Jonathan Ferrucci plays Bach in Florence
A room with a view with a whole world in his hands
Jonathan Ferrucci is back in his home city of Florence, with the seven Toccatas by Bach in the Harold Acton library now part of the British Institute.
As Jonathan said,’ Bach invites you to dance with him’ in these early works inspired by listening to the great organist Buxtehude. An invitation to improvise and ornament in works that do not have a specific formal construction and are very free almost improvised episodes before bursting into flaming showmanship with the sudden eruption of the toccata itself.
Starting with the scintillating C minor and ending with the imperious D major. But what a wonderful surprise the grandeur of the F sharp minor BWV 910 or the very busy knotty twine of the E minor. A kaleidoscope of colour in the opening C minor with a very deliberately paced toccata where the whispered return was as breathtaking as the ecstatic outpouring of glorious exultation of the ending. Ravishing beauty and delicacy of the G major before the popular ditty of the toccata that disappeared into the depths of the Keyboard. What contemplation of the greatly extended D minor.
Read more here at Christopher Axworthy’s blog
