Buxtehude, Sonata in A minor

In 1705, the 20-year-old Bach walked from Arnstadt to Lübeck, a distance of about 250 miles. He went to listen to the famed organist Dieterich Buxtehude. It was a good enough reason to secure a one-month leave from his post in Arnstadt, but Bach landed in some trouble when he stretched his leave to four months.

If Bach thought Buxtehude’s music was worth walking 250 miles and spending four months, then surely it’s worth clicking a button and spending 8 minutes.

Buxtehude (c. 1637/39-1707) dominated the German music world at the time. Handel and Telemann made their own pilgrimages to Lübeck where Buxtehude served in the Marienkirche for nearly 40 years. Of course, the important thing is not the effort Bach made, but rather the fruits of that effort. Musicologists have spilled a lot of ink explaining the ways that Bach’s music shows the influence of Buxtehude. And we can be sure that Bach soaked up that influence with the singleness of purpose that his trip suggests.

The first and last movements of this Sonata have an ostinato bass–a repeated four-measure melodic figure that repeats continuously throughout the movement. It’s a device typical of the Baroque, but not uncommon in other eras as well. Chamber music such as this sonata comprises Buxtehude’s only major publications during his lifetime, although today they receive considerably less attention than his keyboard and vocal works.