01	Praeludium In G Minor, BuxWV 149						08:20
	02	Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland BuxWV 211						01:50
	03	Gelobet Seist Du, Jesu Christ, BuxWV 189						01:41
	04	Puer Natus In Bethlehem, BuxWV 217						01:26
	05	Der Tag Der Is So Freudenreich, BuxWV 182						03:21
	06	In Dulci Jubilo, BuxWV 197						02:21
	07	Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen Allzu Gleich, BuxWV 202						01:12
	08	Ciacona In C Minor, BuxWV 159						06:17
	09	Passacaglia In D Minor, BuxWV 161						06:02
	10	Ciacona In E Minor, BuxWV 148						05:21
	11	Praeludium In G Minor, BuxWV 148						06:33
	12	Jesus Chrstus, Unser Heiland, BuxWV 198						01:56
	13	Komm, Heilger Geist, Herr Gott, BuxWV 199						03:08
	14	Nun Bitten Wir Den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 209						02:30
	15	Nun Bitten Wir Den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 209						02:01
	16	Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 200						02:49
	17	Gott Der Vater Wohn Uns Bei, BuxWV 190						03:15
	18	Praeludium In C, BuxWV 137						05:26

DIETRICH BUXTEHUDE
Organ Works Vol. 1
Bine Bryndorf, organ

Dietrich Buxtehude, composer

About
The over 350-year-old organ in Elsinore's St. Mary's Church is a natural point of departure for Dacapo Records’ and Bine Bryndorf’s new Buxtehude project. It was at this instrument that the Danish-German Baroque composer was active as the church’s organist in 1660-68. And it was here that the organist and professor Bine Bryndorf practiced as a child, and first made the acquaintance of Buxtehude’s organ music.

Dietrich Buxtehude’s organ works are today in the standard repertoire for organists all over the world, but this is the first time an organist has engaged so intimately with Buxtehude by using the very instrument on which the works were composed. Dacapo Records’ new Buxtehude series will consist of a total of six CDs, and besides the St. Mary's Church in Elsinore they will be recorded in the other two churches where the composer was employed, the S:ta Maria Church in Helsingborg and the Marienkirche in Lu"beck.

Bine Bryndorf has a quite special relationship with the first of the three Buxtehude organs, for this was where she laid the foundations of her international career as an organist. But the instrument she practiced on when she was young has recently undergone a great transformation. Behind the beautifully carved Baroque facade the organ builders Marcussen & S?n have recreated the original ‘innards’ of the Buxtehude organ, so that the sound of the instrument is now as authentic as its facade. The transformation took place while Bine Bryndorf was studying and touring in among other places Paris, Vienna and Boston. “I came home to a brand new instrument. For it turns out that the organ in Elsinore has far more to it than I dreamt of, and is fully a match for the most famous Baroque organs in Europe.”

Track listing
1. Praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 149
2. Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BuxWV 211
3. Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ, BuxWV 189
4. Puer natus in Bethlehem, BuxWV 217
5. Der Tag der ist so freudenreich, BuxWV 182
6. In dulci Jubilo, BuxWV 197
7. Lobt Gott, ihr Christen allzu Gleich, BuxWV 202
8. Ciacona in C minor, BuxWV 159
9. Passacaglia in D minor, BuxWV 161
10. Ciacona in E minor, BuxWV 160
11. Praeludium in G minor, BuxWV 148
12. Jesus Christus, unser Heiland, der den Tod u"berwand, BuxWV 198
13. Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 199
14. Nun bitten wir den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 209
15. Nun bitten wir den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 208
16. Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 200
17. Gott der Vater wohn uns bei, BuxWV 190
18. Praeludium in C, BuxWV 137

Credits
Recorded in St. Mary’s Church, Elsinore, on 4-5 June 2002.
Recording producer: Henrik Sleiborg
Sound engineer: Clemens Johansen
Mastering: Clemens Johansen
Graphic design: Elevator

This CD has been recorded in cooperation with the Royal Danish Academy of Music and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR)


Bine Katrine Bryndorf
Born 1969 in Helsingor (Elsinore), Denmark.

Church Music and Organ Studies with Prof. Michael Radulescu at the Academy of Music (Hochschule fur Musik), Vienna, harpsichord studies with Prof. Cordon Murray. Master of arts and final diplomas with honours.
Two-year advanced organ-soloist study with prof. Daniel Roth (Paris) at the Academy of Music (Hochschule fur Musik) Saarbrucken (Germany). 1994 advanced organ studies with prof. William Porter, Boston (USA).

