This Toccata in C minor BWV 911, performed by Christine Schornsheim for All of Bach, is one of the set of seven keyboard toccatas written by Bach in his younger years. They are the best examples in Bach’s music of what was known in his day as the stylus phantasticus: an imaginative and fanciful way of composing that was full of surprises. Fantasy had the upper hand, rather than the rules of the art form.

The seven toccatas by Bach can be regarded as a conclusion to his early period as a keyboard composer. He did not conceive of them as a collection himself; that only happened after his death. Yet they do show a clear relationship, with regard to both form and style. They are extensive works with multiple sections. But unlike the later suites and partitas, the sections flow more or less seamlessly into one another. Here, Bach still has one foot firmly in the seventeenth century.

Recorded for the project All of Bach on 15 February 2019 at the Bartolotti House, Amsterdam. If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel [ Ссылка ] and consider donating [ Ссылка ].

For more information on BWV 911 and this production go to [ Ссылка ]

All of Bach is a project of the Netherlands Bach Society / Nederlandse Bachvereniging, offering high-quality film recordings of the works by Johann Sebastian Bach, performed by the Netherlands Bach Society and its guest musicians. Visit our free online treasury for more videos and background material [ Ссылка ]. For concert dates and further information go to [ Ссылка ].

Christine Schornsheim, harpsichordist
Harpsichord: Bruce Kennedy, 1989 after Michael Mietke

0:00 [Toccata]
1:08 Adagio
2:58 [...]
5:48 Adagio
10:16 Adagio / Presto

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