Toccate d’intavolature di cimbalo e organo

work by Frescobaldi

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July 14, 2026

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Toccate d’intavolature di cimbalo e organo is a collection of keyboard music published in 1637 by the Italian composer Girolamo Frescobaldi. The title indicates that the pieces are suitable for both the harpsichord (cimbalo) and the organ.1

A toccata is a musical form for keyboard instruments, characterized by a free style with full chords, rapid runs, and other virtuosic elements designed to showcase the performer's skill. Frescobaldi's toccatas are known for their improvisatory sections, sudden harmonic shifts, and figuration, intended for free tempo and allowing for performance of entire pieces or selected sections. This collection also includes partitas and pieces on ground basses, demonstrating Frescobaldi's inventive keyboard textures. His work significantly influenced the development of keyboard music and the German Baroque school.21

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Girolamo Frescobaldi
…in the title of his Toccate d’intavolature di cimbalo e organo (1637). The volume includes also partitas on various melodies and pieces on ground basses. These show Frescobaldi’s free inventiveness in genuine keyboard textures and figuration. The preface of another collection, first published in 1627, again gives information of great…
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…in the title of his Toccate d’intavolature di cimbalo e organo (1637). The volume includes also partitas on various melodies and pieces on ground basses. These show Frescobaldi’s free inventiveness in genuine keyboard textures and figuration. The preface of another collection, first published in 1627, again gives information of great…
Read More