Music As We Know It

There are some famous composers whose heritage has been ignored and neglected for a long time. It happened to the best music creators like J.S. Bach and others.  Something similar happened to Dieterich Buxtehude, whose name and creations faded in the past.  Yet, today specialists recognize him as the most important German composer of the mid-Baroque period. 

As with many other baroque composers, we know little about his life. His date of birth is still disputed but, generally, specialists agree that it was around 1637. Although Dieterich spent most of his life in Germany, he seems to be born in Denmark and always considered himself Danish.  

Known as the genius composer who influenced later generations of followers, including Bach, Hendel and even Gustav Maller, Buxtehude became reknown at his times as a virtuoso musician as well. He was highly regarded by his contemporaries as an accomplished organist and lutenist. 

Most of his life he was an organist of the famous protestant church Marienkirche in a free imperial city of Lubeck.  This envious position gave him relative freedom in his musical career and considerable creative latitude. He wrote in a wide variety of vocal and instrumental idioms, in addition to the standard organ repertoire, which are frequently performed during church services and recitals today. 

Due to his efforts, evening church concerts Abendmusik sponsored by local businessmen came into prominence. They were paid for and, thus, free for the general public.  Dieterich Buxtehude always performed there with organ and orchestrated a gigantic variety of vocal music as well.  It is interesting to note that in 1926 Marienkirche church in Lubeck renewed this tradition, so people can listen to  Abendmusic in the present days. 

The fame of Buxtehude grew and soon the crowds of young musicians and composers from all over Europe would gather to listen to his Abenmusic. Among them were Hendel, Bach, Telemann and Mattheson. Dietrich became a model for them and an influential figure.  J.S. Bach who was then a twenty year old lad walked over two hundred miles to Lubeck just to meet Dietrich and hear him play. He spent in Lubeck almost three months going religiously to each Abendmusik in Marienkirche. 

Hendel and Mattheson met Buxtehude a couple of years before his death in 1707. They quickly hit it off and got along so well, that Dieterich even offered to retire and appoint one of them as a new Marienkirche organist. There was only one stipulation - the future organist would have to marry his eldest daughter.  Apparently Dieterich’s daughter was not a beauty, as two famous composers refused and hastily left Lubeck within one day after their arrival.