Buxtehude's sonatas on this album feature experimental scoring with two obbligato parts for instruments with distinct timbres, such as violin and viola da gamba.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Buxtehude's vocal works, including the cantatas on this album, often depart from the stylistic conventions of his time and offer unconventional musical solutions to textual challenges.
Composition History
Buxtehude organized an annual series of church concerts called Abendmusiken (Evening concerts) in Lübeck, which were held on the five Sundays before Christmas.
Composer Biography
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) was born to an organist father and began his career in Danish towns before becoming organist at the Marienkirche in Lübeck in 1668.
Critical Reception
Buxtehude was largely forgotten as a vocal composer for centuries, with his vocal works sinking into total oblivion shortly after his death, and only rediscovered in the early 20th century.
Historical Context
Buxtehude's Abendmusiken became a major cultural event in Lübeck by 1700, even being mentioned in travel guides of the time as unique.
Compositional Technique
In his sonatas, Buxtehude's unique instrument combinations create individualized parts in contrapuntal sections and blended sounds reminiscent of organ registrations in homophonic passages.
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