1991-1995 assistent to Prof. Michael Radulescu and tutor in ensemble playing at the Academy of Music (Hochschule fur Musik), Vienna. Since 1994 Professor of Organ at the Royal Danish Academy of Music, Copenhagen.

Prize winner in international organ competitions, Innsbruck (Austria), Bruges (Belgium), Odense (Denmark) and chamber music competitions (Melk/Austria and Copenhagen/DK).

1990-92 Organist and Choir Master at The Anglican Episcopal Church, Christ Church, Vienna. Since 1996 organist at Vartov Church, Copenhagen.

Concerts and recordings for radio and television in many European countries. Cd recordings with works of J.S.Bach (edition bachakademie/Hannsler Classic 1999, Olufsen Records 1998) and of Buxtehude (dacapo) . Recordings for Radio and cd with Austrian Radio Choir and Danish Radio Choir (music for Organ and Choir).
Seminars and master classes in Austria, Sweden, Germany, USA and Denmark. Artist in Residence at the Danish Radio 1999/2000. Member of the jury in International Organ Competitions.




Dietrich Buxtehude
Birth - ca. 1637 in Helsingborg [?], Denmark
Death - May 9, 1707 in Lubeck, Germany

Period - Baroque
Years Active - 1680-1696

Biography by Andrew Lindemann Malone
Dietrich Buxtehude is probably most familiar to modern classical music audiences as the man who inspired the young Johann Sebastian Bach to make a lengthy pilgrimage to Lubeck, Buxtehude's place of employment and residence for most of his life, just to hear Buxtehude play the organ. But Buxtehude was a major figure among German Baroque composers in his own right. Though we do not have copies of much of the work that most impressed his contemporaries, Buxtehude nonetheless left behind a body of vocal and instrumental music which is distinguished by its contrapuntal skill, devotional atmosphere, and raw intensity. He helped develop the form of the church cantata, later perfected by Bach, and he was just as famous a virtuoso on the organ.

No documentation exists for Buxtehude's birth, though he said late in life that he was a native Dane. Since his father, Johannes, was organist and schoolmaster at Oldesloe, Denmark, until 1638, it is a reasonable guess that Dietrich was born there. Johannes moved to Helsingborg in 1638 and to Helsingor in 1641 or 1642, where he stayed until 1671. After learning the organ at the feet of his father, Buxtehude became organist at his father's former church in Helsingor in 1657 or 1658; he then moved to a German-speaking congregation in Helsingborg in 1660. Buxtehude decided to stop following in his father's footsteps when the prestigious position of organist at the Marienkirche in Lubeck became available; after several others were rejected, Buxtehude got the job on April 11, 1868. He also married the outgoing organist's youngest daughter, Anna Margarethe Tunder, which may have been a condition of taking the post, and certainly was a condition when Buxtehude sought a replacement for himself. Buxtehude was organist at the Marienkirche for the rest of his life. His official duties were to provide congregational chorales and other musical interludes for every service, and to act as treasurer, secretary, and business manager of the church. He was most famous, however, for his Abendmusik concerts, held following the afternoon service on five Sundays a year and on special occasions. Although these concerts are universally described as extraordinary, and were the basis of most of Buxtehude's contemporary fame, very little music from them has survived. Two of the most famous Abendmusik concerts, held on December 2 and 3, 1705, and commemorating the death of Emperor Leopold I and the ascension of Joseph I, were probably attended by Bach on his pilgrimage. Buxtehude had an opportunity for early retirement in 1703, when Georg Friederic Handel and Johann Matheson (famous organists both) visited him; Matheson had been thinking of succeeding Buxtehude at his post, but balked at the requirement to marry Buxtehude's daughter Anna Margareta, and the visit came to nought. After Buxtehude died on May 9, 1707, the church found another organist willing to marry his daughter.

Historically, Buxtehude's organ music has been studied because of its direct influence on Bach; Buxtehude wrote the first truly idiomatic fugues for the organ and was one of the first to experiment with the structure that Bach later codified into the prelude and fugue. Buxtehude is generally considered the greatest organist between Scheidt and Bach and is regarded as the originator of the German organ toccata. However, in addition to the keyboard music that so impressed his contemporaries, he also wrote some extraordinary works for trios involving the viola da gamba. His vocal works shared the devotion and intellectual rigor of his instrumental work, and were also much admired.



