Composers

Dieterich Buxtehude

Organ
Violin
Voice
Soprano
Bass
Violone
Alto
Viol
Tenor
Harpsichord
Religious music
Cantatas
Sacred cantatas
Chorale prelude
Prelude
Sonata
Canzonetta
Psalms
Toccata
Motet
by popularity

#

7 Trio Sonatas, Op.17 Trio Sonatas, Op.2

A

Abendmusiken und KirchenkantatenAccedite gentes accurrite populi, BuxWV 1Ach Gott und Herr, BuxWV 177Ach Herr, mich armen Sünder, BuxWV 178Afferte Domino gloriam honorem, BuxWV 2All solch dein Güt wir preisen, BuxWV 3Alles, was ihr tut mit Worten oder Werken, BuxWV 4Also hat Gott die Welt geliebt, BuxWV 5An filius non est Dei, BuxWV 6Aperite mihi portas justitiae, BuxWV 7Aria and Variations in A minor, BuxWV 249Aria and Variations in C major, BuxWV 246Auf meinen lieben Gott, BuxWV 179Auf stimmet die Saiten, BuxWV 116

B

Bedenke Mensch das Ende, BuxWV 9Befiehl dem Engel daß er komm', BuxWV 10Benedicam Dominum, BuxWV 113

C

Canite Jesu nostro, BuxWV 11Cantate Domino canticum novum, BuxWV 12Canzona in C major, BuxWV 166Canzona in G major, BuxWV 170Canzonetta in A minor, BuxWV 225Canzonetta in C major, BuxWV 167Canzonetta in D minor, BuxWV 168Canzonetta in E minor, BuxWV 169Canzonetta in G major, BuxWV 171Canzonetta in G major, BuxWV 172Canzonetta in G minor, BuxWV 173Chaconne in C minor, BuxWV 159Chaconne in E minor, BuxWV 160Christ unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BuxWV 180Complete Organ WorksCourante Simble, BuxWV 245

D

Danket dem Herren, denn er ist sehr freundlich, BuxWV 181Das newgebohrne Kindelein, BuxWV 13Dein edles Herz, der Liebe Thron, BuxWV 14Der Herr ist mit mir, BuxWV 15Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich, BuxWV 182Dixit Dominus, BuxWV 17Domine salvum fac regem, BuxWV 18Drei schöne Dinge sind, BuxWV 19Du Frieden-Fürst Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 20Du Frieden-Fürst Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 21Du Lebensfürst Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 22Durch Adams Fall ist ganz verderbt, BuxVW 183

E

Ecce nunc benedicite, BuxWV 23Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott, BuxWV 184Eins bitte ich vom Herrn, BuxWV 24Entreißt euch meine Sinnen, BuxWV 25Erfreue dich Erde du Himmel erschal, BuxWV 26Erhalt uns Herr bei deinem Wort, BuxWV 27Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BuxVW 185Erhalt uns, Herr, bei deinem Wort, BuxWV Anh.11Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BuxWV 186Es spricht der Unweisen Mund wohl, BuxWV 187

F

Fallax mundus ornat vultus, BuxWV 28Fugue in B-flat major, BuxWV 176Fugue in C major, BuxWV 174Fugue in G major, BuxWV 175Fürchtet euch nicht, BuxWV 30Fürwahr er trug unsere Krankheit, BuxWV 31

G

Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BuxWV 188Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BuxWV 189Gen Himmel zu dem Vater mein, BuxWV 32Gestreuet mit Blumen, BuxWV 118Gott der Vater wohn uns bei, BuxWV 190Gott fähret auf mit Jauchzen, BuxWV 33Gott hilf mir, BuxWV 34

H

Herr auf dich traue ich, BuxWV 35Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 191Herr Christ, der einig Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 192Herr Jesu Christ, ich weiss gar wohl, BuxWV 193Herr nun läßt du deinen Diener, BuxWV 37Herr, ich lasse dich nicht, BuxWV 36Herr, wenn ich nur Dich hab, BuxWV 38Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe, BuxWV 39Herren vår Gud, BuxWV 40Herzlich lieb hab ich dich, o Herr, BuxWV 41Herzlich tut mich verlangen, BuxWV 42Heut triumphieret Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 43

