Bach - Toccata in G minor, BWV 915 (PDF Sheet Music / Digital Download)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata in G minor, BWV 915, is a vibrant and stylistically diverse work that stands out for its unique blend of Italianate lyricism and strict German counterpoint. It opens with a quintessential "toccata" gesture—a rapid, descending scale that immediately establishes a sense of high drama. However, BWV 915 is perhaps most famous for its concluding fugue, which is based on a distinctive, angular subject that leaps by an octave and a seventh. This finale is notably "thick" in texture, requiring the performer to navigate dense chords and relentless rhythmic patterns that give the piece a modern, almost percussive energy. Between the fiery opening and the massive fugal finish, Bach inserts a graceful, song-like Adagio that highlights his ability to make the harpsichord "sing" through delicate ornamentation and expressive harmonic tension.

This edition is a reissue of music originally published by Edition Peters.