Etude Op. 10, No. 7 in C Major ("Toccata")
One minute he was sitting peacefully, eyes closed in the warm breeze, the lively tunes of folk music in his ear. The next, he was caught up in a tidal wave. Throngs of dancing festivalgoers surrounded him, sweeping him to his feet and whisking him away.
Laughing, Kai joined in the dance, mimicking the footsteps of the revelers around him. He grinned at a hundred unfamiliar faces, all of them strangers, all of them sharing in the simple connection of song and dance.
The songs flowed on endlessly. Kai executed a final elaborate spin, curtseying to his newest partner. He gasped. "Amamiya! How did you get here?"
"It's time to go, so I came to get you," Amamiya patiently explained.
Kai laughed. "I can always count on you to find me."
- O -
Author's notes: Some etudes have artistic and imaginative nicknames, such as the poetic "Winter Wind". Others have dry, literal ones, describing the technique and little else. "Toccata" was no help to me whatsoever.
It literally means a difficult piece with a bunch of notes. Gee thanks.
Maybe I just don't get it, but this etude sounds to me like the average of every etude. Unmemorable. I must've listened to it 50 times, waiting for some theme to surface, some inspiration to hit. Instead, it dissipated from my memory like smoke. As of right now, a mere 2 hours from the last time I listened to it, I can't call to mind what it sounds like.
Maybe its name should be "Elusive". End rant.