Note 20 — THE PRECURSORS OF BACH FRESCOBALDI—FROBERGER—PACHELBEL—BUXTEHUDE

According to Michael Praetorius (Syntagma musicum, 1619) the Toccata was a prelude, a trial of the keyboard, as it were; a fantasia wholly devoid of form, where the organist improvised, alternating long-sustained chords with rapid passages. It was something entirely spontaneous in nature, in which every imperfection was pardoned, provided the performance was characterized by sufficient dash. The Toccatas of Frescobaldi, by virtue of their steadiness and of the balance of their parts, rise far above such a definition, which is justly applicable to the Toccatas of Claudio Merulo and of Gabrielli.