toccata style
English composer
Definition
A perpetual-motion rhythmic texture characterised by relentless, even eighth notes or sixteenth notes with minimal melodic relief — mechanical energy as musical content.
Interpretive Guidance
The toccata style (as in Prokofiev's Toccata Op. 11) demands absolute rhythmic evenness. Any accent not written in is wrong; the machine-like quality is deliberate and must be maintained.