Prelude in f-sharp, BuxWV 146

A giant in the organ world of northern Germany, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) held the prestigious post at Lübeck. It was to that city that a young J. S. Bach made his famous pilgrimage on foot in 1705 to hear Buxtehude in person. Bach was not alone in seeking to observe and study with the Lübeck master, for Buxtehude had essentially perfected the forms of the north German organ school, principally chorale preludes, fantasias, and fugues. The Praeludium in F-sharp Minor typifies so much of what Buxtehude did so well. It opens with a textural flourish over sustained tonic pedal, followed by a chorale passage that truncates in a full cadence. The ensuing four-voice fugue, in turn, leads to a rhapsodic toccata. The work thus includes styles and forms that range from meditative and contrapuntal to demonstrative and ornamental.

(c) Jason Stell