Toccata Toccata Toccata (from Italian "toccare", literally, "to touch") is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuosic passages or sections, with or without imitative or fugal interludes, generally emphasizing the dexterity of the performer's fingers. Less frequently, the name is applied to works for multiple instruments (the opening of Claudio Monteverdi's opera "L'Orfeo" being a notable example). The form first appeared in the late Renaissance period. It originated in northern Italy. Several publications of the 1590s include toccatas, by composers such as Claudio Merulo, Andrea and Giovanni Gabrieli,
Toccata for Percussion Instruments (Chávez) month of each year in honor of Tezcatlipoca (the "smoking mirror" or "mirror of fire"). The Toccata is composed for 2 snare drums, Indian drums (1 small and 1 or 2 larger ones), 2 tenor drums, bass drum, claves, maraca, 2 suspended cymbals, large and small gongs, 2 tubular chimes, glockenspiel, xylophone, and 3 timpani, distributed among six players. It is in three movements, played without a break. The Toccata was one of the first major pieces written for percussion ensemble alone, becoming a cornerstone in rhythmic music. Originally, a toccata was a fast, virtuosic composition. However, Chávez applied the