Emma Kirkby, internationally renowned for her interpretations of early music, joins Canadian soprano Suzie LeBlanc, Peter Harvey, Clare Salaman, and The Purcell Quartet in this disc of sacred music by Buxtehude. This is the only available reecording of many of the works on this disc. Recorded in: St Jude on the Hill, Hampstead, London 14-16 February 2002 Producer(s) Rachel Smith Sound Engineer(s) Jonathan Cooper Michael Common

All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.
Includes work(s) for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude. Soloist: Hans Davidsson.

Harpsichord Music

Danish Organ Music

Includes work(s) for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude. Soloist: Hans Davidsson.

This second volume in the Naxos series of Buxtehude’s vocal music was previously issued on Dacapo (Dacapo 8.224160). It is made up of four sacred cantatas – and one ‘interloper’, a setting of the Magnificat mistakenly identified as Buxtehude’s back in 1931 by Bruno Grusnick, but pretty certainly not his.

The four cantatas give us the chance to hear Buxtehude employing a variety of strategies.

Das neugeborne Kindelein sets the four verses of a Christmas hymn first published in 1588 by Cyriacus Schneegass (1546-1597), German hymn-writer, composer and music theorist. The words have a simple radiance, each of the four stanzas made up of four lines rhymed aabb. Buxtehude treats them interestingly; he adopts different approaches for each of the four stanzas. In the first he sets the opening three lines, the initial announcement of the recurrent ‘new’ birth of Christ and its significance, relatively plainly, allowing the words to dominate and hold the attention. Then, as if to celebrate the significance of the words of proclamation, the final line of Schneegass’s first stanza is richly elaborated through repetition and contrapuntal echo. Between each stanza we get an instrumental ritornello and after its first return, the second stanza offers yet more vocal elaboration and responds beautifully to the text’s assertion that the angels are singing in the sky, a response heightened by a greater use of instrumental accompaniment interwoven with the vocal phrases than was allowed to happen in the first stanza. The third stanza speaks of the battle against “Teufel, Welt und Höllenpfort” and the sense of conflict is heightened by much greater use of instrumental interjections which break up the vocal phrases and the lines of the verse. In the fourth stanza, as the text grows to a full realisation that the birth of “das Jesuslein” guarantees the possibility of human salvation, the musical metre changes and the instruments and voices work more obviously together, so that verse, voice and instruments embody, in their new relationship, the transformation into coherent meaning of which the hymn speaks. Buxtehude, in short, has integrated text, singers and instrumental ensemble with a completeness of achieved purpose that makes Das neugeborne Kindelein a minor masterpiece.

In Der Herr ist mit mir the text is taken from the Psalms (Psalm 118 verses 6-7). In the Authorized Version it reads thus: “The Lord is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me. The Lord taketh my part with them that help me: therefore shall I see my desire upon them that hate me”. To the German translation of these verses is added a concluding ‘Hallelujah’. Buxtehude sets the Psalm text in predominantly homophonic fashion, the text remaining clearly and emphatically audible, its meaning emphasised by some patterned rhythmic and harmonic touches. With the ‘Hallelujah’ Buxtehude launches into a virtuoso ciacona made up of nineteen variations over two-bar ostinato bass. The contrast with what has gone before is startling and exciting.

The most dramatically expressive work here is Fürwahr, er trug unsere Krankheit, setting verses from Isaiah prophetic of the crucifixion. There is some powerful instrumental writing and Buxtehude’s music articulates a powerful response to the idea of the Passion; the writing, both for the bass soloist and for the chorus, as well as for the sections of the chorus, is consistently intense and moving. The response to the imagery of Christ’s wounds and “stripes” is especially poignant. Fürwahr, er trug unsere Krankheit is a fine piece, full of sustained melodies and aching harmonies, and it comes off particularly well in this recording.

