October 20, 2025 | Author: Dominic Nicholas | Category:Very Quick Guide
J.S.Bach playing the organ
J.S. Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 is, by some distance, the most instantly recognisable work for organ. It’s arresting ‘da-da-da’ opening, followed by florid runs, dramatic pauses and a bunch of chunky chords has something deliciously gothic about it. Small wonder our many arrangements of it here on 8notes are so popular with our members.
No matter how well you think you know this piece, however, some things about it may come as a surprise…
1. It may not be by Bach
The earliest score of the work is a copy made by composer and organist Johannes Ringk, probably between 1740 and 1760. This lack of a score in the composer’s hand has led many musicologists to question whether the work is by J.S. Bach at all.
And it’s not just the lack of an autographed text—they point out that the piece is unusual, being more typical of the ‘galant’ style of the late 18th century. Though Bach may conceivably have written such piece towards the end of his life, that is also problematic, because many consider it to be too simple to be mature Bach.
Despite this, others argue that it is entirely possible that a younger Bach, who after all was one of music history's greatest geniuses, could have written an exuberant piece that was stylistically ahead of its time.
2. It may not have been written for organ
The fact that the piece seems to be written at the wrong time and not sound like a mature Bach organ work has led some to speculate that it may have started life as a violin piece, though possibly not by Bach. It was then arranged for organ, also possibly not by Bach! There have been several attempts at reconstructing the work for violin and it does, indeed, work remarkably well on the instrument:
3. It probably wasn’t called ‘Toccata and Fugue’ at all
The title ‘Toccata and Fugue’ is relatively unusual in the context of Bach’s organ music, ‘Prelude and Fugue’ being much more common. ’Toccata’, literally means ‘to touch’ and is generally used for showy pieces that make a feature of a player’s technique. As was the case with Bach’s Toccata, Adagio and Fugue, BWV 564 it is therefore more likely that this word was a later addition to the piece.
4. It was made famous by Mendelssohn
Though Bach was not entirely forgotten after his death in 1750, it’s true to say that his music very much fell out of favour. A revival of his works begin in the first half of the 19th century, led by composer Felix Mendelssohn, who caused the piece to be published in 1833. He is also known to have performed the work in 1840, describing it, with remarkable foresight, as ‘at the same time learned and something for the people.’
5. The opening motive may not sound as you think
The piece is in two contrasting parts, the improvisatory-feeling toccata and the more deliberate fugue. The most familiar part is undoubtedly the toccata, with the arresting ‘da-da-da’ figure with which it begins, before repeating in two lower octaves:
In the earliest score, however, that figure is not notated but a grace note, more precisely a lower mordent which can be interpreted much more floridly, as indeed a number of organists do:
6. Brilliant Bach or banal Bach?
The piece has generated contradictory views since it became widely known. Mendelssohn was certainly a fan, as we have seen, whereas musicologists such as Peter Williams have called aspects of it ‘simplistic’ and ‘primitive’, pointing out problems such as the plain harmony and crude counterpoint. This has often been seen as reinforcing the idea that the piece was written by some other composer, rather than as a criticism of Bach himself.
Other contradictions are legion—some consider it ‘entirely a thing of virtuosity,’ others "not so difficult as it sounds.’ Some consider it an early form of programme music, possibly depicting a storm, most consider it nothing of the sort. It has been considered as exuberantly and definitively by Bach, even to the extent of linking it stylistically to other of his works; others continue to question its authorship. Some call its perfectly suited to the organ, others ‘strikingly unorganistic.’
7. It wasn’t only used in Fantasia
Walt Disney’s use of Leopold Stokowski’s orchestration of the work in the his 1940 film ‘Fantasia’ is legendary (read more about music from the film, here), but it had already appeared in several earlier films, including Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1932) and The Black Cat (1934) as well as subsequently in Sunset Boulevard (1950), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Fellini’s ‘La Dolce Vita’ (1960) and many others.
It has also appeared numerous times on the small screen, acting as a shorthand for moments of gothic horror, often humorously as in ‘The Simpsons,’ ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’ and ‘Scooby-Doo.’ It has also appeared in numerous video games, including ‘Call of Duty’ and ‘The Crew 2’
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor has, finally, made the transition from classical to popular music, with a crossover version from violinist Vanessa Mae (1996), and the brilliant prog-rock hit ‘Toccata’ by Sky (1978), which was nominated for a Grammy.
