Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 - 1707) is probably most
familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man
who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a
lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of
employment and residence for most of his life, just to
hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a
major figure among German Baroque composers in his own
right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work
that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude
nonetheless left behi...(+)
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 - 1707) is probably most
familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man
who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a
lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of
employment and residence for most of his life, just to
hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a
major figure among German Baroque composers in his own
right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work
that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude
nonetheless left behind a body of vocal and
instrumental music which is distinguished by its
contrapuntal skill, devotional atmosphere, and raw
intensity. He helped develop the form of the church
cantata, later perfected by Bach, and he was just as
famous a virtuoso on the organ.
No documentation exists for Buxtehude's birth, though
he said late in life that he was a native Dane. Since
his father, Johannes, was organist and schoolmaster at
Oldesloe, Denmark, until 1638, it is a reasonable guess
that Dietrich was born there. Johannes moved to
Helsingborg in 1638 and to Helsingor in 1641 or 1642,
where he stayed until 1671. After learning the organ at
the feet of his father, Buxtehude became organist at
his father's former church in Helsingor in 1657 or
1658; he then moved to a German-speaking congregation
in Helsingborg in 1660. Buxtehude decided to stop
following in his father's footsteps when the
prestigious position of organist at the Marienkirche in
Lubeck became available; after several others were
rejected, Buxtehude got the job on April 11, 1668. He
also married the outgoing organist's youngest daughter,
Anna Margarethe Tunder, which may have been a condition
of taking the post, and certainly was a condition when
Buxtehude sought a replacement for himself. Buxtehude
was organist at the Marienkirche for the rest of his
life. His official duties were to provide
congregational chorales and other musical interludes
for every service, and to act as treasurer, secretary,
and business manager of the church. He was most famous,
however, for his Abendmusik concerts, held following
the afternoon service on five Sundays a year and on
special occasions. Although these concerts are
universally described as extraordinary, and were the
basis of most of Buxtehude's contemporary fame, very
little music from them has survived. Two of the most
famous Abendmusik concerts, held on December 2 and 3,
1705, and commemorating the death of Emperor Leopold I
and the ascension of Joseph I, were probably attended
by Bach on his pilgrimage. Buxtehude had an opportunity
for early retirement in 1703, when Georg Friederic
Handel and Johann Matheson (famous organists both)
visited him; Matheson had been thinking of succeeding
Buxtehude at his post, but balked at the requirement to
marry Buxtehude's daughter Anna Margareta, and the
visit came to nought. After Buxtehude died on May 9,
1707, the church found another organist willing to
marry his daughter.
Historically, Buxtehude's organ music has been studied
because of its direct influence on Bach; Buxtehude
wrote the first truly idiomatic fugues for the organ
and was one of the first to experiment with the
structure that Bach later codified into the prelude and
fugue. Buxtehude is generally considered the greatest
organist between Scheidt and Bach and is regarded as
the originator of the German organ toccata. However, in
addition to the keyboard music that so impressed his
contemporaries, he also wrote some extraordinary works
for trios involving the viola da gamba. His vocal works
shared the devotion and intellectual rigor of his
instrumental work, and were also much admired.
Source: AllMusic
(https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dietrich-buxtehude-mn0
001427042/biography).
Although originally written for keyboard, I created
this Interpretation of the Magnificat noni toni (BuxWV
205) for String Quartet (2 Violins, Viola & Cello).
PARTITION