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Johann Sebastian Bach — Toccata in D minor
Album: E. Power Biggs, Organ (1959)
Avg rating:
9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 3680









Released: 1722
Length: 3:02
Plays (last 30 days): 3
(Instrumental)
Comments (548)add comment
 damonlazer wrote:


That's the fugue.  This just the toccata, not the toccata and fugue.

GREAT TUNE!!   ...I want it ALL!!  
E. Power Biggs is one of the best organists there has ever been, and this entire song is awesome, please stop cutting it short!  
I had a version by Canadian Brass and it was GREAT
I don't remember if you can paste cartoons. But I just saw one where it was a music store 2 or 3 vampires sitting at different organs and the music store owner pointing at the no "Tacata in D Minor " sign....
I just found this.... apparently the joke had to be explained...https://www.reddit.com/r/Expla...
 ppopp wrote:
This Bach dude totally ripped-off ELP on this one.
{#Tongue}


Yeah, if Bach had followed this intro with some real good rock & roll, he might have had a #1 hit on the charts.  
 carrigman wrote:

Bill and Rebecca: playing only 2:27 of this masterpiece is like fading out Hey Jude just before the Na Na Na Na Na Na chorus at the end! Play it all!  



Yes, it is like being shown heaven and then having the door shut!  
I'm sad, it miss the explosion... the best part !
 thundrpants wrote:

Wait. Where's the end???



That's the fugue.  This just the toccata, not the toccata and fugue.
 victory806 wrote:

I dislike organs the way some dislike bagpipes. I absolutely LOVE bagpipes! 


Wha, wha, What you dislike organs. well take me to church.
WTF, wheres my kilt?
Wait. Where's the end???
I dislike organs the way some dislike bagpipes. I absolutely LOVE bagpipes! 
Highest rated song I've seen on RP. 
 Johnwayne wrote:

Primate?
Your only a million, or so, years off from the 1700's...

"primate, in zoology, any mammal of the group that includes the lemurs, lorises, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans."
https://www.britannica.com/ani...
 Highlowsel wrote:

You have to ask yourself.  What in the world is going on in that space between the ears of the primate who conceives such brilliance as this, eh?  I guess it's a reflection of having somehow tapped into something primal and profound.  It's all the proof you need that there is much more going on out there than you can possibly conceive.  But every once in a while it deems to let you get a glimpse of it in such a fashion as this.  A reflection of a brilliance that cannot be constrained by Time.  Wonderous, isn't it? 

Highlow


Primate?
Your only a million, or so, years off from the 1700's...
You have to ask yourself.  What in the world is going on in that space between the ears of the primate who conceives such brilliance as this, eh?  I guess it's a reflection of having somehow tapped into something primal and profound.  It's all the proof you need that there is much more going on out there than you can possibly conceive.  But every once in a while it deems to let you get a glimpse of it in such a fashion as this.  A reflection of a brilliance that cannot be constrained by Time.  To go with a Hermetic turn of phrase, The All.  It wonderous, isn't it? 

Highlow

Hearing an organ like this in a cathedral or a concert hall is truly a surround sound transcendental experience. You can literally feel the bass notes in your bones. I'm always put in mind of The Abominable Doctor Phibes on his Wurlitzer :o)
Is this Garth Hudson?
 maxjboxer wrote:

I didn’t know Bach listened to Deep Purple…


I've always loved the fantastical idea of traveling back in time and hearing the original performance of a piece like this, recording it for posterity of course.  
Similarly it would be great to PLAY their compositions to them on some amazing hi-fi.
LLRP
Magnificent!!!...
Very cool. The cover by Rick Wakeman is worth a listen!
For me, I first encountered this piece way back in the 70's. It was used as the theme for movie Rollerball (the original). It my introduction to Bach. What a great intro!
 maxjboxer wrote:

I didn’t know Bach listened to Deep Purple…




I always wonder when Ritchie Blackmore breaks in ...
I didn’t know Bach listened to Deep Purple…
 ppopp wrote:
This Bach dude totally ripped-off ELP on this one.
{#Tongue}



I've actually always wondered what Bach would do with modern synths or a copy of Reason...
Have always loved the sound of church organs and in particular this track.  On tracing my family history i find out that in the 17th Century  some of my ancestors built and restored church organs  and one of theirs is in my local cathedral  in Exeter in the UK with some 2000 organ pipes. So it must be in my blood after all.
 Javelina wrote:

Want to test your speakers? Crank this up!