Alles, was ihr tut is perhaps the most familiar of these four cantatas. It is an exhortation to ensure that (in the words of the Epistle to the Colossians) “whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [ye] do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the father by him”, as well as a petition that God might assist both individual and community. Buxtehude fruitfully juxtaposes elements of the sacred concerto and the aria, as well as the setting of a chorale text to an already existing melody; homophonic passages and contrapuntal writing are employed by turns; the interplay of instruments and voices is always effective and interesting. In passing phrases – both textual and musical – between soloist and chorus, Buxtehude seems to offer an artistic statement as to the proper relationship between the individual and the community in a Christian society. The whole work breathes an untroubled faith and the continuo work from the Dufay Ensemble is particularly striking here.

The external evidence makes it unlikely that the Magnificat is Buxtehude’s; although one copy of the work was found in the collection of Buxtehude’s friend Gustav Düben, who certainly owned copies of works by Buxtehude, it has to be said that he also owned works by other composers too; other surviving copies of this setting come from areas of Europe where Buxtehude is not known to have had any connections. Nor, indeed, does it really sound like Buxtehude; it lacks the subtlety and inventiveness of Buxtehude at anything like his best. It is pleasant but undistinguished and is perhaps best attributed to that old favourite ‘Anon’.

These are not perfect performances. The closing ‘Hallelujah’ of Der Herr ist mit mir hasn’t quite the brilliance and lightness of touch that the music deserves; Johan Reuter’s bass, though tonally very apt and attractive, isn’t quite as expressive as one might wish; just now and then, by the highest standards, the voices of one or two of the choir’s soloists sound overtaxed. On the other hand, the Choir as a whole sings beautifully, their work tonally lovely, their diction exemplary. The performances are certainly plenty good enough to give the hearer a pretty good idea of just how fine this music is.

-- Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Classical Music

An outstanding volume in Koopman's complete Buxtehude cycle from Challenge will delight, stimulate and please in every respect.

Ton Koopman's survey of the entire works of Buxtehude seems to be getting more enjoyable and exciting with each release. Here we are at what must be (just under) about two-thirds of the way through - volume 14, the fifth in the series of the composer's vocal works. The five high soloists and a tenor and bass are lively, confident, sensitive - the dialogue in Bedenke Mensch das Ende [tr.5] is a good example of real, studied drama - and technically brilliant (listen to the ensemble singing and pacing towards the end of Jesu, komm, mein Trost und Lachen [tr.7], for instance). They infuse their performances with joy, depth, clarity, devotion and the other emotions required by the glorious - yet almost unknown - writing of Buxtehude … essentially Germanic but with the inevitable influence of Italy in general and Monteverdi in particular also much in evidence.

Some of the works on this CD were recorded as long ago as 2007 and 2008; the booklet is unusually unforthcoming about which and where. This suggests that Koopman may be 'collecting' from Buxtehude's œuvre at this stage in the project. But there is nothing about the collection on this generous and amply-recorded CD to make us think we're experiencing the 'also-rans' or dregs. This is music of great exactness: penetrating, striking and original. Buxtehude's gift for melody, structure and the creation of complex, subtle yet highly meaningful textures is in evidence from first note to last.

Only three or four of the works presented here are otherwise available - in compilations and on DVD, for example. So there is every reason to acquire this CD without hesitation - even were its performances not of the extremely high calibre that they are. Each of the soloists has something definite, communicative and enriching to offer. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra is also on typically excellent form.

The new impetus given to music after the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) by the evolving Geistliches Konzert (sacred concerto) is also responsible for much of the measured yet unmistakable vivacity of Buxtehude's choral writing here … usually a short instrumental introduction, an impactful, self-contained and focused Biblical phrase or section of text is explored by one or more soloists - with instrumental 'support' rather than intricate comment in its own right. A true point of departure for and from the church cantata. The musicians involved in this excellent CD from Challenge thoroughly understand the idiom of the Geistliches Konzert.

