Reckoned among his earlier works, Bach’s keyboard Toccatas have appeared on piano less frequently than the Goldbergs or The Well-Tempered Clavier. However, handled with flair and imagination, as they are here, their flights of fancy appear to be fully suited to a modern instrument.

Italian-Australian pianist Jonathan Ferrucci was born in Florence and studied at the Conservatorio di Musica Luigi Cherubini and at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Listening to his thoughtful approach to Bach it comes as no surprise to discover that he has worked with Angela Hewitt since 2014. 

Bach developed the toccata form he inherited from Frescobaldi and Buxtehude so as to exploit the harpsichord’s tonal range in recitative and aria while showcasing the player’s dexterity in lively fugues. The most ambitious can run through almost as many contiguous movements as a keyboard suite.

The album opens with the C minor Toccata, BWV911. Parallels with the great Toccatas and Fugues for organ are apparent as Ferrucci takes his time, exploring sonorities and tracing out themes over a leisurely four minutes. His...