Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 to 1639) was a
German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque
period. His organ works represent a central part of the
standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed
at recitals and in church services. He composed in a
wide variety of vocal and instrumental idioms, and his
style strongly influenced many composers, including
Johann Sebastian Bach. Buxtehude, along with Heinrich
Schütz, is considered today to be one of the most
important German composers of...(+)
Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637 to 1639) was a
German-Danish organist and composer of the Baroque
period. His organ works represent a central part of the
standard organ repertoire and are frequently performed
at recitals and in church services. He composed in a
wide variety of vocal and instrumental idioms, and his
style strongly influenced many composers, including
Johann Sebastian Bach. Buxtehude, along with Heinrich
Schütz, is considered today to be one of the most
important German composers of the mid-Baroque.
The commemoration of Buxtehude's death in 2007 resulted
in widespread interest in his vocal works. Buxtehude
left more than 120 such pieces, which is remarkable
considering that as organist of St Mary's in Lübeck he
was not responsible for the vocal music for the
liturgy. Some of his sacred music may have been
performed during the services on Sundays and feastdays,
but most of it was probably intended for performance
during public concerts, in particular the famous
Abendmusiken.
His vocal works are written on texts in four different
languages: German, Latin, Swedish and Italian. The
largest proportion has a German text, but the number of
pieces on a Latin text is considerable. This is not as
odd as one may think. When Martin Luther reformed the
liturgy he stressed the importance of the use of texts
in the vernacular, but he never wanted to abolish Latin
altogether. It seems there was a preference for
liturgical music in Latin in St Mary's in Lübeck. An
inventory of the printed music in the possession of the
church shows that a large portion set Latin texts.
This traditional Protestant "Missa alla brevis" is
written in the stile antico, the old style of the
renaissance which was still held in high esteem in the
17th century. The surviving copy, in the Duben
Collection, dates from 1675. The title refers to the
longer note values and the tactus on the brevis, but
also to the fact that it is a missa brevis, consisting
of Kyrie and Gloria only. Although it was originally
scored for five voices with basso continuo (2 sopranos,
alto, tenor and bass accompanied by organ), I adapted
this work for the traditional woodwind quintet (Flute,
Oboe, clarinet (Bb) French Horn and Bassoon) to
accentuate their warm rich tones.