BBC Music Magazine, (Paul Riley), August 2009
(4 stars) Chorale elaborations supply contemplative respite from the full-on brilliance of the praeludia...Koopman's effortless authority and quicksilver articulation illuminate throughout.
CD Description
This is the tenth recording in the outstanding series of the complete works of Dieterich Buxtehude by Ton Koopman and the fifth and final part of the organ works. It presents a selection which contains the remainder of Buxtehude's organ works of the two major categories, free and chorale-based compositions, alongside the complete organ works of Nicolaus Bruhns (1665-1697). Bruhns was Buxtehude's most gifted pupil and was an important figure in the development of Buxtehude's style of composition. Buxtehude's organ works are his most significant contribution to the history of music. They consist of a comprehensive body of 90 compositions, of which more than half are chorale settings.
The organ featured on this 2-CD set is one of only two surviving organs by Erasmus Bielfeldt and has been restored on the basis of the great organ building art of the baroque in 1990 by Ahrend.
Ton Koopman is one of the world's foremost early music keyboard specialists and directors. His recording of the complete Bach Cantatas received worldwide acclaim. He is president of the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society and one of the world's leading authorities on his music.
Personnel:
Ton Koopman (The Bielfeldt organ 1736, St. Wilhadi, Stade, Germany)