A toccata is a musical piece that highlights the skill of a performer, usually played on a keyboard or plucked string instrument. It includes fast, intricate passages that show the performer's ability to move their fingers quickly and precisely. These pieces may also have sections where different parts of the music copy or imitate each other. Occasionally, the term is used for music played by multiple instruments, such as the opening of Claudio Monteverdi's opera L'Orfeo.

History

The origin of the toccata is not fully understood, but it is believed to have developed from music written for trumpet and timpani, which was later adapted for the organ or other keyboard instruments. The form first appeared in the late Renaissance in northern Italy. Toccatas from the 1590s were published by composers like Claudio Merulo, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli, Adriano Banchieri, and Luzzasco Luzzaschi. These works are keyboard compositions where one hand plays fast, skillful runs and cascading notes, while the other hand provides a chordal accompaniment. Hans Leo Hassler, who studied with the Gabrielis in Venice, brought the toccata to Germany, where it became most developed, especially in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach over a century later.

During the Baroque period, the toccata became more structured and longer than its Renaissance version. It often included rapid runs, arpeggios, and alternating sections of chords or fugues. These compositions sometimes lacked a regular tempo and had an improvisational feel. Before Bach, other Baroque composers who wrote toccatas include Johann Pachelbel, Michelangelo Rossi, Johann Jakob Froberger, Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, Alessandro Scarlatti, and Dieterich Buxtehude.

Bach's toccatas are among the most famous examples of the form. His Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, is one of the most popular organ works today, though some experts question if he wrote it. Bach's organ toccatas are often followed by a separate fugue, replacing the usual prelude. His harpsichord toccatas, BWV 910-916, are complex works that include fugues, dramatic flourishes, recitative, and aria-like sections.

After the Baroque period, toccatas became less common. However, some composers from the Romantic era, such as Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt, wrote piano toccatas. Schumann's Toccata in C major is known for its technical difficulty, while Liszt's toccata is short and simple, named only as a toccata. Smaller toccatas are sometimes called "toccatina," like the one composed by Charles-Valentin Alkan.

In the early 20th century, composers like Prokofiev, Aram Khachaturian, Maurice Ravel, Jules Massenet, and Claude Debussy wrote toccatas for piano. Ravel included a toccata in his suite Pour le piano, and Debussy's Jardins sous la pluie is a toccata without being named as such. Other composers, such as Pierre Sancan, York Bowen, Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, and Moises Moleiro, also wrote toccatas. George Enescu's Piano Suite No. 2 begins with a toccata, and Erik Satie's Veritables Preludes flasques includes a toccata as its first piece. Peter Seabourne created a set of toccatas inspired by Bach's style.

The toccata was important in the French Romantic organ school, starting with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens. These toccatas became more structured and focused on fast, powerful melodies, often played with the pedal. Famous examples include the final movement of Charles-Marie Widor's Symphony No. 5 and the finale of Louis Vierne's Symphony No. 1.

Toccatas also appear in orchestral works, such as the final movement of Ralph Vaughan Williams' Eighth Symphony. The finales of Francis Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra and Maurice Ravel's Piano Concerto are often described as toccatas. Benjamin Britten's Piano Concerto and Nikolai Medtner's Second Piano Concerto also include toccatas. John Adams' Violin Concerto ends with a movement called "Toccare," referencing the Italian word for "touch." Paul Hindemith's Kammermusik No. 5 begins with a toccata. Emma Lou Diemer wrote many toccatas, including for organ, piano, and other instruments. Samuel Barber's Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto both end with toccata-like movements. Alberto Ginastera often used toccatas in his works, such as his Harp Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 1. Nikolai Kapustin and Evgeny Kissin also composed toccatas in the 20th century.

Literature

In his poem "A Toccata of Galuppi's," Robert Browning used an idea from a musical piece called a toccata by Baldassare Galuppi to make people think about how quickly life changes. However, Galuppi did not actually write any piece with the name "Toccata."