Re: Bach Toccata's

[Karl Berry <karl@cs.umb.edu>]

    It's interesting to note that GG really *didn't* like these pieces
    much at all.

Although I think he did say they were some of the most emotional things
Bach did.  `Incredible recitatives' is the phrase I remember.  (From the
video.)

    I really like these recordings and I find the performances very
    convincing.  

Me too.  They were in fact the recordings that first made me want to go
out and buy everything GG did.

    The slow parts, on the other hand, have great drama and pathos.

A couple years ago I (sort of) read Walter Tovey's book on the Art of
the Fugue, and he suggested that some of those slow movements could be
used as preludes for the Contrapuncti :).  Pretty high praise.