Search - Dietrich Buxtehude, John Holloway, Jaap ter Linden :: Dietrich Buxtehude: Complete Chamber Music, Vol. I (7 Sonatas Op. 1) - John Holloway / Jaap ter Linden / Lars Ulrik Mortensen

A "must-have" for any Buxtehude fan!

04/17/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Only a handful of purely chamber works survive from Buxtehude's hand and, unfortunately, this seems to have led to a paucity of recordings thereof. This recording (along with vols. II and III) finally do justice to this wonderful repetoire.The music itself is rich and rewarding. All 14 sonatas of Buxtehude's Ops. 1 and 2 are scored for violin, viola da gamba, and continuo. In some "unpublished" works (recorded on vol. III of this series) the ensemble is expanded with a second violin, and in one case tenor viol is substituted for violin. Buxtehude is an expert in weaving complex contrapuntal textures between all three voices, but is by no means dry or academic. On the contrary, his chamber works are characterized by drama bordering at times on the romantic, interspersed with adagios of a more lyrical quality. While Buxtehude occasionally stretches the Baroque idiom to its limits (especially in the so-called 'stylus phantasticus,' which presages the rhapsodic tendencies of the Romantic era), his work is never impenetrable, and always engages the listener.Holloway, ter Linden and Mortensen's performance of this oeuvre admirably suit Buxtehude's style. They present a unified ensemble with delightfully varied textures in spite of the limited resources available to them. While occasionally leaning towards a more modernistic sense of phrasing and articulation, the musicians stay firmly grounded in sound historical performance practice, and positively shine in the many soloistic passages Buxtehude has scripted for them.While other recordings of Buxtehude's chamber music exists, none are so complete and so well-executed as this series. Any admirer of this pillar of the Baroque would be remiss not to include these albums in their collection."

Sweet, but well -crafted

03/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like many of the (probably small) crowd of people who knew of Buxtehude, I never thought there was more to him than his organ music. Plus, I figured any german composer who predated Bach probably had a rather dour, liturgical composition style. Any of the 3 wonderful volumes should dispel that ill-informed impression. Buxtehude's chamber music is a delight....full of warmth, style and character. Worth the price."