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.
"Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme" (Awake, the voice
calls us) is scored for alto, tenor, bass, two violins,
and continuo. It is one of two cantatas by Buxtehude
that use the chorale Wachet auf ruft uns die Stimme as
a source for both text and melody in the work. The
chorale is from 1599 by Philipp Nicolai, and it is one
of the more popular Lutheran chorales for the Advent
season. The text of the chorale makes reference to the
parable of the 10 virgins a story in which 10 women are
waiting for the arrival of the bridegroom for a
wedding. Five of the women run out of oil in their
lamps and while they are fetching oil for their lamps
the bridegroom comes and they are left out of the
celebration, while those who were better prepared went
in to the wedding feast. This parable was understood by
Lutherans as a tale of caution told by Jesus urging
Christians to be prepared for his second coming, and
saw the bridegroom as a symbol of the returning Jesus.
During the advent season Lutherans both celebrated the
approaching anniversary of Jesus birth, and remembered
the efforts that people made for the coming of Jesus,
but also used the season to remind the faithful to be
ready and prepared for Jesus to come again.
As this work was intended for performance during the
Advent season, it I possible that the work may have
been performed at Buxtehude's famous concert series,
the "Abendmusiken" which ran during the Advent season
every year at his church, St Mary's in Lübeck. The
concert series was so highly esteemed that it often
attracted visitors from far away to hear the concerts.
Bach made a trek from Thüringen to Lübeck, (several
hundred miles) just to hear the concerts.
As is the case in BuxWV 100 Buxtehude sets all three
verses of the chorale. Sometimes he retains the melody
of the chorale in some way or another, and other times
he drops it completely. Often he uses phrases from the
chorale as a subject for imitation creating fugal
polyphonic textures. However when the chorale melody
appears in this work it is almost always disguised by
some sort of ornamentation. Often the ornamentation
Buxtehude applies to the melody relates directly to the
meaning of the text of the chorale. For instance the
words "make yourselves ready" are set with snappy
rhythms, and the words "jump for joy" are set with
excited bouncy rhythms.
Although it was originally scored for Voice & Strings,
I adapted this work for the traditional Woodwind
Quintet (Flute, Oboe, Bb Clarinet, French Horn and
Bassoon) to accentuate their warm rich tones.