Matthies buxtehude biography

DIETERICH BUXTEHUDE

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

(b ?Helsingborg, c1637; d Lübeck, May well 9, 1707). German or Nordic composer and organist. He admiration best known as a founder of organ music, of which he was one of class most important composers before J.S.

Bach. He also left akin impressive repertories of sacred guide and instrumental ensemble music.

No deed exist to verify the clichй and place of Buxtehude’s parturition, and even his nationality has been disputed. The only original information comes from a sign (in Nova literaria Maris Balthici) shortly after his death: ‘he recognized Denmark as his picking country, whence he came cause somebody to our region; he lived let somebody see 70 years’.

Although his stock must originally have come go over the top with the town of Buxtehude, sou'west of Hamburg, his ancestors difficult to understand settled at Oldesloe (now Evil Oldesloe) in the Duchy deserve Holstein early in the Sixteenth century. His father, Johannes (1601/2–74), migrated from Oldesloe to nobility Danish province of Scania; fillet presence there as organist show signs of the St Maria Kyrka send out Helsingborg is documented for influence year 1641.

The hypothesis late by Pedersen and by Stahl (1951) that he could elect identified with a German snapper named Johannes, present in Oldesloe in 1638, and that Dieterich was therefore born in Oldesloe, appears questionable in the give off of a review of nobleness archives there.

The death concentration does not exclude Oldesloe type a birthplace, however, since Holstein was under Danish control to hand the time. In 1641 hunger for 1642 Johannes moved across influence sound to Elsinore, Denmark, success become organist of the Extremist Olai Kirke, a position prohibited held until his retirement flowerbed 1671.

A son, Peiter, was born there to him arena his wife, Helle Jespers Daater, in 1645; it is concealed whether Helle was also class mother of Dieterich. There were two daughters in the race, Anna and Cathrine, both supposedly older than Dieterich.

Dieterich Buxtehude virtually likely attended the Latin Educational institution at Elsinore and received diadem music education from his cleric.

In 1657 or 1658 pacify became organist at his father’s former church at Helsingborg spell in 1660 moved back contact Elsinore as organist of picture Marienkirche, a German-speaking congregation. Amputate the death of Franz Tunder on 5 November 1667 depiction position of organist of leadership Marienkirche at Lübeck, one try to be like the most important in polar Germany, became vacant.

After indefinite other organists had applied portend the post and been unloved, Buxtehude was chosen on 11 April 1668. At the employ time he was appointed Werkmeister, a post encompassing the duties of secretary, treasurer and dwell in manager of the church; row carried a separate salary nevertheless at this period was agreed-upon to the organist.

Buxtehude became a citizen of Lübeck forgery 23 July 1668, and clean few days later, on 3 August 1668, he married Anna Margarethe Tunder, the younger female child of his predecessor. It problem not known whether this was a condition of his drill, as it was to put pen to paper with his successor, but depiction practice was not unusual guarantee the time.

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

Buxtehude’s official duties required him to play for the paramount morning service and the farewell service on Sundays and party days and for Vespers tallness the preceding afternoon.

In give up work to the customary preludes fulfil the congregational chorales and loftiness musical offerings of the response, Buxtehude supplied music during Religous entity, often with the participation after everything else instrumentalists or vocalists, or both, who were paid by rectitude church. Part of his illustriousness, however, rested on an lifetime totally outside his official cathedral duties: his direction of representation concert series known as class Abendmusiken (seeAbendmusik).

Tunder had secure concerts in the church attack weekdays, but Buxtehude moved them to five specific Sundays derive the church year – picture last two in Trinity extra the second, third and rooms in Advent – and extrinsic the performance of sacred thespian works in 1678, the outfit year as the inauguration have the Hamburg opera. Buxtehude’s Abendmusiken were in fact considered significance equivalent of operas; Hinrich Elmenhorst, a librettist for the Metropolis opera, referred to them restructuring such in 1688.

There is small evidence of travel, but elegant painting by Johannes Voorhout be different 1674 documents his close alliance with the Hamburg organist Johann Adam Reincken and suggests everyday visits to Hamburg, where crystal-clear would also have known Christoph Bernhard and Matthias Weckmann.

Monarch friendship with Johann Theile go over the main points attested by a poem put off he contributed to Theile’s Ask for Matthew Passion (Lübeck, 1673) unacceptable his help in financing rendering publication of Thiele’s masses (Wismar, 1673). The claim that Theile was Buxtehude’s teacher (J. Mattheson: Critica musica, ii, 1725/R) forced to be discounted in view conjure Buxtehude's greater skill in opus at that time.

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

Among the minor 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 leisure interest 17 August 1703; Mattheson was being considered as a equal to him, but at significance mention of the condition reading to marriage described above blooper quickly lost interest. The film evidence for Bach’s famous vein to Lübeck rests on illustriousness proceedings of the Arnstadt conclave of 21 February 1706, turn it is noted that dirt ‘has been to Lübeck joke order to learn one style and another about his art’ and that he had market demand a leave of four weeks but had stayed ‘about quaternion times as long’.

Thus settle down was probably present at greatness ‘extraordinary’ Abendmusik performances of 2 and 3 December 1705, observance the death of the Saturniid Leopold I and the affidavit of Joseph I. Bach’s eulogy confirms the length of culminate stay in Lübeck and loftiness fact that he took Buxtehude, among others, as a paper ‘in the art of picture organ’.

But Buxtehude’s role hoot the effective director of concerto for the city, commanding integral genres of music except give away opera, may have inspired Composer as well.

Buxtehude was buried inveigle 16 May 1707 in description Marienkirche beside his father promote four daughters who had predeceased him. A successor agreeable give a lift the ‘marriage condition’, J.C.

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