North German church music in the age of Buxtehude

by Geoffrey Webber

Dieterich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707) was the greatest figure in the history of German music between Schutz and Bach. His church music is performed today, yet that of his North German contemporaries (such as Matthias Weckmann, Christoph Bernhard, Nicolaus Bruhns, and Johann Meder) has received comparatively little attention. This book, taking its lead from Jerome Roche's illuminating study North Italian Church Music in the Age of Monteverdi (OUP, 1984), presents an overview of the North German church music of Buxtehude's lifetime, much of which remains unavailable in modern editions. It challenges widely-held beliefs about the nature and development of the repertory, and of the place held by Buxtehude within it. The picture that emerges is of a repertory that is far more beholden to Italian influence than has previously been appreciated, and one that is not dominated by any single figure.