Buxtehude: The Complete Organ Works, Vol. 1 - Helsingor Cathedral, Denmark

Dieterich Buxtehude was famously visited by J S Bach who walked from Arnstadt to Lübeck to hear him play. Bach stayed far longer than his employers expected, so captivated was he by the older man’s playing. That Handel also visited Lübeck, in 1703, further underlines Buxtehude’s stature.

The indefatigable Christopher Herrick has embarked on a complete series of Buxtehude’s organ music. The repertoire falls into two basic categories: free works, and works based on pre-existing melodies. To the first category belong the preludes and fugues, toccatas and fugues, ostinato works, and single-movement pieces such as the Fugue in C, BuxWV174. To the second belong the works based on chorale and plainsong melodies. A tantalizing selection of these is recorded here on the great organ of Helsingør Cathedral, Denmark.

CDA67666  76 minutes 30 seconds
‘A magnificent sound … Herrick's razor-sharp articulation is at one with Buxtehude's fastidiously chiselled counterpoint … an auspicious beginning’ (BBC Music Magazine)
‘Herrick displays great energy and a keen ear for registrational variety’ (American Record Guide)
‘Herrick embarks on another epic for Hyperion, and the first instalment whets the appetite. Buxtehude's delicate contrapuntal intricacy is offset by occasional flamboyance … the organ of Helsingø ...