Dietrich Buxtehude: Sonatine à doi, Violine and Viola da Gamba, Opus 1 & 2

Featuring

Yoko Kawakubo
Myriam Rignol
Julien Wolfs
Les Timbres
Dietrich Buxtehude

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Compositional Technique

Buxtehude's sonatas often juxtapose up to 13 highly contrasted sections, moving seamlessly between ideas without explicit links between musical themes, characteristic of the 'Stylus phantasticus'.

Composer Biography

Buxtehude's multifaceted talents, including his role as an organist, composer, church musician, and administrator, made him a significant figure whom the young Bach visited in 1705 to further his own musical education.

Composition History

Buxtehude's Opus 1 was published at his own expense, and its success likely led the publisher, Nicolaus Spierinck, to financially back the second opus.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Buxtehude demonstrated modernity by using Italian titles for his opuses and movements, and even Italianizing his own name to 'Dieterico Buxtehude'.

Performer Biography

The ensemble Les Timbres, featuring Yoko Kawakubo (violin), Myriam Rignol (viola da gamba), and Julien Wolfs (harpsichord), won First Prize at the prestigious International Competition in Bruges in 2009.

Composition History

Dietrich Buxtehude's Sonatas Opus 1 and 2 were among the few works published during his lifetime, with Opus 1 appearing in 1694 and Opus 2 in 1696.

Compositional Technique

These sonatas exemplify the 'Stylus phantasticus', a 17th-century compositional style defined by Athanasius Kircher as the most free and unrestrained method, showcasing skill and harmonic ingenuity.