Dieterich Buxtehude was a significant composer of the North German organ school who
influenced composers like J.S. Bach and George Philipp Telemann. Besides organ music,
Buxtehude composed high quality sacred music and chamber music. Much of his work has
been lost.
Buxtehude's country of birth is disputed (Sweden, Denmark, Germany). From 1667 until
his death he was the composed at a church in Lubeck, Germany near the Baltic Sea (Bach, at
age 20, took a four week leave from work and walked 250 miles to visit the elderly Buxtehude.
He was fired when he returned four months later).
Organ Works:
Buxtehude's nineteen organ preludes form the core of Buxtehude's work and are ultimately
Organ Works:
Buxtehude's nineteen organ 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
phantasticus. They were undoubtedly among the influences of J.S. Bach, whose organ preludes,
toccatas and fugues frequently employ similar techniques.
Sacred Choral Works:
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.
What is a fugue?
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