[20] According to Michael Praetorius (Syntagma musicum, 1619) the Toccata was a prelude, a trial of the keyboard, as it were; a fantasia wholly devoid of form, where the organist improvised, alternating long-sustained chords with rapid passages. It was something entirely spontaneous in nature, in which every imperfection was pardoned, provided the performance was characterized by sufficient dash. The Toccatas of Frescobaldi, by virtue of their steadiness and of the balance of their parts, rise far above such a definition, which is justly applicable to the Toccatas of Claudio Merulo and of Gabrielli.
[21] This theme was again used by G.B. Fasolo (1645) and Fr. A. Scherer. Fasolo's version reminds us of the fugue in A major of J.S. Bach; it runs:
[22] The Pastorale belongs to the "Toccate d'intavolatura di Cembalo et organo. Partite di diverse Arie e Correnti, Balletti, Ciacone, Passacagli di Girolamo Frescobaldi. Libro Primo. Stampate l'anno 1637 per Nicolo Borbone in Roma." It is a reprint of works already published in different volumes.
[23] Compare Sœur Monique, by F. Couperin.
[24] Frère Jacques, a popular French tune.
[25] This taste was prevalent at the time; Frescobaldi's rival, S. Scheidt, organist at Halle, gives us numerous examples of it: in the first part of the Tabulatura nova (Hamburg, 1624), two Belgian melodies with variations, and the French song, Es ce Mars; in the second part, the English tune de Fortuna. The Tabulatura nova has been reprinted (Denkmäler der Tonkunst).
[26] Previous editions are dated 1614 and 1616. Each of these directions, addressed "al lettore," is preceded by its number, according to order; there are no less than nine of them.