This CD has other forms which are as striking by their then innovative nature at Buxtehude's time as by their 'stability' and overseeing command of the blend of musical form and idea with text are to us now. These include the strophic arias and ciacconne; and the concerto-aria cantatas ( Je hoher du bist [tr.1] and Herr, wenn ich nur dich habe [tr.2]). One senses Buxtehude's delight at the freedom of expression which these forms afford him. And the performers' responsiveness and involvement … Buxtehude was laying all sorts of ground for others - not least Bach. But he was also writing devotional music for local 'consumption' and probably specific occasions in Lübeck. So the singers need to steer a fairly narrow course between emphasising the historical moment in which the music was written; and its more general meaning. They do. At the same time, their singing and playing have a modern touch … it's immediate, 'edgy' almost, the singers' articulation of the all-important texts are crystalline, liquid, limpid - without ever being florid.

The acoustic is clean, though perhaps a touch too dry for the not ostentatious but peacefully declamatory nature of some of the music. The booklet with notes by Christoph Wolff is highly informative and has the texts in German (and Latin for Jesu, dulcis memoria) and English. If you're already collecting this cycle, don't hesitate for a second. If you want to sample historically significant and beautiful music from the under-performed Buxtehude, this is a great place to start.

-- Mark Sealey, MusicWeb International

[Ton Koopman's recordings of Buxtehude for Novalis] stands out, alongside the maverick recording by Lena Jacobson for Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, as among the most dissident performances of the repertoire ever committed to disc. Koopman indeed commented in a 1991 article for the Musical Times that, in order to perform Buxtehude, one had to "take the risk to be dissident"...

-- Chris Bragg, MusicWeb International

Classical Music

Includes work(s) by Dietrich Buxtehude. Ensembles: Amsterdam Baroque Choir, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra. Conductor: Ton Koopman. Soloists: Bogna Bartosz, Donald Bentvelsen, Jörg Dürmüller, Andreas Karasiak, Klaus Mertens, Patrick Van Goethem, Johannette Zomer, Bettina Pahn, Hugo Naessens.

Naxos launches a survey of Buxtehude's complete organ works with a well-varied selection of chorale preludes, fugal works, and virtuoso showpieces. Volker Ellenberger's fluent technique and intelligent musicianship particularly come across in the chorale preludes and in larger-scaled works like the Magnificat primi toni (BuxWV 203), where the four fugues effortlessly emerge from their more freely conceived preceding episodes. The bassoon-like clarity of the pedal registration in the G major Prelude and Fugue BuxWV 147 helps move the music forward, as does Ellenberger's sharply etched phrasing in the fugue. The latter contrasts with Rene Saorgin's slower, more yielding (though no less valid) treatment. On the other hand, Saorgin's ebullient dash through the BuxWV 149 G minor Praeludium's introduction presents the music in a more improvisatory light compared to the shorter phrase lengths Ellenberger stresses.


The 1997 organ of the Evangelical Lutheran City Church in Bückeburg, Germany benefits from clear and close-up engineering, similar to what producer Wolfgang Rübsam enjoyed in his fine (and sadly out-of-print) Buxtehude cycle recorded for Bellaphon in the early 1980s. Should the remaining releases in this series match Volume 1's high performance and engineering standards, we'll have a Buxtehude cycle on par with Saorgin's classic Harmonia Mundi recordings from the late '60s/early '70s.
--Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

For this recording of music by Buxtehude, Jonathan Cohen, founder of the ensemble Arcangelo, is joined by a distinguished trio, including two regulars on the Alpha label, Sophie Gent and Thomas Dunford, alongside the gambist Jonathan Manson. Although Dietrich Buxtehude is famous above all for his organ music and cantatas, and for the long journey the young Bach undertook to meet him, his chamber music is virtually unknown. In the mid-1690s, at the height of his fame, Buxtehude published two collections in rapid succession, each comprising seven sonatas for violin, viola da gamba and basso continuo. It is the works of the first collection (1694) – designated Opus 1 in the print – that Arcangelo has recorded here. These sonatas are characterized by pronounced experimental features in both the scoring and the handling of the instruments.

