Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri invites a personal, emotional response to the Crucifixion, departing from the orthodox Lutheran position that advocated an intellectual understanding of the Passion.
Compositional Technique
The sixth cantata, Ad cor (Upon the Heart), replaces the usual instrumentation of two violins and violone with five viols, creating a unique sound-world.
Compositional Technique
For each cantata, Buxtehude selected three verses from a medieval poem for arias and chose a Bible verse, mostly from the Old Testament, for concertos.
Historical Context
The medieval poem Salva mundi salutare, from which Buxtehude derived his texts, circulated extensively in 17th-century Catholic and Protestant circles.
Composition History
The work is dedicated to Gustaf Düben, Kapellmeister at the court in Stockholm, whose collection of Buxtehude's works is now the most significant source of the composer's music.
Performer Biography
All three soloists on this recording, John Mark Ainsley (tenor), Robin Blaze (countertenor), and Giles Underwood (bass), began their singing careers in the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford.
Composition History
Dieterich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu nostri is a cycle of seven cantatas from 1680, reflecting on the crucified Jesus, with each cantata contemplating a different body part.
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