Dietrich Buxtehude 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 v...(+)
Dietrich Buxtehude 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.
This Ciacona -- lasting just under six minutes -- may
be a brief work, but it is a substantial one
nonetheless, offering more than modest evidence to
bolster the commonly held view that Buxtehude was the
most important composer for organ before Bach. This
masterly piece, written in 3/4 time, presents a stately
theme and a highly imaginative series of variations,
following the pattern of a Baroque ciacona (or
chaconne).
The theme is gentle and builds slowly from a recurring
four-note germ of descending contour in the harmonies.
Gradually the music develops a sense of momentum, and
greater contrapuntal activity accrues, the whole always
maintaining its hymn-like character, its worshipful
feeling. Typically, a ciacona is slowly or moderately
paced, but this E minor effort has a lively character,
even if it does not move swiftly or have propulsive
rhythms. It grows from a modest, almost somber mood at
the outset to a brighter, stately character two minutes
or so into the piece. By the midpoint, however, the
music takes on a grandeur in its seriousness, with
rich, bass-laden harmonies and often thick chords. The
work ends gloriously and with a feeling of happy
resolution, the whole imparting a sense of journey
through tribulation and arrival at final triumph.
SHEET MUSIC