Understanding the Baroque Musical Titans - Buxtehude and Bach

       If you take a few minutes to do a basic internet search on the music of either Dieterich Buxtehude or J.S. Bach, you will rapidly discover documents that speak about vast influences on both men! They were the musical pinnacles of German baroque sacred music. They  traveled far and wide and did things like hand-copy the manuscripts  in order to learn styles of other composers from other lands. (Realizing, of course,  that there were no photocopying machines, no pdfs on-line, and no regional aircraft to cross what now seem like small distances). Bach himself crossed several hundred miles to hear Buxtehude perform his own music.

      I am making this point because this week's Gloriae Dei Cantores concert is music of Dieterich Buxtehude and J.S. Bach  - North German Baroque composers who were composing within about the same 75 year time span. It is a perfect opportunity to do some personal reading and study about two famous composers who were the musical embodiment of the German High Baroque spirit and musical language!  Then, if you are able to attend, I will be doing a pre-concert talk on these two men and together, we will discover even more about listening with "their ears."