In this second instalment of complete keyboard works, Benjamin Alard demonstrates with splendid eloquence how invaluable the young Bach’s north German experience proved to be; his attentive examination of the works of the great organ masters and his craving for all kinds of music significantly broadened the stylistic foundations of his keyboard writing. The wide range of works presented here, complemented by pieces by Buxtehude, Reinken and Pachelbel, illustrates in exemplary fashion the power of a master in the making.

The cornett was considered the instrument of kings and was one of the defining instruments until the 18th century, when it fell victim to the orchestral innovations of the classical period and went out of fashion. To this day, however, its sound continues to fascinate. To help listeners experience the magic of his instrument, William Dongois has teamed up with Le Concert Brisé to put together three sparkling programmes tracing the history of the zinc in the Baroque era, available together for the first time.

Buxtehude began his activity at St. Mary’s Church exactly 350 years ago, and the City of Lübeck fittingly commemorated this anniversary by awarding this year’s renowned Buxtehude Prize to organist Harald Vogel. Matched by no other musician, Vogel has distinguished himself both in historical organ playing in general and with Buxtehude’s oeuvre in particular. To celebrate this occasion, MDG is now releasing a highly interesting new edition containing all of Buxtehude’s works from the Codex E. B. of 1688 and including - as a surprising rarity - the recording premiere of a sonata with obbligato gamba.

The music of Dietrich Buxtehude (1637-1707) has been described as 'a lot like J. S. Bach's, only less so.' Indeed, Buxtehude was probably the most important single influence on Bach, who is said to have walked more than 200 kilometres, at the age of 15, to hear Buxtehude play the organ. The similarity in their organ compositions is unmistakable, though Bach's are ultimately more complex and subtler in their counterpoint. Nevertheless, anyone who loves Bach's organ music will find this recording a real pleasure. Volker Ellenberger plays the grand-sounding organ of the Evangelical Lutheran City Church in Buckberg with a sure feel for the composer's language and aesthetic. The chorale preludes are particularly engaging and played with special sensitivity.

Dieterich Buxtehude is one of the key figures of the baroque period. Other musicians and composers like the young Johann Sebastian Bach came from all over Europe to listen to and to learn from him, since his virtuosi abilities on the organ and his knowledge of compositions were legendary. When he was quite old Buxtehude published two collections of instrumental chamber music. Apart from a few occasional works, these are the only examples of his art that were printed during his lifetime. Opus 1, containing seven sonatas for violin and viola da gamba with harpsichord continuo, is undated but probably appeared in 1694.

Buxtehude’s cantata cycle, Membra Jesu Nostri, is a unique work. Based on texts from a medieval Latin hymn, ‘Salve mundi salutare’, the cycle contains seven cantatas each dedicated to a different part of Christ’s crucified body. The texts are based on the concept of an observer contemplating Christ’s body on the cross starting with his feet and moving up to his knees, hands, side, breast, heart and finally his head. Buxtehude plays cleverly with musical colours and textures and changes the mixture of voices and instruments to dramatic effect as the work develops.

The music of the 17th century is deeply influenced by fearless innovation and bubbling creativity, characterized by experimentation with form that only with the subsequent generation of composers develops into fixed conventions and a higher degree of conformity. Here, a glimpse of the richness represented by the music from the Baltic region in the latter half of the 17th century is presented by bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Concerto Copenhagen under the direction of Lars Ulrik Mortensen.

In 1680, Dietrich Buxtehude sent his friend Gustav Düben the score of Membra Jesu nostri. In this perfectly balanced work, he addresses the senses directly, immersing us in the sufferings of Christ: we feel the hammer blows, the heart that stops beating…

Trio Sonnerie have chosen five of the 14 sonatas by Buxtehude from the 1690s to demonstrate their considerable fluency and rapport. These are witty and elegant works, finely crafted and requiring the skills of virtuoso players. Monica Huggett and Sarah Cunningham capture their essence with happily chosen and neatly articulated tempos—the vivace movements are effortlessly played—and beautifully transparent textures. Mitzi Meyerson provides a stylish and secure accompaniment, particularly in the G major Largo and the B flat major Vivace (which is, in fact, a chaconne).

Buxtehude’s anthology and some of the most beautiful pages of North German repertory.

This CD gives a glimpse into the rich musical world of Dieterich Buxtehude and his contemporaries. These composers were active as Kapellmeisters and wrote music specifically to be performed during the concerts known as Abendmusiken or for various Collegia Musica. They were also associated with the Hamburg or North German School of the seventeenth century.

Since it's founding in Freiburg in 1958, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi has been one of the most important and ambitious labels for period performances. Over decades, globally-acclaimed recordings were created with outstanding musicians. The limited edition "Deutsche Harmonia Mundi: 100 Great Recordings" contains 100 outstanding DHM recordings with some of the most important and best artists in their field: Nuria Rial, Dorothee Mields, Al Ayre Espanol, Hille Perl, Concentus Musicus Wien, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Freiburger Barockorchester, Skip Sempé, Capriccio Stravagante, La Petite Bande, Gustav Leonhardt, Andrew Lawrence-King, Frieder Bernius, the Balthasar-Neumann-Chor, Thomas Hengelbrock and many others.

Following on from and designed along the same lines as the Guide to Period Instruments, this boxed set includes an exhaustive introductory text as well as a great quantity of music excerpts on the set’s eight CDs. These extracts have been taken from the extensive repertoire recorded by Ricercar over many years, with excerpts from recordings kindly provided by our colleagues from Harmonia Mundi, Gimell, Accent, Alpha and Sony supplementing our programme where necessary. The Lutheran repertoire of the Renaissance has remained for all intents and purposes unrecorded up until now; the tracks illustrating this repertoire together with other excerpts have been recorded specially for this compilation by Vox Luminis.

A beautifully-packaged 50-disc box set, released to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, one of the most important and adventurous early music labels. The set contains 50 classic recordings of baroque and ancient music, chosen to represent the breadth of this huge and varied catalogue and each disc is slip-cased with artwork replicating the original CD or LP artwork.

For this first recording, Andrea Buccarella explores the history of the most emblematic form of Baroque music, from its appearance in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century right up to its apotheosis in Johann Sebastian Bach: the toccata. With its inventiveness, its formal freedom, its contrasting effects of virtuosity and emotion, the Italian toccata – whose name probably comes from the verb toccare (to touch/play) – opened the way for the stylus fantasticus that was to dominate Germany in the late seventeenth century.