Buxtehude

Dieterich Buxtehude (in German: [ˈdiːtəʁɪç bʊkstəˈhuːdə], in Danish: Diderik Buxtehude), born around 1637 in Helsingborg or Buxtehude or Oldesloe and died on 9 May 1707 in Lübeck, was a German musician, organist, and composer of Danish descent. Settled in Lübeck, one of the most musically active cities of his time, he composed for the liturgy, but also for spiritual or secular concerts that pleased the local public, notably the Abendmusiken, Advent musical vigils which he made into an institution that continued until the 19th century.

One of the most admired musicians of his time, he maintained fruitful musical friendships, such as with Johann Adam Reinken, and attracted many pupils, including Nicolaus Bruhns and probably Johann Sebastian Bach. His work, a significant part of which has survived, is among the richest in Germany for the generation after Sweelinck and Schütz and before Bach, alongside those of Reinken and Pachelbel, and has become a classic of the organ repertoire. His vocal music pieces regained favour with performers and audiences from the 1970s onwards, thanks to research into Baroque music conducted from the 1960s and continuing since.