Bach: Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 | Jürgen Wolf (St. Nicholas ...

It’s possibly the most recognizable organ work of all time: Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. Here, Bach’s tour de force is being played by Jürgen Wolf on the church organ of Leipzig’s Nikolaikirche. The performance took place at a commemorative concert held on October 9, 1999 – exactly ten years after the ‘Monday Demonstration’. On October 9, 1989, some 70,000 citizens overcame their fear of the authoritarian regime to demonstrate for freedom and more democracy in Leipzig – the second largest city of former East Germany. The peaceful, large-scale demonstration is considered a key historical moment which, in combination with other events, led to the fall of the Wall a month later on November 9, 1989. It is not known precisely when Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) wrote the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. At times, it was even questioned whether it was written by Bach at all. Most researchers now assume, however, that the organ classic is the work of a young Bach, composed in Arnstadt between 1703 and 1707. The best-known aspect of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565 is its opening bars: The first note receives a lower mordent flourish – a short alternation with the next note – followed by a pause, which is then broken off by an eruptive, descending sequence of notes. After another pause, the opening is repeated with a variation. The tension created by these few notes could scarcely be greater – the long pauses working to almost ominous effect. Certainly today, the playing of the first note and its mordent alone is usually enough to identify Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565. The powerful toccata, with its almost improvised feel, is followed by a four-part fugue (02:40) with a strict composition throughout, reminiscent of clockwork mechanics. The work concludes with a coda marked ‘Recitativo’ (06:50). Fun fact: The popularity of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor is due in no small part to its appearance in Walt Disney’s 1940 film, Fantasia. In it, the organ work is performed in its orchestral version, by conductor Leopold Stokowski. The images in the film are made up in part by the musicians performing in silhouette, complimented by a piece of abstract animation. If one first hears Bach's suspenseful organ piece in Stokowski's orchestral version, one could be forgiven for thinking it might be original film music. Jürgen Wolf is a German organist, conductor and composer. From 1993 to 2019 he was cantor of the St. Nicolas Church, Leipzig. Since 2019, Wolf has been active primarily as a guest conductor. During his studies, Jürgen Wolf was already intensively involved in historical performance practice, with a special focus on the interpretation of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach.