Aylesford Pieces No. 4 - Toccata

About this work

Handel’s Toccata opens with two Gs in the right hand, the second an octave lower: a crotchet followed by a minim. Underneath, the left hand plays eight quavers. Three semiquavers appear in the right hand at the end of this very first bar, after a brief rest. The opening combines a sustained line with a more active pulse before the shorter values become more prominent.

To practise these two bars, keep the bass quavers even and let the right-hand G last for its full minim. The following semiquaver rest is part of the rhythm; avoid turning it into a longer hesitation. Add the three quick notes while retaining the same pulse. The Allegretto is easier to feel if the longer values remain audible within this activity.

Further into the piece, brief rests separate several new figures. Breathe with those rests without inserting pauses into a continuous run. The small ornament printed around bar ten also needs space within the flow. Practise its approach slowly, then return to the shared pulse.

The final descending figure reaches the low register before the two simultaneous final Gs, one in each hand, and their fermatas. Prepare the move early enough for an unhurried arrival. On a piano, pedal may add resonance, but it cannot replace the fingers’ work in sustaining the written notes.

Score and files

One-page PDF and MIDI. Typeset for Mutopia by Bas Wassink, declared public domain; stated source: Schott, 1930. LesPartitions.info