I Agree!  ...And your cans!   SUPERB!! in FLAC w/ great stusdo phones, amp & DAC!  Thanx RP!   
 easmann wrote:



I'm tracking with you.  First thing that came to mind after hearing about 3 seconds.
Want to test your speakers? Crank this up!
I heard this played by the cathedral organist in Liverpool cathedral.  I was the only one in there.  He was practicing - mindblowing, I will never forget the experience   PLEASE play the whole piece.
300 years ago this year!
Happy Halloween!!! MWAHAHAHA!!!
This one is old enough that Casey  Kasem was just starting the Top 40  broadcast when it was released.
I used to play a pipe organ in church when I was a member of the choir.  4 tiered  keyboards (manuals) plus a full octave pedalboard.  A bit intimidating but no less enjoyable to make such majestic sounds. 

A Hamond B3 with Leslie 122 speaker came later.  Much more fun ;-}  
 TrevorWGoodchild wrote:
 
I actually was giving PC props if you read it again, and said he would have been great following Thievery Corporation instead of Bach's Toccata 


Ohhh...today's segue from Bach to Led Zep's "When the Levee Breaks" is even more brilliant than the Phil Collins one...LLRP!!
 BillG wrote:

indeed. Unique take and flat out beautiful. Thanks!
Where's the Fugue? We NEED the Fugue!!!
'Released: 1722'

300th anniversary this year. Wow. 10!
 TrevorWGoodchild wrote:
 Big fan of Bach. Not a big fan of switching from the Primitives T Bone Burnett directly into classical music without any sort of transition track - part of DJ-ing is making those transitions smooth, like perhaps a Spanish Guitar song, or The Tea Party's Badger track, then into a piece that was solo piano and perhaps it wouldn't be as jarring to suddenly hear a Halloween sounding organ piece by Bach. Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club that followed Toccata in D minor would have been better to transition into Bach..having to skip RP tracks is no fun. Work on the transition tracks por favor.
 
but following it with "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins is absolutely hilarious.  I think you have just been trumped.
 ppopp wrote:
This Bach dude totally ripped-off ELP on this one.
{#Tongue}


ripped off the Band I would say
One of these days, treat us to the fugue!
Oh my (john) Lord!!!
I wonder why they used a stock photo of the organ and choir from the Tabernacle at Salt Lake City, when the choir isn't even a part of this album. They could have used any other stock photo of a great church organ.
Bach Rach...
 TrevorWGoodchild wrote:

Big fan of Bach. Not a big fan of switching from the Primitives T Bone Burnett directly into classical music without any sort of transition track - part of DJ-ing is making those transitions smooth, like perhaps a Spanish Guitar song, or The Tea Party's Badger track, then into a piece that was solo piano and perhaps it wouldn't be as jarring to suddenly hear a Halloween sounding organ piece by Bach. Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club that followed Toccata in D minor would have been better to transition into Bach..having to skip RP tracks is no fun. Work on the transition tracks por favor. 




You not listening close enough,is my thought, Trevor, professional DJ. Point me to your radio station...
Bach so soon?
How can you play this without the fugue???
C'mon Bill!!!!!!

Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan!!!
This is quite a cliff hanger. What happened with the amazing fugue???

(The Fixx hardly does it justice)
I like the Karl Richter version better, but this one's nice.  Karl's more forceful.  
Please play the whole piece. Thank you,
Big fan of Bach. Not a big fan of switching from the Primitives T Bone Burnett directly into classical music without any sort of transition track - part of DJ-ing is making those transitions smooth, like perhaps a Spanish Guitar song, or The Tea Party's Badger track, then into a piece that was solo piano and perhaps it wouldn't be as jarring to suddenly hear a Halloween sounding organ piece by Bach. Chan Chan by Buena Vista Social Club that followed Toccata in D minor would have been better to transition into Bach..having to skip RP tracks is no fun. Work on the transition tracks por favor. 
Not the best recording of this piece - listen to Peter Hurford's 1984 recording on Decca. 
Such a versatile musician. Some of his music seems timeless.  

Listen to Suite No. 2 B. Obviously classical, but could have been written yesterday.






 TheKing2 wrote:

I do believe there are far better (interesting) renderings (covers?) available. 




I totally agree. This lacks some dynamism that I've heard in others.
Excellent!
 kevincherney3095018 wrote:

This is why I listen to RP, and contribute yearly.

To go from Robert Plant to Bach to Chan Chan.  

Masterpiece theater for the ears

thank you


Yes! And it's always a good time to encourage people to subscribe! I give monthly.

 TheKing2 wrote:

I do believe there are far better (interesting) renderings (covers?) available. 


Such as?
I do believe there are far better (interesting) renderings (covers?) available. 
Hey!! If I wanted to hear this, I would just listen to the mainstream classic rock station!!!
I always expect to hear "Chest Fever" when this starts....
My favorite piece of classical music. Anybody remember E Power Biggs and his 'heavy' organ?
This is why I listen to RP, and contribute yearly.

To go from Robert Plant to Bach to Chan Chan.  

Masterpiece theater for the ears

thank you
 opaceo wrote:

This piece in in D minor, the saddest of all keys. Did anyone besides me weep instantly when they heard it?



Is that you Nigel?
Where's the 11 when you need one!?
This piece in in D minor, the saddest of all keys. Did anyone besides me weep instantly when they heard it?
Those bass pedals.  Awesome.

'cause somebody had to post it.
 floydpink wrote:

Wow. Imagine the awe this would engender in a person hearing this in a gothic cathedral in mid 18th century! 



I was pretty impressed by Virgil Fox playin' this on "Black Beauty",  A Rogers
Touring Organ at the Filmore East in NYC...
Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.
Nothing compers to this
Wow. Imagine the awe this would engender in a person hearing this in a gothic cathedral in mid 18th century! 
Hey honey. (exclaims the 18th Century citizen)....you won't BELIEVE what I heard in church today!  🤣🤣🤣

Highlow
American Net'Zen
 thewiseking wrote:

I'm waiting for a Pink Floyd fan to come out here and declare Bach Sucks!


I'm a Pink Floyd fan and Bach is the towering genius of Western music.
Without doubt, Biggs was without parallel in his day. Never heard him live, but had a couple of his albums. This piece should be experienced in a medieval cathedral like Durham or Wells... If it doesn't make you believe in a God, it's certainly enough to confirm the divine (small "D").
 Gromit_42 wrote:

Since I didn't think this recording was made in 1722 :) I had to check. Discogs says it was released in 2002.

Bach - E. Power Biggs ‎– Organ Works: Toccata & Fugue • Preludes & Fugues



2002 for the CD, perhaps.  I remember being blown away in early 70's when my father put this on the record player and pointed out differences among the 14  (?) performances at different sites.  BxW cover screamed 50's and was labeled as "a Hi-Fi Adventure."  It looks like the LP came out in '59.
Do you ever stop to contemplate what must have been going thru the mind of Bach when he first uncovered this little "ditty?"  Tracking each note as it revealed itself to him?  Pursuing it with curiosity and focus.  Could you imagine if someone tried to distract him?

"Hold on honey I'm following a thought here."  

Like a mouse on the scent.  Talk about some magnificient breadcrumbs, eh?  I think it's safe to presume this is what an epiphany must feel/sound like?

