toccata
/təˈkɑːtə
/noun
A musical composition for a keyboard instrument designed to exhibit the performer’s touch and technique.Most people will agree that J S Bach composed the greatest keyboard toccatas precisely because he, more than any composer, was master of maximal emotional intensity, countered by acute intellectual lucidity....
- However, it is important to note that this also finds parallels in the keyboard toccatas of a number of North German composers.
- She not only gets the steel and rhythm of the toccatas (and power without pounding), but above all she generates a wealth of color and an inexorable musical line, whether loud or soft.
Origin
Early 18th century: from Italian, feminine past participle of toccare 'to touch'.