Frescobaldi's Toccatas and their Stylistic Ancestry

Abstract

Since there is no standard description of the style of a Frescobaldi toccata, this study must begin by setting out the stylistic characteristics of these pieces, especially as manifested in what one might call the normal toccata type – the first eleven of Book I and the first, second and seventh of Book II. In this initial stage, the reader is referred for more detailed development of my points to my paper Ascoltare e guardare le toccate, soon to be published as part of the acts of the International Frescobaldi Congress, held in Ferrara in September 1983 to celebrate the quadri-centenary of Frescobaldi's birth. That paper illustrates the distinctive features of Frescobaldi's toccata style through close analysis of a single toccata (the ninth of Book I). I shall briefly lay out these features, proceeding from the make-up of the individual section to the make-up of the entire piece, and stressing not only what kind of things one finds in an individual section or entire piece, but also what gives those things coherence and shape.