I

Ich bin die Auferstehung und das Leben, BuxWV 44Ich bin eine Blume zu Saron, BuxWV 45Ich dank dir schon durch deinen Sohn, BuxWV 195Ich dank dir, lieber Herre, BuxWV 194Ich habe Lust abzuscheiden, BuxWV 46Ich halte es dafür, BuxWV 48Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 196Ich sprach in meinem Herzen, BuxWV 49Ihr lieben Christen, freut euch nun, BuxWV 51In dulci jubilo, BuxWV 197In dulci jubilo, BuxWV 52In te Domine speravi, BuxWV 53InstrumentalwerkeIst es recht daß man dem Kaiser Zinse gebe, BuxWV 54

J

Je höher du bist je mehr dich demütige, BuxWV 55Jesu dulcis memoria, BuxWV 56Jesu dulcis memoria, BuxWV 57Jesu komm mein Trost und Lachen, BuxWV 58Jesu meine Freude, BuxWV 60Jesu, meines Lebens Leben, BuxWV 62Jesulein du Tausendschön, BuxWV 63Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, BuxWV 198Jubilate Domino, BuxWV 64

K

Keyboard WorksKlinget für Freuden ihr lärmen Klarinen, BuxWV 119Klinget mit Freuden ihr klaren Klarinen, BuxWV 65Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 199Komm, heiliger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 200Kommst du Licht der Heiden, BuxWV 66Kommt her zu mir, spricht Gottes Sohn, BuxWV 201

L

Laudate, pueri Dominum, BuxWV 69Liebster, meine Seele saget, BuxWV 70Lobe den Herrn meine Seele, BuxWV 71Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich, BuxWV 202

M

Magnificat anima mea Dominum, BuxWV Anh.1Magnificat noni toni, BuxWV 205Magnificat primi toni, BuxWV 203Magnificat primi toni, BuxWV 204Mein Herz ist bereit, BuxWV 73Meine Seele willtu ruhn, BuxWV 74Membra Jesu NostriMensch, willst du leben seliglich, BuxWV 206Missa brevis, BuxWV 114Mit Fried und Freud, BuxWV 76

N

Nichts soll uns scheiden von der Liebe Gottes, BuxWV 77Nimm von uns, Herr, BuxWV 207Nimm von uns, Herr, BuxWV 78Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, BuxWV 208Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, BuxWV 209Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein, BuxWV 210Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BuxWV 211Nun lasst uns Gott dem Herren Dank sagen, BuxWV 81Nun lob mein Seel' den Herren, BuxWV 212Nun lob mein Seel' den Herren, BuxWV 213Nun lob mein Seel' den Herren, BuxWV 214Nun lob mein Seel' den Herren, BuxWV 215

O

O clemens, o mitis, o coelestis Pater, BuxWV 82O dulcis Jesu, BuxWV 83O Gottes Stadt, BuxWV 87O lux beata Trinitas, BuxWV 216Orgelcompositionen

P

Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV 161Passacaile, chacones, préludes et fugues, toccatas, canzonettePrelude in A major, BuxWV 151Prelude in A minor, BuxWV 153Prelude in A minor, BuxWV 158Prelude in B-flat major, BuxWV 154Prelude in C major, BuxWV 136Prelude in C major, BuxWV 137Prelude in C major, BuxWV 138Prelude in D major, BuxWV 139Prelude in D minor, BuxWV 140Prelude in E major, BuxWV 141Prelude in E minor, BuxWV 142Prelude in E minor, BuxWV 143Prelude in E minor, BuxWV 152Prelude in F major, BuxWV 144Prelude in F major, BuxWV 145Prelude in F-sharp minor, BuxWV 146Prelude in G major, BuxWV 147Prelude in G major, BuxWV 162Prelude in G minor, BuxWV 148Prelude in G minor, BuxWV 149Prelude in G minor, BuxWV 150Prelude in G minor, BuxWV 163Puer natus in Bethlehem, BuxWV 217