1. Praeludium In G Minor, BuxWV 149

2. Nun Komm, Der Heiden Heiland BuxWV 211

Chorale prelude for organ in G minor, BuxWV 211, "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This prelude sets the principal Lutheran chorale of the Advent season. The basis of the text and music is the Gregorian Hymnus, "Veni Redemptor Genitum," and was translated into German by Martin Luther in 1524. The first verse of the chorale reads: "Now comes the savior of the heathen known as a child of a virgin, that is why all the world wonders, why God chose such a birth for him."

Buxtehude's setting of the chorale is somewhat brief at only 21 measures, but the ornamentation of the chorale melody in the soprano range is very warm and beautiful, so that this tiny prelude is one of Buxtehude's most played chorale preludes.

3. Gelobet Seist Du, Jesu Christ, BuxWV 189

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 189, "Gelobet seist du, Jesu Christ"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This little chorale prelude could not be more different from Buxtehude's other setting on the same chorale. While the other is one of his longest, this one is quite compact. The other prelude is rather atypical in Buxtehude's output, while this prelude is the typical Buxtehude prelude with the chorale melody appearing in the soprano with some embellishment. The chorale tune is one of the principal Lutheran Christmas chorales. The text to verses 2 through 7 was written by Martin Luther. The text to the first verse reads as follows, "Praise be to you Jesus Christ, that you were born as a man from a virgin, it is true; That is why the hosts of angels rejoice. Kyrieleis." Buxtehude's setting is quite cheery, and ends with a three-measure flourish on the last note that ascends to an octave higher than the original note and ends up two octaves lower than the melody.

4. Puer Natus In Bethlehem, BuxWV 217

Chorale prelude for organ in A minor, BuxWV 217, "Puer Natus in Bethlehem"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This prelude sets the melody of a chant from the Catholic Gregorian chant repertoire that was sung at Christmas time. The text of the chant reads as follows, "A boy is born in Bethlehem that is why Jerusalem rejoices. The word of the father in the highest has taken on the flesh of a human body and as Gabriel announced, a virgin conceived a son." The cantus firmus appears with some embellishment in the soprano. Most Buxtehude preludes with an embellished chorale melody in the soprano are in common time, but this one is in 3/2 time, perhaps because the source is a chant rather than a chorale.


5. Der Tag Der Is So Freudenreich, BuxWV 182

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 182, "Der Tag, der ist so freudenreich"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
Another of Buxtehude's chorale preludes with the ornamented chorale tune in the soprano. The chorale was a Christmas tune. The first verse reads: "The day is full of the joy of all creatures, for God's son from heaven is born of a virgin beyond nature, Maria you were chosen to become the mother. What an amazing thing happened? God's son from heaven has had a human birth." Verses 2 and 3 deal with the Christ child, and the fourth with the shepherds and Herod.

Buxtehude plays a few interesting word painting games in this chorale setting. The setting of the first line is relatively plain until the notes of the chorale on the words "so freudenreich" which are ornamented with a bright sixteenth-note flourish and trill. In the third line where the word "Heaven" appears in the chorale, the soprano line jumps up an octave, then arches back into its original range. On the last note of the chorale Buxtehude makes a large flourish over two measures starting an octave higher than the original melody and ending an octave lower than the original, perhaps depicting Jesus' departure from Heaven to a lowly human birth.

6. In Dulci Jubilo, BuxWV 197

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 197, "In Dulci Jubilo"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This chorale sets the fourteenth-century macaronic hymn In dulci jubilo. (Its text is both in Latin and German.) The text of the first verse reads, "In sweet jollity now sing and rejoice: The delight of our heart lies in a manger and shines like the sun at his mother's breast. He is alpha and omega." The last two verses of the hymn end with the expression of the desire to have actually been there when all of this happened. Buxtehude places the hymn melody in the soprano, as he frequently does in his chorale treatments, and deploys it with liberal embellishment. When the text speaks of rejoicing, Buxtehude uses some tricks with octave displacement to paint a picture of extroverted celebration. Like the chorale prelude on Puer natus in Bethlehem, this piece is in 3/2 time.

7. Lobt Gott, Ihr Christen Allzu Gleich, BuxWV 202

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 202, "Lobt Gott, ihr Christen, allzugleich"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
The chorale Buxtehude uses as the basis for this prelude was written by Nicolaus Herman, originally intended for children's singing. The chorale became one of the standards for singing at Christmastime. The first verse reads as follows: "Praise God all ye Christians who from his highest throne has opened up heaven and given us his son!" Buxtehude's setting of the chorale is particularly brief at only 22 measures. The chorale itself is not very long, and Buxtehude sets the melody in quarter notes instead of half notes as he usually does. While setting the chorale in quarter notes causes the piece to be somewhat brief, it makes the chorale prelude a bit more snappy and excited than usual, an affect that fits the upbeat exuberant nature of the chorale.

