toccata

[ tuh-kah-tuh; Italian tawk-kah-tah ]

noun

, Music.

, plural toc·ca·tas, toc·ca·te [t, uh, -, kah, -tee, tawk-, kah, -te].

1. a composition in the style of an improvisation, for the piano, organ, or other keyboard instrument, intended to exhibit the player's technique.

toccata

/ təˈkɑːtə /

noun

1. a rapid keyboard composition for organ, harpsichord, etc, dating from the baroque period, usually in a rhythmically free style

Word History and Origins

Origin of toccata¹

1715–25; < Italian: “touched,” feminine past participle of toccare touch

Word History and Origins

Origin of toccata¹

C18: from Italian, literally: touched, from toccare to play (an instrument), touch

Example Sentences

In the middle of one conversation, the architect suddenly popped out of his chair, walked over to a Steinway and started to play a Bach toccata.

From New York Times

On TikTok, Lapwood does get the occasional negative comment — such as a poster complaining about the expressively fluctuating tempo in her performance of a Bach toccata.

From New York Times

Here it was clear in its hovering veils of sound, its quietly lyrical serenity and its toccata flurries, before a steady, triumphal ending.

From New York Times

Opening the recording with a Frescobaldi toccata, Rondeau places two more — the first imposingly grand, the second lush and lonely, a child playing in an empty castle — at its core.

From New York Times

Anderson finds a stylistic sweet spot in this piece, which simultaneously hints at hoedowns, Vivaldi concertos, Bach toccatas and bebop.

From New York Times