Talk:Toccata
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Before I rewrote it a bit, the article contained the following:
- In its baroque form, it is characterised by its lack of regular tempo, pedal solos, scales and arpeggios, and often "improvised" feel (eg, the toccatas of Johann Sebastian Bach). The French toccata is different in that the melody is usually played on the pedals, with the manuals acting as an accompaniment. French toccatas usually have a steady tempo. The most famous of these toccatas is easily the toccata form Widor's 5 symphony, often played at weddings.
I'm a bit confused by this, because the context makes it sounds as if this stuff about "The French toccata" refers to Baroque works, but then a) Widor wasn't a baroque composer and b) I can't think of any French baroque composers known for their toccatas (I could just be being thick on this second point, of course). So is this "French toccata" something characteristic of the baroque, or something that came about from the French organ composers of the 19th century? If we can clarify this, the info can go back in, I think, but as it was before, it was just confusing. --Camembert
- Not to mention that this presents toccatas as works for organs only, while they're not.John Holly 12:09, 20 February 2007 (UTC)