Thank you for sharing this with the world, Sir Johann Sebastian of the Bach tribe.  

Highlow
American Net'Zen
 J_Crayton wrote:
Most other tracks you play state the artist. Why not the classical ones? Obviously this isn't JSB himself. You really should give credit to the people who are actually performing. 
All the same, it's a great piece. How about playing the version by SKY?
 

JS Bach is the composer.
E. Power Biggs is the man playing the organ. One the best at it IMHO. 
Back in the days of cassette tapes, I appended this to the end of Lyle Lovett's Pontiac album. The segue from She's Hot To Go to this is surprisingly good. I can no longer hear one without associating it with the other.
If you like Bach organ music, go to this:

https://library.stanford.edu/m...

It's the Stanford University Organist, Dr. Robert Huw Morgan, playing the complete organ works of Bach in 14 concerts over the course of a year, complete with lectures about the music and Bach.  It is pretty epic.  Turns out Stanford has a pretty nice pipe organ.

The Toccata and Fugue in D Minor is BWV 565.
 carrigman wrote:
Bill and Rebecca: playing only 2:27 of this masterpiece is like fading out Hey Jude just before the Na Na Na Na Na Na chorus at the end! Play it all!  
 

Yes, that was just the warmup. Really need to hear the whole thing.
Bumping to 11. This particular album is really an aural masterpiece, as E. Power plays the same fugue at something like 17 different “Houses”...Of The Holy, oh yeah. 17 different period-appropriate cathedrals, 17 different pipe organs, 17 different sounds. Tasty tidbit: The reason organs are called “organs” is because they were originally (Baroque Period (Bach’s time)) designed and constructed as the cathedral itself was uniquely designed and constructed in order to sound “right,” and therefore were an organic component of the cathedral itself. Importantly, they were integral to the cathedral’s identity, role, and function; thusly, they were considered to be organs (specific essential function) of the cathedral. Architect’s hat is now off. 😎
This makes the 80's video gamer in me want to play "Gyruss" 
J. S. Bach, the one and only founder of prog. 
Saddened that Bill doesn't seen to give a Fugue.
This seems awfully frickin appropos today.
 ScottishWillie wrote:

The association between this music and Rollerball is so strong that I can't stop the film playing in my head as I listen. The other song that does this for me is The End by the Doors.
 
Sir Ralph Richardson had an amazing bit part in Rollerball. Always a pleasure to view his work.
Imagine the awe an 18th century serf or yokel would feel hearing and literally feeling this surge through them. Especially visiting a gothic cathedral for the first time. 
Having said that, it needs more cowbell! 
About 1000 years ahead of his time!!!’ Thank you God for this error!!! Syntax to the Max!!!!
 easmann wrote:

 
The association between this music and Rollerball is so strong that I can't stop the film playing in my head as I listen. The other song that does this for me is The End by the Doors.
 Gromit_42 wrote:
Since I didn't think this recording was made in 1722 :) I had to check. Discogs says it was released in 2002.

Bach - E. Power Biggs ‎– Organ Works: Toccata & Fugue • Preludes & Fugues
 
Maybe Bill's humour?
 BillG wrote:
 

had to bump this.worth the watch..........
 lizardking wrote:

Respectful disagreement, the segue to PC is brilliant to me, especially if you consider the 'urban legend' of Phil's "In the Air Tonight" - and really...where else will we have disagreements about a Back to Phil Collins segues?  Long Live RP and eclectic playlists!!
I actually was giving PC props if you read it again, and said he would have been great following Thievery Corporation instead of Bach's Toccata 

 TrevorWGoodchild wrote:
This just sounds like Dracula or a halloween film....-it doesn't fit, or sound good, or flow.
 
