Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata et Fugue en ré mineur, BWV 538
Toccata et Fugue en fa majeur, BWV 540
Toccata, Adagio et Fugue en do majeur, BWV 564
Toccata et Fugue, BWV 565
Toccata en mi majeur, BWV 566

Elena Privalova, orgue

Bach’s devotion to the organ, and his desire to excel on it, is without question but whereas much of his output was written with a specific purpose or occasion in mind, the toccatas and fugues are less easily categorized. Almost all of them date from Bach’s Weimar years (1708-1717), when he had the most opportunities to play the organ, although he may have revised them in Leipzig (after 1723). Their elaborate nature belies the fact that Bach had to be careful about showing off: in 1705, while temporarily in Leipzig, he had been censured for an over-long organ prelude before Communion and in 1706 he had attracted the ire of the Arnstadt authorities by confusing the congregation with complicated chorale accompaniments. Organist Elena Privalova presents a program of these works, beautifully recorded at the Riga Cathedral.