-----

REVIEWS:

Arcangelo makes the most of Buxtehude’s highly imaginative counterpoint, at times emphasizing the arresting dissonances and dramatic cadences that will remind more than a few listeners of similar moments in Bach’s chamber music.

– All Music Guide

A factor that has allowed Arcangelo to be so adaptable is the ever-effective policy of employing to-rate musicians; and, with violinist Sophie Gent and gambist Jonathan Manson proving master of this music’s sometimes virtuoso demands and Thomas Dunford among the most sought-after continuo lutenists of the moment, the standards here are as high as ever.

– Gramophone

This exquisitely balanced recording instantly captures the sense of conversation between the instrumental parts, highlighting the egalitarian approach of Buxtehude's melodic writing. What's more, the content of these conversations allows us to glimpse the composer's esteemed artistic stature in miniature.

– BBC Music Magazine

Classical Music

BUXTEHUDE Membra Jesu Nostri • Harry Christophers, dir; The Sixteen • CORO COR 16082 (61:23 Text and Translation)


After a thorough look at the extensive representation of this work on disc ( Fanfare 31:5), we get a reissue of an earlier version first reviewed by colleague Michael Carter (25:5), who described as “a smattering of recordings” a Buxtehude discography that has embraced more than 80 of the 120 cantatas stretching back to 1937, a count that is now up to 90, with more than a dozen versions of some of the more familiar works. This version’s performing forces were almost exactly replicated by Alexander Weimann in that recent disc, with five solo singers, nine string players, and organ (Weimann had eight Baroque string instruments). While Weimann delivered one of the two fastest performances in my collection, Harry Christophers hits the median timing, never a bad thing in ranking any competitive series. The recent solo-voice performances include René Jacobs (both versions), Konrad Junghänel, and Jos van Veldhoven in addition to these two, so that will narrow the field for purists. Otherwise, there are some fine performances among the more recent versions cited in the previous review. If I had to limit my choice to a single version, however, it would be Harry Christophers and his sterling group of soloists.


FANFARE: J. F. Weber

As the composer that Johann Sebastian Bach at the age of twenty walked more than 400 kilometres in order to meet, Dietrich Buxtehude holds a place of honour in the history of music. Luckily, an important portion of his music, mainly vocal works and organ pieces, has also survived. Having spent his childhood and early years in Helsingborg and Elsinore, on either side of the strait that divides Denmark and Sweden, Buxtehude was recruited as organist by the congregation of the great Marienkirche in the wealthy Hanseatic city of Lübeck. On the basis of this, as well as the challenges posed by his organ compositions, it is safe to assume that he was a virtuoso on his instrument. He would also have been a connoisseur of fine organs - the finest of which at the time were to be found in Northern Germany. Two such magnificent instruments still exist in the small towns of Altenbruch and Lüdingworth, some 130 kilometres west of Lübeck, and on them Masaaki Suzuki here performs a varied selection of Buxtehude's organ works. This ranges from brief chorale preludes to the magnificent Te Deum laudamus and the celebrated Ciaccona in E minor. Although he is most widely known for his on-going, highly praised series of Bach's cantatas on BIS, Masaaki Suzuki in fact began his professional career as a church organist at the age of twelve, later studying the instrument both in Tokyo and in Amsterdam. For BIS he has previously recorded Bach's Organ Mass ('an organist of distinguished musicianship and superior technique' wrote the American Record Guide) and organ works by Sweelinck, a disc which upon its release was recommended by Gramophone and described in International Record Review as containing 'performances which are compelling in their stylistic integrity and uncompromising musicianship.'

BUXTEHUDE: Chamber Music (Complete), Vol. 1 - 7 Sonatas, Op.

Includes work(s) for organ by Dietrich Buxtehude. Soloist: Julia Brown.

