Toccata & Fugue in D minor
J. S. Bach
The precise date when Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor was
written is uncertain, but it is estimated to have been between 1703
and 1707. Interestingly, some scholars believe that Bach’s Toccata
and Fugue was not originally in D minor, nor written for the organ. No
original manuscript of the work survives today. However, it is the most
iconic Baroque organ work, known for its majestic sound and dramatic,
driving rhythm. Audiences will be familiar with the unmistakable three
dramatic opening flourishes followed by the low pedal note underneath
a huge, fortissimo rolling chord.
The name toccata is derived from the Italian toccare, “to touch.” It
represents a musical form for keyboard instruments that is designed
to reveal the virtuosity of the performer’s touch. Bach’s compositional
approach is typical for a toccata in that it has a great many fast arpeggios,
running up and down the keyboards. The fugue, characterized by the
overlapping repetition of a principal theme in different melodic lines,
reflects the particular popularity of the form during the late 1600s and
early 1700s.
Ave Maria
Anton Bruckner
The Ave Maria is a supplication to the Virgin Mary, based on text
from the annunciation. Bruckner wrote this seven-part setting in 1861,
making it the first major composition that he completed after five years
of arduous study with Simon Sechter in Vienna. The first segment of
Bruckner’s setting contrasts the three-part women’s choir and the four-
part men’s choir, which unite in the proclamation of the name of Jesus.
The second segment is for all seven parts, with a particularly effective
diminuendo as the choir asks for intervention for us sinners.
Ave Maria, gratia plena,
Dominus tecum;
Benedicta tu in mulieribus,
Et benedictus fructus ventris tui,
Jesus.
Hail Mary, full of grace,
The Lord is with you;
Blessed are you among women,
And blessed is the fruit of your womb,
Jesus.
4