FusionToccata and Fugue in D minor

Several individuals and groups have performed versions of J S Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor, fusing together the original piece with different styles of music.

The original piece by Bach can be heard here:

Jacques Loussier - jazz

One version of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor is by Jacques Loussier, who was a French pianist and composer well known for jazz arrangements of many of Bach’s compositions.

In 1959, he formed a trio with Christian Garros on drums and Pierre Michelot on double bass, and the ensemble had great success during the 1960s and 70s. Loussier’s style is described as ‘third stream’, which is a fusion of jazz and classical music, and also includes improvisation.

In the ensemble’s performance of Toccata and Fugue, the double bass improvises using pizzicato to decorate the original melody, and the drummer plays with brushes as well as sticks, as is common in jazz trios, making great use of cymbals. The piano plays a combination of the original notation and a syncopated arrangement of it.

Craig Pruess - funk

Another arrangement of Bach’s Toccata and Fugue is by the American composer Craig Pruess. His 1977 arrangement is a fusion between Baroque and funk music and was written for synthesizers, drum kit, bass guitar, electric guitar and horn section.

Vanessa-Mae - electro-rock

The British violinist Vanessa-Mae also recorded a version of Toccata and Fugue, fusing the Baroque style with electro-rock style. In this piece, she adds double stopping, octaves and trills in order to create a bigger sound, and she makes changes to the rhythms by adding dotted notes. In the performance below, Vanessa-Mae is joined by a rock band as well as several other string players, with dancers adding choreography.