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,
What the Ancients Did for Us inventions that emerged from Ancient Greece. This episode features reports from around the British Isles by Hart-Davis and Darling elaborated by demonstrations from Jopson and a variety of experts that examine the ideas and inventions of the Ancient Britons. What the Ancients Did for Us What the Ancients Did for Us is a 2005 BBC documentary series presented by Adam Hart-Davis that examines the impact of ancient civilizations on modern society. The series was produced in conjunction with the Open University and is a departure from the previous series not only in that each episode is an hour long rather