8. Ciacona In C Minor, BuxWV 159

Ciacona for organ in C minor, BuxWV 159
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
The ciaccona is a dance in a triple meter of some kind, either 3/4 or 3/2. It is built upon an ostinato bass creating a repeating harmonic pattern. The repeating bass is usually four or eight measures long. This ciaccona is built upon a four-measure bass line in C minor. There are a few portions of the piece when Buxtehude allows the bass line to vanish and continues with the same harmonic progression implicit from the bass line. The bass line to Bach's Passacaglia which is also in C minor is not altogether very different from this bass line. It is quite likely that Bach used this work as a model for his Passacaglia.


9. Passacaglia In D Minor, BuxWV 161

Passacaglia for organ in D minor, BuxWV 161
Composition Description by Blair Johnston
The Passacaglia for organ in D minor, BuxWV 161, may well be Dietrich Buxtehude's most famous piece of music - but that does not mean, sadly, that it is by any stretch of the imagination well recognized. It is one of three ostinato-oriented, ground bass organ pieces (BuxWV 159-161; a related work is BuxWV 137, whose brief final section is a chaconne) in which Buxtehude refocused the lens of his quintessentially north-German organ art to look at the Spanish-Italian chaconne and passacaglia forms - forms hitherto foreign to mainstream German organ music. Like nearly all of Buxtehude's music, BuxWV 161 has to this point remained undatable - the best we can do is say that it was probably composed during his 40-year tenure as organist at the Marienkirche at Lubeck, a post he held from 1668 to his death in 1707.

In the Passacaglia, Buxtehude assigns the repeating four-measure ground bass to the pedals, and allows the two hands to devise ever more elaborate filigree - here contrapuntally ordered, there made into more obviously virtuoso stuff - to go above it. Buxtehude builds a four-section plan from the modulations through which he puts the ground bass (D minor - F major - A minor - D minor); each section is exactly 30 measures in length, with a one-measure "fill" separating neighboring sections. It is easy to recognize, when encountering such an unwaveringly precise but flexible-sounding architecture, the extent to which such works as the Passacaglia influenced Buxtehude's spiritual descendent J.S. Bach, who is of course famed for his intricate and sometimes mathematical structural layouts, and who as a young man traveled some 200 miles on foot so that he might hear Buxtehude play.




10. Ciacona In E Minor, BuxWV 148

11. Praeludium In G Minor, BuxWV 148

Praeludium for organ in G minor, BuxWV 148
Composition Description by Darren Wong
In 1705 Bach, then organist at the New Church in Arnstadt, arranged for a month's leave of absence to travel 250 miles north to the city of Lubeck. The reason for this trip was to hear the great organist Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) at St. Mary's Church.

Buxtehude was an exponent of the northern German organ school. One of the characteristics of this school was liberal use of registration changes. Northern German organ music evolved as such because of the large instruments found in the North. Buxtehude's organ at St. Mary's Church had three manuals and fifty-four speaking stops.

The Prelude and Fugue in G Minor is a sectionalized piece with an improvisational feel to it. The piece opens with a series of tumbling sixteenth notes which leads into a canon. The canon moves into a four-voice fugue, another canon and a closing chaconne ending in G major.


12. Jesus Chrstus, Unser Heiland, BuxWV 198

Chorale prelude for organ in G minor, BuxWV 198, "Jesus Christus, unser Heiland"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
Both text and music to the chorale melody used as a source for this chorale prelude were composed by Martin Luther. The chorale is an Easter chorale. The first verse reads as follows, "Jesus Christ our savior, who has overcome death, and is resurrected, and has captured sin, Kyrie eleison." Buxtehude's setting is in three voices with no pedal, instead of his typical four-voice texture. The chorale melody appears in the soprano in unembellished half notes. This particular prelude resembles those of Pachelbel far more than it does most of Buxtehude's other preludes.

13. Komm, Heilger Geist, Herr Gott, BuxWV 199

Chorale prelude for organ in F major, BuxWV 199, "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
The chorale melody set in these two preludes has its roots in the Gregorian chant repertoire. It is a German version of the Veni Sancte Spiritus chant. The chorale would have been sung at Pentecost. The text of the first verse reads as follows, "Come Holy Ghost, Lord God, fill with your good mercy the heart, soul, and mind of your faithful, igniting them with your burning love. Oh Lord, through your glowing light you have gathered to belief this people from all of the world's tongues. For this you are praised with song. Halleluja, Halleluja." Both of Buxtehude's settings of the chorale place the chorale melody in the soprano with a fair amount of embellishment.

