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 is one of Buxtehude's most popular keyboard
pieces. It is cast in the style of a gigue and is thus
similar in this aspect to his fugues, BuxWV 166 and
170. The latter two, however, feature three fugue
sections each and use the gigue style in only the
second fugue. This C major effort is made up of a
single fugue and is thus a relatively brief work,
generally lasting a bit under three minutes.
Usually performed on harpsichord, the piece opens with
a single line in the middle ranges that immediately
conveys a lively, playful mood, the notes seeming to
bounce merrily but busily along. Contrapuntal elements
soon enter and the music takes on an even greater sense
of joy and industriousness. About midway through,
textures turn lighter and more delicate as both main
lines rise into the upper register. But it is not long
before the music must yield back to the more festive,
rowdier manner of the opening. An almost frenzied
character seizes the work in a series of fanatical,
insistent repetitions near the end, but the music
suddenly stops to catch its breath and the work ends
quietly and serenely.
PARTITION