0:00:04 > 0:00:06In the middle of all the music we listen to,
0:00:06 > 0:00:10sometimes there is one band, one singer,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12one composer that cuts through.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16One musical voice that seems to be speaking just to us.
0:00:16 > 0:00:19MUSIC: Toccata And Fugue In D Minor by JS Bach
0:00:38 > 0:00:40When I was about six years old,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42my dad bought a new record player
0:00:42 > 0:00:45and it came with a free record.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49It was an album of organ music by Johann Sebastian Bach,
0:00:49 > 0:00:52and I must have listened to it hundreds of times.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55To be honest, it was the only record we had for a while.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58And I sort of fell in love with it.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02I went on to learn the piano and the flute and the saxophone
0:01:02 > 0:01:04and, eventually, the harpsichord.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07I studied music at university, and I suppose, today,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09I can't really imagine my life
0:01:09 > 0:01:12without a classical music soundtrack.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And that's all down to a free Bach record.
0:01:15 > 0:01:16MUSIC CONTINUES
0:01:21 > 0:01:24This piece is probably one of Bach's most famous.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27It was written about 1706 and he, of course,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30would not have known that it would eventually be used in gaming or...
0:01:30 > 0:01:31RINGTONE PLAYS
0:01:33 > 0:01:34..or as a ringtone.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38Or, indeed, as a form of shorthand meaning something
0:01:38 > 0:01:41well spooky's about to happen.
0:01:41 > 0:01:42That's probably for the best.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49It's called Toccata And Fugue In D Minor,
0:01:49 > 0:01:51and it's a piece of two parts.
0:01:51 > 0:01:52The first part, the toccata,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56is basically an opportunity for the musician to show off a bit.
0:01:59 > 0:02:01To grab everyone's attention.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04To get them ready for this amazing ride ahead.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06Hold on a minute.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08I reckon the orchestra's itching for a go now.
0:02:08 > 0:02:11MUSIC CONTINUES
0:03:33 > 0:03:35That was a section of the toccata,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38but now, we come to part two -
0:03:38 > 0:03:39the fugue.
0:03:39 > 0:03:41Do you mind if I have a go?
0:03:41 > 0:03:43Yeah, sure. Be my guest, please.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45Cheers.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49A fugue is like a sort of perfect musical pattern.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52Bach would start off with a fairly straightforward,
0:03:52 > 0:03:54simple little melody...
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Like that one, and then he might repeat it higher up.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Or maybe lower.
0:04:13 > 0:04:15And then he might turn it upside down,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17break it up into fragments and so on.
0:04:17 > 0:04:22But, gradually, this incredible piece of music emerges.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Bach's brain could work out these patterns better than
0:04:25 > 0:04:27any brain before or since.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Apparently, he could improvise this stuff.
0:04:30 > 0:04:32He could make it up as he went along.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36But, remarkably, this never created chaos,
0:04:36 > 0:04:40it just created incredible, beautiful music.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47And, in fact, the word fugue means flight in Italian,
0:04:47 > 0:04:49and that's what this music seems to do to me.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52It does take flight. It takes off on a journey,
0:04:52 > 0:04:54an incredible one,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57and it's a different journey every single time you listen to it.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59That's what's so amazing about it.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03MUSIC CONTINUES