14. Nun Bitten Wir Den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 209
15. Nun Bitten Wir Den Heilgen Geist, BuxWV 209

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 209, "Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This chorale that serves as the basis for this prelude was sung at Pentecost Sunday mass. The text of the chorale asks the Holy Ghost for various favors. The first verse reads as follows: "Now we ask the Holy Ghost for a righteous faith, and that he protect us up to the our end, when we travel home from this misery. Kyrieleis." Buxtehude places the chorale melody in the soprano range and ornaments it freely and elegantly. Unlike the other setting of the same chorale BuxWV 208, the ornamentation never shifts the octave placement of the melody.

Chorale prelude for organ in G major, BuxWV 208, "Nun bitten wir den heligen Geist"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This chorale that serves as the basis for this prelude was sung at Pentecost Sunday mass. The text of the chorale asks the Holy Ghost for various favors. The first verse reads as follows: "Now we ask the Holy Ghost for a righteous faith, and that he protect us up to the our end, when we travel home from this misery. Kyrieleis." Buxtehude places the chorale melody in the soprano range and ornaments it freely and elegantly. He often allows the ornamentation of the chorale melody to create octave disjunctions and altogether seven times the ornamentation of the melody either rises or drops an octave removed from the original octave placement of the melody.


16. Komm, Heilger Geist, Herre Gott, BuxWV 200

Chorale prelude for organ in F major, BuxWV 200, "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
The chorale melody set in these two preludes has its roots in the Gregorian chant repertoire. It is a German version of the Veni Sancte Spiritus chant. The chorale would have been sung at Pentecost. The text of the first verse reads as follows, "Come Holy Ghost, Lord God, fill with your good mercy the hearts, souls, and minds of your faithful, igniting them with your burning love. Oh Lord, through your glowing light you have gathered to belief this people from all of the world's tongues. For this you are praised with song. Hallelujah, Hallelujah." Both of Buxtehude's settings of the chorale place the chorale melody in the soprano with a fair amount of embellishment.

17. Gott Der Vater Wohn Uns Bei, BuxWV 190

Chorale prelude for organ in C major, BuxWV 190, "Gott der Vater wohn uns bei"
Composition Description by Andrus Madsen
This chorale prelude sets a trinity chorale. The text is in three verses, each of which deals with a different figure from the trinity. The first verse reads as follows, "God, Father, support us and do not let us wither, make us free at every hour and help us to die a blessed death. Protect us from the devil, and hold us in strong faith and let us build upon you, and trust in you from the bottom of our hearts, and give ourselves completely over to you, with all true Christians flee the devil's temptations, armored with the power of God. Amen, Amen, that is true, so we sing Halleluja." The second and third verses are exactly the same except that the words "God, Father," are replaced with, "Jesus Christ" and "the Holy Ghost." Buxtehude sets the chorale tune in the soprano with some embellishment. Most often each note of the chorale occupies a half-note duration, however since this chorale tune is somewhat longer than average, Buxtehude chooses to set each note with only a quarter-note duration. Nonetheless the chorale prelude is still relatively long for Buxtehude at 51 measures.


18. Praeludium In C, BuxWV 137

Praeludium for organ in C major, BuxWV 137
Composition Description by Blair Johnston
Although its English title might lead one to believe otherwise, Dieterich Buxtehude's Praeludium for organ in C major, BuxWV 137 - known as the Prelude, Fugue and Chaconne - is really not a very lengthy piece of music. It does indeed have three sections of music, the first of which is a free prelude, the second fugal, and the last built up from a ground bass. But each section is comparatively brief, and there are no breaks between the three (which is why Buxtehude called it simply Praeludium, a word that in his day could encompass works with many sections as well as those with few or one); the final Chaconne is differentiated from the other sections through a tempo change to Presto, as opposed to the undefined but probably moderato tempo of the opening. The Prelude portion of BuxWV 137 - which is incidentally a work whose date of composition remains unknown and, given Buxtehude's long period of active composition can only be narrowed to the second half of the seventeenth century - is itself made up of several short, discrete musical sentences. The main idea from the first of them, an oscillating sixteenth note figure, is re-forged first into the subject for the Fugue portion, and then, by way of more sweeping rhythmic changes, into the ground bass for the Chaconne section, which ends in an impressive quasi-cadenza blaze.