Buxtehude Praeludium in D (BuxWV 139)

[@grahamtwist]

What a treat to hear you play again after a three month 'absence' . . . but well worth the wait! Your performance sparkles magnificently on the Matthijs van Deventer Organ sample set, and as is always the case with your playing, Christopher, your sensitive artistry and grounded musicianship ensure total delight for the listener! Thank you for the notes you provided on this glorious Buxtehude 'Praeludium', which added to my appreciation of this splendid work. As you probably know already, Buxtehude settled at Lübeck in 1688 as organist of St. Mary’s Church. There he gained such fame as a composer that the city became a mecca for musicians of northern Germany. The young Handel visited him in 1703, and in 1705, a twenty-year-old Bach by legend walked more than 200 miles to meet him. Did you know that in order for Dietrich to succeed Franz Tunder at the Marienkirche, he was first required to marry Tunder's daughter, Anna Margarethe, as it was not uncommon practice in those days that a man marry the daughter of his predecessor in his occupation. Buxtehude and Anna Margarethe then had seven daughters themselves, and since both Handel and Bach hoped to succeed the master at Lübeck . . . marriage to one of Dietrich's daughters also became a condition of the deal . . . though Georg and Johann each found it unacceptable! Luckily, you were not presented with a similar proposition before taking delivery of your magnificent new organ console!

[@christopherglenn3240]

Ah, Graham, my friend... always providing "the rest of the story!" Thanks for the lovely comments and for the added bit of history regarding the marriage expectations of the day! I suppose there are places in the world where such foolishness still exists. But, most fortunately, it is not the world in which I live! As for D. Buxtehude, he was (and still is) a legend, as you point out given the extent to which the other "greats" sought him out. And, you probably had to be quite the talk of the town (and beyond) for word to spread so far about his talents in a time well prior to the rise of social media and network news. Fortunately, social media has had at least one positive outcome in my life in that it was KZbin that served as the catalyst to meeting you. Who knew from those initial comments and exchanges on this platform that one day I would travel to the UK where I got the splendid opportunity to share a bench with you underneath one of the most intact examples of English organ building, squishy action and all. Next time, we play York Minster! Cheers for now.

[@RalphLooij]

Thanks for this wonderful and tasteful rendition! I think you picked a very interesting organ/set for it. A mix of German, French and Dutch elements, which sounds great for this stylus phantasticus piece with its many parts. I know you are a busy man, but hopefully we will get more from you the coming year!

[@christopherglenn3240]

Hi Ralph. Thanks for your kind words. You know how much I love the set from Nijkerk, and you are the amazing reason I have it to begin with! Thank you again and again. I will try my best to get more things recorded but will never be able to keep up with you, let alone match your masterful touch. I am continually grateful for your friendship and in awe of your musicianship. Best wishes for a lovely holiday season and new year to come.

[@james.flores]

Amazing performance Christopher!!! This is a monumental by one of the masters of Baroque music.

[@christopherglenn3240]

Thank you, James! I love the three Bs... Buxtehude, Bruhns and Bach! ;)

[@SecretsofOrganPlaying]

Glenn, this is a really lovely performance of this delightful masterpiece by Buxtehude! Have you tried Sweelinq 2.0 yet? It has 14 sample sets to play with at the moment and doesn't require a lot of computer power to use.

[@christopherglenn3240]

Hi Vidas. Thanks for the nice note. And, yes, I tried Sweelinq when it was open for free download and trial. It's certainly a clean, easy user interface. HW is quite a bit more complicated/advanced (with so much customization available), but with having so much invested in HW, I won't be switching any time soon.

[@SecretsofOrganPlaying]

@@christopherglenn3240 I understand. I also don't intend to switch but it's a nice slim version, much improved from the starting edition. But even for me sometimes there are situations when slim Sweelinq is better than fully advanced version of HW. Like when I have to play on some location using only a laptop.