Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C major, BWV 564

BWV 564 is among Bach's most ambitious and structurally innovative organ works, composed during his Weimar period (c.1708–1717). Unlike the two-part structure of most Baroque organ toccatas, it is a fully fledged three-movement work. The opening Toccata erupts with a dramatic virtuoso cadenza in the pedal before launching into a driving ritornello movement. The central Adagio — unique in Bach's organ output — unfolds like an operatic siciliano, deeply expressive and harmonically daring. The fugue that closes the work is among Bach's most learned, combining a vigorous subject with episodes of dazzling sequential writing.