Toccata and Fugue in D minor (BWV 565)

A Moment of Bach

Possibly the most famous organ work ever written, the Toccata and Fugue in D minor is instantly recognizable by its first few notes. But... are those the notes that Bach wrote? The answer might surprise you...

In fact, this cornerstone of the organ repertoire has flummoxed so many musicians and music scholars through the generations, it's no wonder that it gets so much attention -- and that's not including the notoriety it began to develop as a piece of stock music for horror films in the silent film era. It found a wide audience in 1940 when it was featured in Walt Disney's Fantasia, in an orchestral transcription by Leopold Stokowski, and since then, it has enjoyed more mainstream success than most classical pieces ever see.

We dive into the mysteries at the heart of the piece, as we move from thrilling cadence to thrilling cadence, toward the very end of the work, where Alex's favorite moment hits: a surprise ending that would have given the audiences of the 1700's just as much of a delighted shock as it gives us today.

Toccata and Fugue in D minor, performed by Leo van Doeselaar for the Netherlands Bach Society:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pi0IuyTS_ic

Orchestral version by Leopold Stokowski featured in Disney's Fantasia (1940):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4MQ7GzE6HY

Article which theorizes that this work (BWV 565) and the Chaconne from Violin Partita no. 2 (BWV 1004) are arrangements of lute pieces:

https://www.jstor.org/stable/30044126

Violin piece featured in this episode as an example of bariolage technique: "Partita no. 3" by J. S. Bach (BWV 1006), performed by Shunske Sato for the Netherlands Bach Society:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYT1JUq0k04

An informative (if a little snarky) video essay, aimed at non-musicians: "Why Pipe Organs Sound Scary":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WT934eTbmuY