Dieterich Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637–1707) was one of the greatest organists and composers of the Baroque era and a leading figure in German music between Heinrich Schütz and Johann Sebastian Bach. For nearly 40 years, he served as principal organist of the great organ at Lübeck’s Marienkirche, where he produced a large body of work featuring sacred Lutheran music and organ music of a richness unmatched before Bach’s time. As the creator of the famous Abendmusiken and admired throughout Northern Germany, he exerted a major influence on the generation that followed him, including the young Bach. This biography traces the career of this Baroque organ master.

Life and Career as Master of the Baroque Organ

Youth and Education

The exact place and date of Buxtehude’s birth remain uncertain: it is estimated to have been around 1637, in a region of Holstein then under Danish rule, which is why both Germany and Denmark claimed Buxtehude as part of their musical heritage—a fact he took pride in. He was the son of organist Hans Jensen Buxtehude, who served for some thirty years in Helsingør (Elsinore), Denmark. It was under his father’s guidance that young Dieterich learned to play the organ and gained firsthand knowledge of organ building. His experiences and a solid education at a Latin school laid the foundation that helped him distinguish himself as a recognized expert in organ design.

Buxtehude’s Rise: From Helsingborg to Lübeck

Buxtehude began his career in Denmark as organist at St. Mary’s Church in Helsingborg around 1657, before serving at the German parish in Elsinore in 1660. But the turning point came in 1668 when he was appointed to the Marienkirche in Lübeck, the most prestigious organist position in all of Northern Germany. He succeeded Franz Tunder in the position and married Anna Margarethe Tunder, following the custom that the new organist marries his predecessor’s daughter. This marital clause, as we shall see, would play a controversial role in his succession.

Life in Lübeck and Final Years

In Lübeck, Buxtehude held two important positions: organist and Werkmeister, a role involving administrative affairs and financial oversight of the city’s most important church. His responsibilities were wide-ranging: overseeing the musical program for ceremonies on the main organ, maintaining the instruments, and directing an ensemble of musicians. His reputation as a virtuoso organist spread throughout Europe, attracting students from far and wide and earning the admiration of his peers, such as Pachelbel, who dedicated a work to him in 1699. Buxtehude died on May 9, 1707, and is buried in the Marienkirche, where he had spent the final decades of his career as one of the most respected musicians of his generation.

A Rich and Varied Body of Work

Organ Music

Buxtehude is best known for his organ music. His corpus of around 90 organ works is the largest of its kind to survive from the period before Bach. These works can be divided into two categories: “free pieces” such as preludes, toccatas, and fugues, and pieces based on Lutheran chorales. “Free pieces” alternated between passages of dazzling virtuosity and contrapuntal writing in the tradition of North German stylus phantasticus, while his chorales explored traditional hymn melodies. Three exceptional works, all built on an ostinato, stand apart from his repertoire: the two chaconnes in C minor and E minor, and above all the stunning Passacaglia in D minor (BuxWV 161), inimitable proof that Buxtehude’s artistry is comparable to Bach’s greatest achievements.

Sacred Vocal Music

The vocal aspect of his work is no less valuable. Inspired by the emerging Pietist movement, Buxtehude composed a wealth of Baroque cantatas, spiritual concerts, chorales, and arias, all expressing a fervent, yet intimate sense of devotion. Among Buxtehude’s most important vocal works is his Membra Jesu Nostri (1680), a cycle of seven cantatas meditating on the limbs of Christ on the cross. Often considered one of the first great cycles of Lutheran sacred music, this work and many others would have a direct influence on young Bach.

The Abendmusiken

What are the Abendmusiken? They were Lübeck’s famous spiritual “evening concerts” held in the Marienkirche on the five Sundays leading up to Christmas, following the afternoon sermon and taking place outside regular church service. Although the tradition was established by his predecessor Franz Tunder, in 1673 it took on a much greater scale under Buxtehude, turning into a major musical institution which he proudly described as “unmatched anywhere else.” The performances centered around dramatic cantatas and oratorios, naturally calling for a large number of musicians. During these vigils, several choirs and dozens of instrumentalists were spread throughout the galleries, accompanied by the church’s organ. Funded by the town’s bourgeoisie, they established Buxtehude’s reputation throughout Northern Germany and continued until 1810.

Legacy

Influence on Johann Sebastian Bach

The relationship between Buxtehude and Johann Sebastian Bach is one of the most famous in the history of music. In the fall of 1705, the 20-year-old Bach was serving as organist in Arnstadt before deciding to undertake a long journey to Lübeck to hear Buxtehude play. Legend has it that he walked approximately 400 kilometers out of sheer determination! Having set out with four weeks’ leave, he stayed nearly four months, captivated by the old master’s artistry. Buxtehude was looking for a successor at the time, but the requirement to marry his daughter had already discouraged Handel and Mattheson, who had come in 1703, as well as Bach. Nevertheless, the stay left a profound impact on the young man; Buxtehude’s influence can be heard in Bach’s organ works, especially those composed during his Weimar period.

Buxtehude’s Renewal

Like many of his contemporaries, Buxtehude fell into relative obscurity in the 18th century. His music, preserved primarily through handwritten copies, was not revived until the 19th century, driven by a growing admiration for Bach and by publication of scholarly editions of his organ works. The early music revival of the 20th century finally restored him to his rightful place of prominence in the repertoire.

Buxtehude Today

Buxtehude is now recognized as a major voice of German Baroque music. His organ works and sacred music are regularly performed and recorded by the greatest performers from around the world. His preludes, his Passacaglia in D minor, and his cycle Membra Jesu Nostri rank among the most celebrated works of the Baroque repertoire.