold E. Drake
Relayed from St. Michael's Cornhill
A toccata was originally a piece for displaying one's agility in touch (toccare = to touch), but Bach never wrote mere show pieces. His Toccata in D Minor has been described as a classical storm.' Certainly there is in it a wonderful impression of elemental power and freedom, though of course it has no actual pictorial idea behind it. Its imaginative quality, from the point of view of pure music, is a sheer delight.
The Fugue begins with a mood in complete contrast to the Toccata, but towards the end we are reminded of the work's brilliant opening; the Coda, as it were, binds Toccata and Fugue together.
Bach's six Organ Sonatas, written in three 'voices' only, contain some most expressive pieces, several of which have become concert-room favourites, in orchestral arrangements by Sir Henry Wood and others. They are a little deceptive on paper, appearing simpler to play than they really are. It is a common saying among organists that 'If you can play Bach's Sonatas really well, you can tackle anything,' for they demand absolute co-ordinated independence of hands and feet.
The Fifth Sonata has three Movements— a lightly-speeding cheerful one, a suave slow Movement, and another lively one with plenty of imitative chatter between the three voices engaged.