BUXTEHUDE: Organ Music, Vol. 3

"This release heralds a new association between Opus Arte and the Magdalen College Choir, Oxford, under its director, Daniel Hyde Dietrich Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri is considered to be the first Lutheran oratorio Renowned soloists include John-Mark Ainsley and Robin Blaze Features Gramophone Award-winning instrumental group Phantasm"

The names Bach and Buxtehude are inextricably linked in that the young German was deeply influenced by the older Danish keyboard virtuoso and Werkmeister. In fact, following his visit to Denmark in 1705, he allowed that, in retrospect, he had gone to hear Buxtehude "in order to comprehend one thing and another about his art". That this is in itself rather striking commentary from arguably the greatest composer in the history of Western Classical Music cannot be denied and speaks volumes on the importance of Buxtehude in evaluating the early Baroque period.
Diapason d'Or winner Lars Ulrik Mortensen, well known for his collaborations with John Holloway and Jaap ter Linden, among others, brings to Buxtehude's music a unique blend of virtuosity and scholarship in the area of performance practice. His playing, while astonishingly accurate and controlled, never gives the impression of being a calculated affair. His informed music making is inspired and breathes fresh life into every bar of this oeuvre. Worthy of note is Mortensen's handling of the cadenza-like arpeggio section in the Prelude in G Major; the building effect is breathtaking, the resolution exultant.
Gramophone (1/00, p. 85) - "...[Mortensen] arranges his programmes
effectively to illustrate the wide range of Buxtehude's art, though the
contrapuntal facility that drew Bach to trudge 200 miles to hear him is
everywhere apparent....enthusiastically recommended..."

BUXTEHUDE: Organ Music, Vol. 4

BUXTEHUDE Benedicam Dominum. Gott hilf mir. Wie wird erneuet. Wo soll ich fliehen hin? Mein Gemüt erfreuet sich. Herr ich lasse dich nicht. Ihr lieben Christen • Roland Wilson, cond; La Capella Ducale; Cologne Musica Fiata • cpo 777318 (78:18 Text and Translation)


This collection of unfamiliar cantatas of Dietrich Buxtehude includes two first recordings, Benedicam Dominum and Wo soll ich fliehen hin? ; the program concludes with the most familiar one of the group, recorded five times before. (With reference to first recordings, colleague Brian Robins in 30:6 overlooked previous recordings of BuxWV 82 on Vox, Hungaroton, and Ricercar, and of BuxWV 25 on Metronome, neither included here.) If the familiar Ihr lieben Christen concludes the program, the first recording of the stunning Benedicam Dominum opens it. Perhaps it has been neglected because of the required forces, six choirs to be placed in the six balconies of the Lübeck church. The text from Psalm 33 (34) lends itself to a festive treatment using trumpets and drums, and the composer takes full advantage of the sonorities of the instruments. This is a real addition to the composer’s discography, and it’s worth noting that two other recordings of the piece were made at almost the same time, the sort of thing that happens in an anniversary year such as this.


Gott hilf mir , on a German text from Psalm 68 (69), is superior to older recordings under Günter Graulich and Martha Johnson, while Wie wird erneuet , a non-Scriptural poem, can be heard in Ton Koopman’s three-disc box (11:4). Wo soll ich fliehen hin? is the other first recording, a poetic text in the same style as the previous piece. Mein Gemüt erfreuet sich is also in Koopman’s box, and Herr ich lasse dich nicht has been recorded with Helmut Rilling’s group and the Ricercar Consort. Among those who have given us the concluding work, Koopman stands out for the boxed set.


The comparison of three of these performances with those duplicated by Koopman is instructive. Wie wird erneuet is more brilliant, more jubilant here than Koopman rendered it, his trumpets more restrained, his singers more subdued. Mein Gemüt erfreuet sich is a similar expression of rejoicing that Wilson, with a more forceful bass soloist, captures more effectively than Koopman. Ihr lieben Christen , like the other two duplicated here, uses the verb “rejoice” with trumpets and trombones in the first line, but Koopman again finds less to rejoice about, and he is slower in all three of these works. Wilson’s superiority in these works makes me eager to hear his new Das jüngste Gericht on Sony, not issued over here yet but a work that contrasts in mood with these pieces. This generous collection is well worth hearing, a splendid contribution to the anniversary.


