The Great Toccata: Daniel Moult plays Bach on the Schnitger organ of the Martinikerk, Groningen as part of the Royal College of Organists’ Play the Organ campaign

There is a nationwide decline in organists and to try and stem this the Royal College of Organists (RCO) is devoting 2025 to its Play the Organ campaign, aiming not just to increase the number of people learning to play the organ, but also the number enjoying live and recorded organ music.

As part of this, Will Fraser’s Fugue State Films has filmed organist Daniel Moult playing Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565 on the Arp Schnitger organ of the Martinikerk, Groningen.  

The Schnitger organ of the Martinikerk is one of the largest Baroque organs in Northern Europe and it tooks its present form in the late 17th and early 18th centuries as Arp Schnitger and his son expanded and developed an existing organ. During the later 20th century it was restored back to its 1740 state.

Despite being one of Bach’s most famous organ works, little is known of the origins of the Toccata and Fugue in D minor. There is no autograph score and the piece is known from a manuscript created by Johannes Ringk in the period 1730 to 1760. Ringk, a renowned organist and composer, had studied with one of Bach’s pupils,  Johann Peter Kellner and it is possible that Ringk’s copy of the Toccata and Fugue came from Kellner’s collection.

As part of Play the Organ, the RCO has launched a new streaming service, in collaboration with Fugue State Films, devoted to the organ. The first film is a documentary made about the Toccata and Fugue; a 100-minute documentary followed by more than two hours of filmed performances and presentations. Full details from the RCO website.