Q

Quemadmodum desiderat cervus, BuxWV 92

R

Ryge Tablature, DK-Kk Mu 6806.1399

S

Salve Jesu, BuxWV 94Sämtliche OrgelwerkeSchaffe in mir, Gott, ein rein Herz, BuxWV 95Sicut Mose, BuxWV 97Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied, BuxWV 98Suite in C major, BuxWV 227Suite in D minor, BuxWV 233Suite in E minor, BuxWV 235Suite in E minor, BuxWV 236

T

Te Deum laudamus, BuxWV 218Toccata in D minor, BuxWV 155Toccata in F major, BuxWV 156Toccata in F major, BuxWV 157Toccata in G major, BuxWV 164Toccata in G major, BuxWV 165Trio Sonata in A major, BuxWV 263Trio Sonata in A minor, BuxWV 254Trio Sonata in A minor, BuxWV 272Trio Sonata in B-flat major, BuxWV 255Trio Sonata in B-flat major, BuxWV 259Trio Sonata in B-flat major, BuxWV 273Trio Sonata in C major, BuxWV 256Trio Sonata in C major, BuxWV 266Trio Sonata in C minor, BuxWV 262Trio Sonata in D major, BuxWV 260Trio Sonata in D major, BuxWV 267Trio Sonata in D minor, BuxWV 257Trio Sonata in E major, BuxWV 264Trio Sonata in E minor, BuxWV 258Trio Sonata in F major, BuxWV 252Trio Sonata in F major, BuxWV 265Trio Sonata in F major, BuxWV 269Trio Sonata in G major, BuxWV 253Trio Sonata in G major, BuxWV 271Trio Sonata in G minor, BuxWV 261

V

Vater unser im Himmelreich, BuxWV 219Viola da Gamba Sonata, BuxWV 268Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BuxWV 220Von Gott will ich nicht lassen, BuxWV 221