FANFARE: J. F. Weber

BUXTEHUDE: Organ Music, Vol. 2

Capella de la Torre, one of Europe's most renowned early music ensembles, is starting a new chapter: future projects will be released on the Prospero Classical label. This exciting collaboration kicks off with the anniversary album 20 Years of Capella de la Torre, which will be released in the form of a high-quality digipack. With this recording, the ensemble celebrates two decades of intensive artistic work, numerous award-winning projects, and tireless curiosity about the sound worlds of the Renaissance and early Baroque, licensed by Sony Classical.

Lively, tonally varied performances … a very attractive sound.

This is volume two of the Naxos reissue of Lars Ulrik Mortensen’s Buxtehude series. It previously appeared on Dacapo. This particular volume was Dacapo 8.224117.

Mortensen is a fine musician, whose approach to Buxtehude is vivacious and dignified in equal proportions. His Buxtehude has both passion and seriousness - but not solemnity - of mind. Mortensen makes sparkling use of the resources of his instrument, a copy by Thomas Mandrup-Poulsen of an original by Ruckers. Though the notes to this present CD give no further details, it sounds like the beautifully-toned instrument, made in 1984, which Mortensen played on some of his Bach recordings (CPO 999 989-2) and Froberger (Kontrapunkt 32040). It sings delightfully – at least it does when played by Mortensen! The use of mean-tone tuning will surely disturb very few modern listeners.

The theme of the set of variations on More Palatino (not More Palantino as printed on the back cover) is a student drinking song, though the rather stately form in which Buxtehude presents it is not especially redolent of the tavern. Still, it is an attractive and melodically various set, Mortensen’s varying use of registration producing some charming effects and some insistently dancing rhythms. The same is true of a second set of variations played here, those on Courant Zimble – a title we might translate as ‘Simple Courante’, and aptly so, since it is an uncomplicated piece which invites – and gets – some direct and appealing variations from Buxtehude. Mortensen resists the temptation to over-inflate these or make any excessive claims for them.

Each of the two Suites is made up four movements, in the order Allemande-Courante-Sarabande-Gigue. In each work the allemande is the most substantial movement, considerably longer than any of the other three movements. The allemandes also tend to have a greater musical gravity, that which opens Bux WV 242 being particularly grand in manner and phrasing; the courantes have, by way of contrast, a rippling vitality, that in Bux WV 25 being full of pleasant twists and turns. Buxtehude’s sarabandes have a graceful simplicity about them, a quality heard to perfection in Mortensen’s performances of the two in these suites, especially that in the E minor suite, where the registration is beautifully judged and employed. The gigues of the two suites make more much use of counterpoint, especially in comparison to the simpler lines of the sarabandes which precede them. But these are by no means academic fugues and in both suites the final movements very forcefully remember the dance origins of the gigue.

All of the shorter pieces in this programme have their genuine attractions and all are well characterised by Mortensen. The chorale ‘Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren’ is more often heard on the organ, although it makes no requirements that the harpsichord can’t fulfil – as Mortensen persuasively demonstrates. Indeed there is a particular sprightliness to this reading that is distinct from anything that can be achieved on the baroque organ and which offers an alternative, equally valid, view of the music. Bux WV 170, 171 and 174 are pieces which survive amongst the manuscripts of Buxtehude’s organ music but which, again, are eminently playable on the harpsichord. The fugal writing here is more ‘correct’ than in the gigues of the suites, but don’t let that make you imagine that these are unduly staid pieces. Here they have the same vivacity which characterises this programme as a whole and they are played with the same loving care for the aptness of instrumental sound and tone.

