Several pieces in Johann Sebastian Bach's output have
gone almost entirely unperformed. This Toccata in E
Minor (BWV 914) is among the best represented of all of
the manualiter (or hands only) toccatas that Bach
wrote, but still few people know it. Most likely
originally written in Bach's earliest period (before
1708), this work is an excellent example of how Bach
learned to compose; it is clear that the piece
underwent some stylistic revision.
The opening is reminiscent of some of Bach...(+)
Several pieces in Johann Sebastian Bach's output have
gone almost entirely unperformed. This Toccata in E
Minor (BWV 914) is among the best represented of all of
the manualiter (or hands only) toccatas that Bach
wrote, but still few people know it. Most likely
originally written in Bach's earliest period (before
1708), this work is an excellent example of how Bach
learned to compose; it is clear that the piece
underwent some stylistic revision.
The opening is reminiscent of some of Bach's organ
works with rather pompous statements in the bass in
contrast with what occurs in the upper voices. This
section is relatively understated in comparison with
the other six toccatas, all of which begin with scalar
and arpeggiated passages which display the performers
virtuosity. This is followed by a fugato-like passage
which is highly chromatic and harmonically unstable. It
is not unlike many of the other second sections in the
other toccatas, except in its greater contrapuntal
strictness. The following movement, an adagio, is
marked by the term "Praeludium" in one of the
manuscripts. This leads some scholars to believe that
this section, along with the following fugue, comprised
the original work and that the two preceding movements
were later additions. In any event, this section is
highly fantasia-like, with each chord receiving almost
excessive embellishment.
The final movement, an extended fugue, is one of the
most enigmatic for Bach scholars, for its subject is
identical to an anonymous fugue found in an earlier
Italian manuscript. Additionally, the work also has a
number of nearly similar similarities which show that
Bach knew the work well when he composed (or perhaps,
recomposed) his own. Such "plagiarism" was in fact a
form of flattery in the Baroque period. However, Bach
"improved" upon the earlier fugue, using a greater
range of harmonic areas, more idiomatic keyboard
writing (the other, though written for keyboard seems
more appropriate for violin in many respects) and a
richer melodic texture.
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