W

Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BuxWV 100Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BuxWV 101Wär Gott nicht mit uns diese Zeit, BuxWV 222Was mich auf dieser Welt betrübt, BuxWV 105Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223Wie soll ich dich empfangen, BuxWV 109Wir danken dir, Herr Jesu Christ, BuxWV 224Wo soll ich fliehen hin?, BuxWV 112
Wikipedia
Dieterich Buxtehude (German: [ˈdiːtəʁɪç bʊkstəˈhuːdə]; Danish: Diderich, pronounced [ˈtiðˀəʁek bukstəˈhuːðə]; c. 1637/39 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish-German 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, his student. Today, Buxtehude is considered one of the most important composers in Germany of the mid-Baroque.
He is thought to have been born with the name Diderich Buxtehude. His parents were Johannes (Hans Jensen) Buxtehude and Helle Jespersdatter. His father originated from Oldesloe in the Duchy of Holstein, which at that time was a part of the Danish realms in Northern Germany. Scholars dispute both the year and country of Dieterich's birth, although most now accept that he was born in 1637 in Helsingborg, Skåne at the time part of Denmark (but now part of Sweden). His obituary stated that "he recognized Denmark as his native country, whence he came to our region; he lived about 70 years". Others, however, claim that he was born at Oldesloe. Later in his life he Germanized his name and began signing documents Dieterich Buxtehude.
His father — Johannes Buxtehude — was the organist at St. Olaf's church in Helsingør. Dieterich was employed as an organist, first in Helsingborg (1657–1658), and then at Helsingør (1660–1668). St. Mary's in Helsingør is the only church where Buxtehude was employed that still has the organ in its original location.
Buxtehude's last post, from 1668, was at the Marienkirche, Lübeck which had two organs, a large one for big services and a small one for devotionals and funerals. There he succeeded Franz Tunder and followed in many of the footsteps of his predecessor. He married Tunder's daughter Anna Margarethe in 1668 – it was not uncommon practice that a man marry the daughter of his predecessor in his occupation. Buxtehude and Anna Margarethe had seven daughters who were baptized at the Marienkirche; however, his first daughter died as an infant. After his retirement as organist at St Olaf's Church, his father joined the family in Lübeck in 1673. Johannes died a year later, and Dieterich composed his funeral music. Dieterich's brother Peter, a barber, joined them in 1677.
His post in the free Imperial city of Lübeck afforded him considerable latitude in his musical career, and his autonomy was a model for the careers of later Baroque masters such as George Frideric Handel, Johann Mattheson, Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach. In 1673 he reorganized a series of evening musical performances, initiated by Tunder, known as Abendmusik, which attracted musicians from diverse places and remained a feature of the church until 1810. In 1703, Handel and Mattheson both traveled to meet Buxtehude, who was by then elderly and ready to retire. He offered his position in Lübeck to Handel and Mattheson but stipulated that the organist who ascended to it must marry his eldest daughter, Anna Margareta. Both Handel and Mattheson turned the offer down and left the day after their arrival. In 1705, J.S. Bach, then a young man of twenty, walked from Arnstadt to Lübeck, a distance of more than 400 kilometres (250 mi), and stayed nearly three months to hear the Abendmusik, meet the pre-eminent Lübeck organist, hear him play, and, as Bach explained, "to comprehend one thing and another about his art". In addition to his musical duties, Buxtehude, like his predecessor Tunder, served as church treasurer.
Although more than 100 vocal compositions by Buxtehude survive, very few of them were included in the important German manuscript collections of the period, and until the early twentieth century, Buxtehude was regarded primarily as a keyboard composer. His surviving church music is praised for its high musical qualities rather than its progressive elements.
The bulk of Buxtehude's oeuvre consists of vocal music, which covers a wide variety of styles, and organ works, which concentrate mostly on chorale settings and large-scale sectional forms. Chamber music constitutes a minor part of the surviving output, although the only chamber works Buxtehude published during his lifetime were fourteen chamber sonatas. Unfortunately, many of Buxtehude's compositions have been lost. The librettos for his oratorios, for example, survive; but none of the scores do, which is particularly unfortunate, because his German oratorios seem to be the model for later works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Philipp Telemann. Further evidence of lost works by Buxtehude and his contemporaries can be found in the recently discovered catalogue of a 1695 music-auction in Lübeck.
Gustaf Düben's collection and the so-called Lübeck tablature A373 are the two most important sources for Buxtehude's vocal music. The former includes several autographs, both in German organ tablature and in score. Both collections were probably created during Buxtehude's lifetime and with his permission. Copies made by various composers are the only extant sources for the organ works: chorale settings are mostly transmitted in copies by Johann Gottfried Walther, while Gottfried Lindemann's and others' copies concentrate on free works. Johann Christoph Bach's manuscript is particularly important, as it includes the three known ostinato works and the famous Prelude and Chaconne in C major, BuxWV 137. Although Buxtehude himself most probably wrote in organ tablature, the majority of the copies are in standard staff notation.
