Marius Monnikendam was born in Haarlem, in The Netherlands. He studied in Amsterdam and then with Vincent d’Indy, at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. In 1930 he was appointed Professor of Harmony and Analysis at the Conservatoires of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. As well as being a respected teacher he also worked extensively as a critic and wrote studies on Stravinsky and César Franck. Amongst his compositions are five toccatas for organ, one of them with brass. This is the first, dating from 1935, and is dedicated to his master Charles Tournemire. He in turn dedicated a volume of his
Orgue mystique cycle to Monnikendam. After an arresting unison opening,
Toccata filters Baroque figuration through a French-influenced harmonic vocabulary.
from notes by Stephen Westrop © 2004
