Buxtehude

Organ works and cantatas by Buxtehude, saxophone and vocal quartet

In 2007 we will be commemorating the tercentenary of the death of Dietrich Buxtehude. Buxtehude was born fifty years after Schütz and fifty years before Bach and is therefore the link between the founder and the cantor of German baroque music. He was the most respected and influential composer of his day. The young Handel visited him in 1703. In 1705 the young Bach walked 300 kilometres to hear his music. Although both of them were potential successors to Buxtehude, neither of them was willing to accept the condition that they marry their predecessor’s daughter.

Buxtehude wrote a great many vocal and instrumental compositions. His work raised the North German organ school to new heights and influenced Bach’s organ music. He is known for his highly imaginative use of an extremely wide range of musical forms and he managed to achieve virtuosity and drama in a quite exceptional way.

BL!NDMAN pays tribute to the master with choral preludes and cantatas in a contemporary setting for four saxophones and four voices.