Note 46 — THE PRECURSORS OF BACH FRESCOBALDI—FROBERGER—PACHELBEL—BUXTEHUDE

Georg Muffat, born about 1635, was a pupil of Lully, and studied also in Rome and Vienna. For some time he was organist in Strassburg, and about 1667 entered the service of the Bishop of Salzburg. About 1687 he became organist and master of the pages at the court in Passau. He died there February 23, 1714. He published in 1690, at Augsburg, the "Apparatus musico-organisticus" (re-edited by S. de Lange, Leipzig, 1888), which contains twelve Toccatas, one in each of the Gregorian modes, and some pieces of lesser importance.

These Toccatas are a development of the older form of the same name, where brilliant passages, harmonic progressions, or fugal imitations, succeeded each other. From each of these elements Muffat made a whole, developed separately; a similar method suggested in certain Canzoni of Frescobaldi was extended in some of the Capricci of Froberger. Nothing but the too sparing use of the pedal prevents these works from being ranked among the most important.