Credits:

Andrea Buccarella

Description:

A great project to explore the development of the "Toccata" by playing four different types of harpsichords! Born in 1987, Buccarella was a member of the Sistine Chapel Choir and holds a diploma in organ, composition, and basso continuo from the Conservatorio di Santa Celia. The ancient music ensemble he represents, the Apkordis Ensemble, has released two albums on Deutsche Harmonia Mundi; he won the 2018 Bruges Old Music Competition as soloist. This album is the first of his solo releases to commemorate the occasion. As Buccarella has studied intensively as an organist, the selection of works by many composers who were active as organists in their lifetime is also suggestive. The harpsichord interpretation, which makes the historical technique even more convincing, is of deep interest. The "Toccata" originated mainly on church organs, where it is said to have been used as a finger-training before beginning to play. It was in the middle of the 16th century in northern Italy that the toccata began to be composed as an improvisatory and technical keyboard work, and the program opens with a work by Merlo, who seems to have been right in the middle of this trend. It is very interesting to see how the toccata developed in different countries, and how it was composed by famous and unknown composers.It concludes with a work by the great Bach, who, it is no exaggeration to say, finished it more than a century later. Naxos Japan