Respectful disagreement, the segue to PC is brilliant to me, especially if you consider the 'urban legend' of Phil's "In the Air Tonight" - and really...where else will we have disagreements about a Bach to Phil Collins segues?  Long Live RP and eclectic playlists!!
This just sounds like Dracula or a halloween film, doesn't really mix well following The Runner by Boxer Rebellion and then Forgotten People by Theirvery Corporation. I could see Sebastian Tellier or Enigma, or 4tet following Thievery Corporation but not this halloween sounding music. If it was within a body of classical music that was seamlessly transitioned into from say, a flamingo guitarist, to classical piano pieces slowly increasing the intensity of the music..sure. But background ambient music to this Toccata? No thanks...pass..skip. The next track after, In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins - that would have been a great mellow transition from Thievery Corporation. So..for today's mix...just take out the Toccata in D minor--it doesn't fit, or sound good, or flow.
 bentonian wrote:
James Caan, rolling around the rink, as the crowd chants, "Jonathan, Jonathan, Jonathan..."
 
 carrigman wrote:
Bill and Rebecca: playing only 2:27 of this masterpiece is like fading out Hey Jude just before the Na Na Na Na Na Na chorus at the end! Play it all!  
 
That's right, when the prelude is finished you play the next song.
How about playing it just once in 30 days but then completly.
Was the Tocatta ever a car model? It should be; "introducing, the new Ford Tocatta." And its horn could sound like a pipe organ.
The original art rocker, take that Rick Wakeman
 thewiseking wrote:
I'm waiting for a Pink Floyd fan to come out here and declare Bach Sucks!
 
Nonsense.Im die hard fan of PF and Bach is genius in my eyes
 thewiseking wrote:
I'm waiting for a Pink Floyd fan to come out here and declare Bach Sucks!
 

Spot on!
 ico wrote:
Length: 2:27

i remember, that was longer!!
 
Size is not necessarily everything, particularly when an organ is involved
I'm waiting for a Pink Floyd fan to come out here and declare Bach Sucks!
I have come to expect the unexpected at RP. There is one key moment that made my head explode. It was when I heard this for the first time here and the best segue EVER into Chest Fever by The Band. Now I am like Pavlov's dog and hoping and waiting for it. Bill and Rebecca are masters of this.
thought it was Rick Wakeman..
Since I didn't think this recording was made in 1722 :) I had to check. Discogs says it was released in 2002.

Bach - E. Power Biggs ‎– Organ Works: Toccata & Fugue • Preludes & Fugues
When ever I hear the beginning of this piece of music... I'm quite sure it's about to launch into a punk song by Sigue Sigue Sputnik...    Anyone know that one?  Did I spell their name right?  ha... those space cowboys from the 80's??  I liked that one...  a far cry from Bach... to be sure... but the adoration still there.  Of course... I've matured.  It's wonderful to hear this... in whole of what it is.  Much Love from Canada!  123K
Ah, eclecticism! This is why I listen to this channel!
WTF (Where's The Fugue) 
Not all guitars or guitarists sound the same.  Same goes for organists.  I used to think that Biggs was great...until I heard Olivier play the Notre Dame organ.  Would be nice if RP injected a little diversity in its classical cuts.  
 ppopp wrote:
This Bach dude totally ripped-off ELP on this one.
{#Tongue}
 THAT'S funny! And I"m a huge ELP fan, BTW.

This Bach dude totally ripped-off ELP on this one.
{#Tongue}
There is nothing in life like hearing this on a YUGE massive pipe organ.
"Hey, Marge, remember when we used to make out to this hymn?"

Oh, wait .. That was I.Ron Butterfly...
Brilliant!
Ooh, I do like a mighty organ, missus :o)
My 7 year old nephew playing the Toccata in D minor
Released: 1722 
 mrtuba9 wrote:
 

Superb talent.  Thanks for that, friend.  I wish him well.
Nice, although not as expressive as Olivier Latry’s version.
My audiophile sound card and studio speakers are loving this sound.....but please play the entire masterpiece.....it has'nt yet numbed my inter ear yet....PLEASE?