The nineteen organ praeludia (or preludes) form the core of Buxtehude's work and are ultimately considered his most important contributions to the music literature of the seventeenth century. They are sectional compositions that alternate between free improvisation and strict counterpoint. They are usually either fugues or pieces written in fugal manner; all make heavy use of pedal and are idiomatic to the organ. These preludes, together with pieces by Nicolaus Bruhns, represent the highest point in the evolution of the north German organ prelude, and the so-called stylus phantasticus. They were undoubtedly among the influences of J.S. Bach, whose organ preludes, toccatas and fugues frequently employ similar techniques.
The preludes are quite varied in style and structure, and are therefore hard to categorize, as no two praeludia are alike. The texture of Buxtehude's praeludia can be described as either free or fugal. They consist of strict diatonic harmony and secondary dominants. Structure-wise, there usually is an introductory section, a fugue and a postlude, but this basic scheme is very frequently expanded: both BuxWV 137 and BuxWV 148 include a full-fledged chaconne along with fugal and toccata-like writing in other sections, BuxWV 141 includes two fugues, sections of imitative counterpoint and parts with chordal writing. Buxtehude's praeludia are not circular, nor is there a recapitulation. A fugal theme, when it recurs, does so in a new, changed way. A few pieces are smaller in scope; for example, BuxWV 144, which consists only of a brief improvisatory prelude followed by a longer fugue. The sections may be explicitly separated in the score or flow one into another, with one ending and the other beginning in the same bar. The texture is almost always at least three-voice, with many instances of four-voice polyphony and occasional sections in five voices (BuxWV 150 being one of the notable examples, with five-voice structure in which two of the voices are taken by the pedal).
The introductory sections are always improvisatory. The preludes begin almost invariably with a single motif in one of the voices which is then treated imitatively for a bar or two. After this the introduction will most commonly elaborate on this motif or a part of it, or on a short melodic germ which is passed from voice to voice in three- or four-voice polyphonic writing, as seen in Example 1:
Occasionally the introduction will engage in parallel 3rds, 6ths, etc. For example, BuxWV 149 begins with a single voice, proceeds to parallel counterpoint for nine bars and then segues into the kind of texture described above. The improvisatory interludes, free sections and postludes may all employ a vast array of techniques, from miscellaneous kinds of imitative writing (the technique discussed above, or "fugues" that dissolve into homophonic writing, etc.) to various forms of non-motivic interaction between voices (arpeggios, chordal style, figuration over pedal point, etc.). Tempo marks are frequently present: Adagio sections written out in chords of whole- and half-notes, Vivace and Allegro imitative sections, and others.
The number of fugues in a prelude varies from one to three, not counting the pseudo-fugal free sections. The fugues normally employ four voices with extensive use of pedal. Most subjects are of medium length (see Example 2), frequently with some degree of repercussion (note repeating, particularly in BuxWV 148 and BuxWV 153), wide leaps or simplistic runs of 16th notes. One of the notable exceptions is a fugue in BuxWV 145, which features a six-bar subject. The answers are usually tonal, on scale degrees 1 and 5, and there is little real modulation. Stretto and parallel entries may be employed, with particular emphasis on the latter. Short and simple countersubjects appear, and may change their form slightly during the course of the fugue. In terms of structure, Buxtehude's fugues are a series of expositions, with non-thematic material appearing quite rarely, if ever. There is some variation, however, in the way they are constructed: in the first and last fugues of BuxWV 136 the second voice does not state the subject as it enters during the initial exposition; in BuxWV 153 the second exposition uses the subject in its inverted form, etc. Fugue subjects of a particular prelude may be related as in Froberger's and Frescobaldi's ricercars and canzonas (BuxWV 150, 152, etc.):
The fugal procedure dissolves at the end of the fugue when it is followed by a free section, as seen in Example 4:
Buxtehude's other pieces that employ free writing or sectional structure include works titled toccata, praeambulum, etc. All are similar to the praeludia in terms of construction and techniques used, except that some of these works do not employ pedal passages or do so in a very basic way (pedal point which lasts during much of the piece, etc.). A well-known piece is BuxWV 146, in the rare key of F-sharp minor; it is believed that this prelude was written by Buxtehude especially for himself and his organ, and that he had his own way of tuning the instrument to allow for the tonality rarely used because of meantone temperament.
