Toccata

If I counted correctly this is the 27th upload of this famous piece here in the concert hall. Not on the sample set of St Omer, however, so that at least is new in this performance... :-)

This Toccatais one of the first French Toccata's I ever heard as a youngster. And especially the beginning of this Toccata made a deep impression. The hands play on the Récit with the swell closed, so the sound is soft and sounds as if coming from far away. And then suddenly these deep soft notes from the pedals in an off beat rythm. The effect is staggering. Well, at least to my ears. The atmosphere is that of a cathedral at dusk and you can almost smell the incense.

As any French Toccata it goes on to make a lot of noise with a lot of notes. Yet those first two pages are to me the highlight of the composition. I play the other five pages as well because, well, it's not done to quit mid piece. But every time I play this piece, I am a bit sad when I reach page three and have to leave the first two pages behind.