Without wanting to claim Mortensen’s as the ‘best’ recordings of Buxtehude’s harpsichord works – if one had to pick I suppose the vote might go to Ton Koopman – there is not the slightest reason to feel in any way dissatisfied with this fine recital. If you don’t know Buxtehude’s writing for harpsichord – this is an excellent value-for-money place to start; if you are already an aficionado of this repertoire you will surely be just as keen to add this to your collection.

-- Glyn Pursglove, MusicWeb International

This is a Super Audio CD playable only on Super Audio CD players.

As the notes point out, Buxtehude "never held a position that required him to compose vocal music," but as these works show, he was no stranger to the practice, writing for the voice with adept concision that shows a remarkably wide expressive range and engaging tunefulness. The works are not complex by any means, and employ a minimal contingent of strings and/or organ just sufficient to support and add color to the vocal parts, and to supply textural and occasional imitative or contrasting thematic interest.

These little cantatas--each lasting between five and eight minutes--feature four or five voices (in one case, only a solo singer), with texts in Latin or (in two instances) Swedish, drawn from the Psalms or religious poetry. In addition to the cantatas--and a welcome organ Praeludium and Passacaglia--we hear the Kyrie and Gloria of a Missa alla brevis, Buxtehude's "only strictly liturgical work"; the extraordinary and delightfully surprising chromatic passages in the final few pages of the Gloria make this one of the program's more memorable--and immediately repeatable--moments.

Paul Hillier's one-voice-to-a-part configuration works very well for these pieces whose style often seems closer to the earlier 17th-century Italian madrigal than to northern European church music of the late 1600s (the opening vocal flourishes and overall expressive character of "Ecce nunc benedicite Domino", for instance). All of these singers are excellent, but among them Else Torp is particularly fine in her solo-cantata "Att du Jesu vill mig höra" (That you will hear me, Jesus). The instrumental ensemble and continuo playing, as well as the solo-organ renditions by Buxtehude expert Bine Bryndorf, are equally stylish and assured--and everything is recorded in state-of-the-art sound, from the church of St. Mary's, Elsinore (Helsingør), where Buxtehude once served as organist, and who played the (now restored) instrument heard here.

--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

By the end of his life, the fame of Dietrich Buxtehude as an organist was so great that in 1706 the young J.S. Bach took four weeks' leave from his employment at Arnstadt and travelled on foot over 200 miles to Lübeck to hear him perform in concert. Ironically, the meteoric rise of the career of Bach himself as a composer meant that, until very recently, Buxtehude was primarily known simply as a forerunner to the great man, when in fact he was a major composer in his own right. These Trio Sonatas for violin, viola da gamba, and harpsichord are remarkable examples of Buxtehude's beautiful chamber music, and anyone expecting them to follow a set of pre-established procedures will be surprised. Inventive and full of life, each of the sonatas is different from the others, ranging from dance-like pieces and little fugues to variation sets with some dynamic duets between the violin and viola da gamba, and slow, airy pieces too. The recording complements CHAN 0766 (Trio Sonatas, Op. 1) of which Early Music Today wrote: 'The Purcell Quartet brings its customary virtues to these perceptive period-instrument interpretations: incisiveness, tonal transparency and excellent rapport and blend.' Through twenty-nine years and nearly fifty recordings of a huge range of repertoire, The Purcell Quartet has established itself as a leader in the area of baroque chamber music, not shrinking away from taking on fully staged productions of Purcell'sDido and Aeneas and Monteverdi's L'incoronazione di Poppea and Orfeo. The Quartet has toured the world, including the USA, Chile, Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, Japan, Turkey, and all the countries of Europe, and collaborated with the very finest singers, among them Susan Gritton, Nancy Argenta, Catherine Bott, Emma Kirkby, Julia Gooding, Michael Chance, Dominique Visse, Guy de Mey, Mark Padmore, Charles Daniels, Peter Harvey, and Richard Wistreich. The Purcell Quartet has recorded exclusively for Chandos Records since 1987, its discography now numbering more than forty discs.