Customer Reviews

Dietrich Buxtehude: Sonate a due, Op. 1

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Astonishing. Yes, truly surprising.

I asked my disquaire : "Who's Dietrich Buxtehude?"

He said to me "He was the idol of Bach ".

I said "You mean Jean-Sebastien Bach The Great ? "

"Of course..."

I red that J.S.B., on the pretext of a business trip to the north of Germany, has listened Buxtehude played organ for about three months.

The "pièce of résistance" on the collection on this CD is the decidely unruly sonata in D minor, with its more and more surprising effects and fantasia-like free formal desigh.

On the whole, the pieces are all, without exception, mature masterpieces, wich represent a high point lifes'work and at the same time a milestone in the history of German chamber music.

Manfredo Kraemer and his ensemble (Harmonia mundi) gave an imaginative and well-balanced interpretation of those sonatas. In my own point of view, this recording is indispensable.

dietrich buxtehude is known primarily among church musicians as a composer of organ works, but as this CD reveals, he was also a brilliant baroque composer apart from his church music. buxtehude is almost a bridge between early music and baroque, predating j.s. bach, but fully pointing the direction northern european music was headed. these sonatas reflect the italian baroque, but also explore a new depth and whimsy, if you will. the interplay between the musicians is wonderful, full of complex twists and turns that remain completely engaging. listen for the contrapuntal surprises in sonata ii and the dancing interplay in sonata v. note that each sonata contains its own surprises and special moments. in short, this is fun music that is rich and wonderful for spending an hour lost in music.

These performances are wonderful, as already stated. But be aware that they have been re-released on HM's budget series Musique d'Abord in 2010. The link to this is Violin Sonatas Op 1. Go there and save some money.