Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, BWV 565

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During my upbringing as a pianist, Bach's music was an essential part of my repertoire. In fact, it was a requirement in all competitions and exams I took; and so I spent a little over 10 years enjoying his music as a constant part of my life. What drew me to his compositions was the inherent sense of order and beauty, reminiscent of the coherence found in natural laws or linguistic rules. I enjoyed tracing his melodies over the keyboard while observing how their stacking resulted in harmonic pillars. I remember friends who found Bach's music to be a maze to get lost in; however, in my head, it was a labyrinth - a single path that leads to the center.

When I switched my focus to percussion, I remained a lover of Bach's music. When planning for the repertoire to be presented in the finals of the International Percussion Competition Luxembourg, the choice fell to Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor. I was eager to transcribe it.

I still love playing this piece whenever the opportunity arises, especially in acoustically vibrant venues. The unlikely kinship between the organ, from which this composition was borrowed, and the marimba, radiates brilliantly under such circumstances.