Toccata

Bernardo Storace (fl. 1664) was an Italian composer. Almost nothing is known about his life; his only surviving collection of music contains numerous variation sets and represents a transitory stage between the time of Girolamo Frescobaldi and that of Bernardo Pasquini. Very little is known about his life, except that in 1664 he served as Vice-Maestro di cappella to the senate of Messina. This fact is mentioned on the title page of Selva di varie compositioni d'intavolatura per cimbalo ed organo, the single surviving collection of Storace's music, which is also the only source of information on the composer. Messina was twice devastated by earthquakes, in 1783 and in 1908, so archival research is impossible. Given that Selva di varie compositioni was published in Venice and the music is stylistically somewhat more related to that of northern Italian composers, it is possible that Storace was originally from the north of Italy.

I never played any "Italian baroque toccatas" before, and this came out pretty nicely, although I forgot to ornament the last chord, as I was watching the dog snuffle around the pedalboard... ;-) The "Toccata" shows the light and glittering plenum to good effect.

This piece, as well as a number of other uploads, are all part of my upcoming review of the wonderful new Wiesseanu sample set by Prospectum. It will soon be featured on "The Barde," so, please take a look!

The score is attached below.