Hosaeusweg buxtehude biography

DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE

by Kerala J. Snyder, 2001, courtesy of Oxford Music Online

(b ?Helsingborg, c1637; d Lübeck, Might 9, 1707). German or Scandinavian composer and organist. He review best known as a author of organ music, of which he was one of rendering most important composers before J.S.

Bach. He also left alike impressive repertories of sacred blunt and instrumental ensemble music.

No record archive exist to verify the personification and place of Buxtehude’s onset, and even his nationality has been disputed. The only of the time information comes from a catch a glimpse of (in Nova literaria Maris Balthici) shortly after his death: ‘he recognized Denmark as his inherent country, whence he came nigh our region; he lived gaze at 70 years’.

Although his consanguinity must originally have come differ the town of Buxtehude, sou'west of Hamburg, his ancestors abstruse settled at Oldesloe (now Tolerable Oldesloe) in the Duchy collide Holstein early in the Ordinal century. His father, Johannes (1601/2–74), migrated from Oldesloe to leadership Danish province of Scania; culminate presence there as organist scope the St Maria Kyrka crop Helsingborg is documented for loftiness year 1641.

The hypothesis innovative by Pedersen and by Stahl (1951) that he could tweak identified with a German snapper named Johannes, present in Oldesloe in 1638, and that Dieterich was therefore born in Oldesloe, appears questionable in the calm down of a review of primacy archives there. The death revelation does not exclude Oldesloe brand a birthplace, however, since Holstein was under Danish control mass the time.

In 1641 or else 1642 Johannes moved across picture sound to Elsinore, Denmark, take home become organist of the Undue Olai Kirke, a position why not? held until his retirement buy 1671. A son, Peiter, was born there to him take his wife, Helle Jespers Daater, in 1645; it is dark whether Helle was also excellence mother of Dieterich.

There were two daughters in the consanguinity, Anna and Cathrine, both at a guess older than Dieterich.

Dieterich Buxtehude apogee likely attended the Latin Nursery school at Elsinore and received sovereignty music education from his pa. In 1657 or 1658 earth became organist at his father’s former church at Helsingborg allow in 1660 moved back know about Elsinore as organist of description Marienkirche, a German-speaking congregation.

Dictate the death of Franz Tunder on 5 November 1667 interpretation position of organist of distinction Marienkirche at Lübeck, one staff the most important in northerly Germany, became vacant. After distinct other organists had applied broach the post and been unwanted, Buxtehude was chosen on 11 April 1668. At the equal time he was appointed Werkmeister, a post encompassing the duties of secretary, treasurer and split manager of the church; go to see carried a separate salary nevertheless at this period was affirmed to the organist.

Buxtehude became a citizen of Lübeck prickliness 23 July 1668, and fastidious few days later, on 3 August 1668, he married Anna Margarethe Tunder, the younger lassie of his predecessor. It shambles not known whether this was a condition of his vocation, as it was to reproduction with his successor, but distinction practice was not unusual energy the time.

Seven daughters were born of this union, pair of whom survived to adulthood: Magdalena (or Helena) Elisabeth (b 1670), Anna Margreta (b 1675), Anna Sophia (b 1678) distinguished Dorothea Catrin (b 1683). Buxtehude’s father joined him at Lübeck in 1673 and died approximately in 1674; his brother Shaft (Peiter), a barber, followed coerce 1677.

Buxtehude’s official duties required him to play for the prime morning service and the siesta service on Sundays and banquet days and for Vespers state the preceding afternoon.

In stop working to the customary preludes show consideration for the congregational chorales and ethics musical offerings of the concert, Buxtehude supplied music during Cathedral, often with the participation be more or less instrumentalists or vocalists, or both, who were paid by class church. Part of his renown, however, rested on an fashion totally outside his official communion duties: his direction of glory concert series known as loftiness Abendmusiken (seeAbendmusik).

Tunder had predisposed concerts in the church hobby weekdays, but Buxtehude moved them to five specific Sundays expansion the church year – decency last two in Trinity keep from the second, third and point in Advent – and imported the performance of sacred brilliant works in 1678, the very much year as the inauguration arrive at the Hamburg opera.

Buxtehude’s Abendmusiken were in fact considered primacy equivalent of operas; Hinrich Elmenhorst, a librettist for the City opera, referred to them gorilla such in 1688.

There is petite evidence of travel, but undiluted painting by Johannes Voorhout stick up 1674 documents his close congeniality with the Hamburg organist Johann Adam Reincken and suggests customary visits to Hamburg, where pacify would also have known Christoph Bernhard and Matthias Weckmann.

Coronet friendship with Johann Theile obey attested by a poem go he contributed to Theile’s Time-out Matthew Passion (Lübeck, 1673) captain his help in financing high-mindedness publication of Thiele’s masses (Wismar, 1673). The claim that Theile was Buxtehude’s teacher (J. Mattheson: Critica musica, ii, 1725/R) blight be discounted in view quite a few Buxtehude's greater skill in grit at that time.

Poems soak Buxtehude also appear in goodness Harmonologia musica (1702) of Andreas Werckmeister; it was Werckmeister who conveyed many of Buxtehude’s device compositions to J.G. Walther, whose copies still exist. Buxtehude was also friendly with the Düben family in Stockholm; most spectacle Buxtehude’s vocal music survives suspend the large manuscript collection (now at S-Uu) that the preeminent Gustaf Düben assembled.

Among the onetime generation of organists, Nicolaus Bruhns was Buxtehude’s pupil, and Pachelbel dedicated his Hexachordum Apollinis (1699) to him.

Mattheson and Music visited him in Lübeck pressure 17 August 1703; Mattheson was being considered as a issue to him, but at leadership mention of the condition rehearsal to marriage described above explicit quickly lost interest. The movie evidence for Bach’s famous faux pas to Lübeck rests on authority proceedings of the Arnstadt convention of 21 February 1706, situation it is noted that unquestionable ‘has been to Lübeck slash order to learn one downfall and another about his art’ and that he had insist a leave of four weeks but had stayed ‘about quaternion times as long’.

Thus of course was probably present at grandeur ‘extraordinary’ Abendmusik performances of 2 and 3 December 1705, observance the death of the Empress Leopold I and the affirmation of Joseph I. Bach’s eulogy confirms the length of monarch stay in Lübeck and position fact that he took Buxtehude, among others, as a mockup ‘in the art of picture organ’.

But Buxtehude’s role sort the effective director of air for the city, commanding vagabond genres of music except production opera, may have inspired Bachelor as well.

Buxtehude was buried practice 16 May 1707 in honourableness Marienkirche beside his father suffer four daughters who had predeceased him. A successor agreeable want the ‘marriage condition’, J.C.

Schieferdecker, had been serving as her majesty assistant; he was appointed organist and Werkmeister on 23 June and married Anna Margreta Buxtehude on 5 September 1707.