There are over 40 surviving chorale settings by Buxtehude, and they constitute the most important contributions to the genre in the 17th century. His settings include chorale variations, chorale ricercares, chorale fantasias and chorale preludes. Buxtehude's principal contributions to the organ chorale are his 30 short chorale preludes. The chorale preludes are usually four-part cantus firmus settings of one stanza of the chorale; the melody is presented in an elaborately ornamented version in the upper voice, the three lower parts engage in some form of counterpoint (not necessarily imitative). Most of Buxtehude's chorale settings are in this form. Here is an example from chorale Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott BuxWV 184:
The ornamented cantus firmus in these pieces represents a significant difference between the north German and the south German schools; Johann Pachelbel and his pupils would almost always leave the chorale melody unornamented.
The chorale fantasias (a modern term) are large-scale virtuosic sectional compositions that cover a whole strophe of the text and are somewhat similar to chorale concertos in their treatment of the text: each verse is developed separately, allowing for technically and emotionally contrasting sections within one composition. The presence of contrasting textures makes these pieces reminiscent of Buxtehude's praeludia. Buxtehude was careful with correct word setting, paying particular attention to emphasis and interpretation. Each section is also closely related to the text of the corresponding lines (chromatic sections to express sadness, gigue fugues to express joy, etc.). Examples include fantasias on the [hymn]s Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ BuxWV 188, Nun freut euch, lieben Christen g'mein BuxWV 210, Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren BuxWV 213 and Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern, BuxWV 223.
Buxtehude's chorale variations are usually in two or three voices. They consist of around 3–4 variations of which only one may use the pedal. These pieces are not as important for the development of the form and not as advanced as Pachelbel's or Böhm's contributions to the genre. There are only a few chorale variations, and there are no distinctive qualities that characterize them.
The pieces that do not fall into any of the three types are the keyboard chorale partita Auf meinen lieben Gott, BuxWV 179, which, quite unusually for its time, is simultaneously a secular suite of dances and a sacred set of variations with a funerary theme; and the ones based on the chant (Magnificats BuxWV 203–5 and Te Deum laudamus, BuxWV 218), which are structurally similar to chorale fantasias.
The three ostinato bass works Buxtehude composed—two chaconnes (BuxWV 159–160) and a passacaglia (BuxWV 161)—not only represent, along with Pachelbel's six organ chaconnes, a shift from the traditional chaconne style, but are also the first truly developed north German contributions to the development of the genre. They are among Buxtehude's best-known works and have influenced numerous composers after him, most notably Bach (whose organ passacaglia is modeled after Buxtehude's) and Johannes Brahms. The pieces feature numerous connected sections, with many suspensions, changing meters, and even real modulation (in which the ostinato pattern is transposed into another key).
Some of the praeludia also make use of ostinato models. The praeludium in C major, BuxWV 137, begins with a lengthy pedal solo and concludes not with a postlude of arpeggios and scale runs, but with a comparatively short chaconne built over a three-bar ostinato pattern in the pedal:
The praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 148, in which the ostinato pattern is derived from the subject of one of the fugal sections, also ends in a chaconne. In addition, another praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 149, employs a repeating bass pattern in the beginning.
The rest of Buxtehude's keyboard music does not employ pedals. Of the organ works, a few keyboard canzonas are the only strictly contrapuntal pieces in Buxtehude's oeuvre and were probably composed with teaching purposes in mind. There are also three pieces labelled fugues: only the first, BuxWV 174, is a real fugue. BuxWV 175 is more of a canzona (two sections, both fugal and on the same subject), while BuxWV 176 is more like a typical Buxtehude prelude, only beginning with a fugue rather than an improvisatory section, and for manuals only.
There are also 19 harpsichord suites and several variation sets. The suites follow the standard model (Allemande – Sarabande – Courante – Gigue), sometimes excluding a movement and sometimes adding a second sarabande or a couple of doubles. Like Froberger's, all dances except the gigues employ the French lute style brisé, sarabandes and courantes frequently being variations on the allemande. The gigues employ basic imitative counterpoint but never go as far as the gigue fugues in the chorale fantasias or the fugal writing seen in organ preludes. It may be that the more developed harpsichord writing by Buxtehude simply did not survive: in his writings, Johann Mattheson mentioned a cycle of seven suites by Buxtehude, depicting the nature of planets, but these pieces are lost.
The several sets of arias with variations are, surprisingly, much more developed than the organ chorale variations. BuxWV 250 La Capricciosa may have inspired Bach's Goldberg Variations BWV 988: both have 32 variations (including the two arias of the Goldberg Variations); there are a number of similarities in the structure of individual movements; both include variations in forms of various dances; both are in G major; and Bach was familiar with Buxtehude's work and admired him, as has been related above.
Organ music