Following her previous album of the J S Bach Toccatas BWV 913-916 (CHA3041), harpsichordist Eleonore Bühler-Kestler now turns her attention to the remaining three Toccatas for keyboard instruments: BWV 910-912. As a young composer, Bach demonstrated in these pieces unusual ideas and a playful exuberance, and their colourfulness particularly attracts Bühler-Kestler. She combines them here with the Fantasia and Fugue in A minor, BWV904, another of Bach’s early works.
The three Toccatas BWV 910-912 prove themselves to be youthful strokes of genius in which Bach, taking up the North German 'stylus fantasticus', pulled out all the artistic stops. Bach’s appreciation for his own toccatas is evident from the fact that several copies were disseminated during his lifetime. The virtuoso attack, embellished with improvisational gestures, also makes reference to the Bach of the harpsichord, who was regarded by his contemporaries as one of the greatest keyboard players of his time.
In her later years in particular, Bühler-Kestler has worked tirelessly on 'her' Bach, loving its complexity and the music’s inner warmth, which has acted as a strong source of support throughout her life. Today she lives in Bayreuth, where until 2009 she was a lecturer in music at the university.
