Dieterich Buxtehude is considered one of the most important composers of the 17th century.
16 Facts About Dieterich Buxtehude
2.
Dieterich Buxtehude is thought to have been born with the name Diderich Buxtehude.
3.
Dieterich Buxtehude's parents were Johannes Buxtehude and Helle Jespersdatter.
4.
Dieterich Buxtehude's father originated from Oldesloe in the Duchy of Holstein, which at that time was a part of the Danish realms in Northern Germany.
5.
Scholars dispute both the year and country of Dieterich Buxtehude's birth, although most now accept that he was born in 1637 in Helsingborg, Skane at the time part of Denmark.
6.
Dieterich Buxtehude's obituary stated that "he recognized Denmark as his native country, whence he came to our region; he lived about 70 years".
7.
Johannes died a year later, and Dieterich Buxtehude composed his funeral music.
8.
Dieterich Buxtehude's post in the free Imperial city of Lubeck afforded him considerable latitude in his musical career, and his autonomy was a model for the careers of later Baroque masters such as George Frideric Handel, Johann Mattheson, Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach.
9.
In 1703, Handel and Mattheson both traveled to meet Dieterich Buxtehude, who was by then elderly and ready to retire.
10.
Dieterich Buxtehude offered his position in Lubeck to Handel and Mattheson but stipulated that the organist who ascended to it must marry his eldest daughter, Anna Margareta.
11.
Dieterich Buxtehude's surviving church music is praised for its high musical qualities rather than its progressive elements.
12.
Chamber music constitutes a minor part of the surviving output, although the only chamber works Dieterich Buxtehude published during his lifetime were fourteen chamber sonatas.
13.
Dieterich Buxtehude's praeludia are not circular, nor is there a recapitulation.
14.
In terms of structure, Dieterich Buxtehude's fugues are a series of expositions, with non-thematic material appearing quite rarely, if ever.
15.
Dieterich Buxtehude's settings include chorale variations, chorale ricercares, chorale fantasias and chorale preludes.
16.
Dieterich Buxtehude was careful with correct word setting, paying particular attention to emphasis and interpretation.