Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 - 1707) is probably most
familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man
who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a
lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of
employment and residence for most of his life, just to
hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a
major figure among German Baroque composers in his own
right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work
that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude
nonetheless left behi...(+)
Dietrich Buxtehude (1637 - 1707) is probably most
familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man
who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a
lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of
employment and residence for most of his life, just to
hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a
major figure among German Baroque composers in his own
right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work
that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude
nonetheless left behind a body of vocal and
instrumental music which is distinguished by its
contrapuntal skill, devotional atmosphere, and raw
intensity. He helped develop the form of the church
cantata, later perfected by Bach, and he was just as
famous a virtuoso on the organ.
No documentation exists for Buxtehude's birth, though
he said late in life that he was a native Dane. Since
his father, Johannes, was organist and schoolmaster at
Oldesloe, Denmark, until 1638, it is a reasonable guess
that Dietrich was born there. Johannes moved to
Helsingborg in 1638 and to Helsingor in 1641 or 1642,
where he stayed until 1671. After learning the organ at
the feet of his father, Buxtehude became organist at
his father's former church in Helsingor in 1657 or
1658; he then moved to a German-speaking congregation
in Helsingborg in 1660. Buxtehude decided to stop
following in his father's footsteps when the
prestigious position of organist at the Marienkirche in
Lubeck became available; after several others were
rejected, Buxtehude got the job on April 11, 1668. He
also married the outgoing organist's youngest daughter,
Anna Margarethe Tunder, which may have been a condition
of taking the post, and certainly was a condition when
Buxtehude sought a replacement for himself. Buxtehude
was organist at the Marienkirche for the rest of his
life. His official duties were to provide
congregational chorales and other musical interludes
for every service, and to act as treasurer, secretary,
and business manager of the church. He was most famous,
however, for his Abendmusik concerts, held following
the afternoon service on five Sundays a year and on
special occasions. Although these concerts are
universally described as extraordinary, and were the
basis of most of Buxtehude's contemporary fame, very
little music from them has survived. Two of the most
famous Abendmusik concerts, held on December 2 and 3,
1705, and commemorating the death of Emperor Leopold I
and the ascension of Joseph I, were probably attended
by Bach on his pilgrimage. Buxtehude had an opportunity
for early retirement in 1703, when Georg Friederic
Handel and Johann Matheson (famous organists both)
visited him; Matheson had been thinking of succeeding
Buxtehude at his post, but balked at the requirement to
marry Buxtehude's daughter Anna Margareta, and the
visit came to nought. After Buxtehude died on May 9,
1707, the church found another organist willing to
marry his daughter.
This collection of sonatas for violin, viola da gamba,
and continuo was published in 1696 in Hamburg by
Nicolaus Spierink, who agreed to cover the costs for
the composer. The instrumentation of these sonatas,
while unusual today, was not at all uncommon in Germany
in the latter half of the seventeenth century. Erlebach
composed sonatas for similar combinations, as did
Johann Adam Reinken, Buxtehude's friend in Hamburg.
Buxtehude appears to have particularly enjoyed the
number seven, since both this and his Opus 1 set
feature seven sonatas each, rather than the 6 or 12
that were more typical of the time. He also issued a
collection of seven instrumental suites, each one
depicting one of the known planets, and his Membra Jesu
Nostri, is a collection of seven cantatas.
The sonatas, each of which is in a different key, are
all multi-sectional works with alternating fast and
slow portions. The length of each section varies
considerably -- from as few as three measures to as
many as 100. They are an excellent example of
Buxtehude's stylus phantasticus -- a style of writing
in which chaotic passage work forms a rhapsodic, almost
improvisatory surface; this style may also include
rapid changes of mood or texture. Sections in the
stylus phantasticus are alternated with passages of
contrapuntal imitation. In a few instances, Buxtehude
also includes variations, most of which are built on
grounds.
Source: AllMusic
(https://www.allmusic.com/composition/sonatas-7-trio-so
natas-for-2-violins-viola-da-gamba-harpsichord-op-2-bux
wv-259-265-mc0002490546).
Although originally written for Violin, Viola da Gamba
& Harpsichord, I created this Interpretation of the
Trio Sonata in A Major (BuxWV 263) for String Trio
(Violin, Viola & Cello).