Toccatas BWV 910-916 - Pieter-Jan Belder
Bach's Toccatas, unlike his "other collections" of pieces, say, the Six Partitas, the Well-Temepered Clavier, etc., was not conceived as a collection, per se. At least that's what suggested in the notes in this release from Pieter-Jan Belder on Brilliant Classics. These seven works are perhaps best described as old-fashioned, considering the number of suites of dances that make up the keyboard collections of Bach's contemporaries, Rameau, Handel, etc. Scarlatti stands out for being unconventional, perhaps, with his collection of "sonatas" that certainly can work as individual pieces.
Bach's Toccatas, like Scarlatti's Sonatas, are single movements, and in this recording last between eight and thirteen and a half minutes. But unlike Scarlatti's pieces, Bach adopts a rather tried format of the stylus fantasicus, a change of one mood to another, capitalizing upon counterpoint as a centerpiece in each toccata.
Toccatas, if we consider the word as any type of musical form, really isn't one; different composers adopted the title in their own way, but the idea harkens back to early Italian pieces designed as a warm up. The word itself speaks of touching the keys, or touching the strings (of a lute). There are certainly analogies to this type of toccata, as prelude, when we consider Bach's pieces for organ, such as the Dorian Toccata and Fugue. These are different beasts, however; they are, to my ears, interesting, given that Bach can combine a number of different motivic ideas in a relatively short amount of space. And they come across as virtuosic, I know, for anyone attempting to play them.
Piete-Jan Belder is a oft-recorded musician, and I've reviewed him before for a Bach album as leader featuring the cantata, Ein Feste Berg.
The first thing to hit me when auditioning this release was the sound: specifically, Belder employs a delicious-sounding instrument that is recorded in strong fidelity. His use of different voicing and non-even tempered tuning brings a richness to his performances. I've never met the man or heard him live, but I'd wager he felt very comfortable in recording these pieces.
My usual choices when listening to the seven toccatas are Angela Hewitt on piano and Pierre Hantaï on harpsichord. (In third place might just be Glenn Gould.) On repeated listenings, I found myself enjoying Belder's interpretations; his choices in tempo, the rubato effects at cadences, and again, his choices in bringing out the different character of the pieces through registration changes on the keyboard all seem smart. His reading of the fugue in the D minor toccata, BWV 913, a favorite of mine, swings with just a little swagger. It's the kind of confidence that puts a smile on your face.
Another favorite of mine is the Toccata in G minor, BWV 915. The comparison with Hantaï reveals the richness with Belder's instrument; the Hantaï recording employs a thinner-sounding instrument. In the second section Belder pushes the tempo and I like it faster.
In the G major toccata, which for me evokes the characteristics of something written for organ, Belder's interpretation is far more enjoyable compared to the rushed antics in the piano performance by Gould; the effect of a grand opening is somewhat lost in Gould; performed by Belder on the harpsichord, the period approach clearly wins for me.
To add to these strong interpretations are some very well liner notes. I'm happy to put this on the revered side of my shelf alongside Mr. Hantaï's recording on Virgin/Erato.
