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Opera Omnia XVI - Vocal Works 6: Membra Jesu Nostri
Dieterich Buxtehude

Ton Koopman / Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

Opera Omnia XVI - Vocal Works 6: Membra Jesu Nostri

Price: € 12.95
Format: CD
Label: Challenge Classics
UPC: 0608917225525
Catnr: CC 72255
Release date: 10 April 2012
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Label
Challenge Classics
UPC
0608917225525
Catalogue number
CC 72255
Release date
10 April 2012

"Koopman captures the fascinating creative tension between the text, which is rooted in Catholic mysticism, and a sense of Buxtehude the northern Lutheran."

BBC Music Magazine, 01-11-2012
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About the album

The seven-part cantata cycle “Membra Jesu nostri” owes its origin to the close and lasting friendship between two musicians, the Lübeck organist Dieterich Buxtehude and the Stockholm organist and capellmeister Gustav Düben. It remains unknown when and how this friendship across the Baltic Sea developed, but Düben—Buxtehude’s senior by ten years—belonged to a 17th and 18th-century Swedish family of musicians who were of German descent.

The first known member of the dynasty, Andreas Düben (1555-1625), was for thirty years, from 1595 until his death, organist at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. His son, Andreas (c. 1597-1662), enrolled 1609 as a student in the University of Leipzig, but left in 1614 in order to become a pupil of the organist Jan Pieterson Sweeelinck in Amsterdam, where he remained for six years. In 1620 he became court organist in Stockholm, in 1625 organist of the German church there as well, and in 1640 was appointed court capellmeister in Stockholm. His son, Gustav (c. 1628-1690), grew up in the Swedish capital, received his musical training primarily from his father, but reportedly also studied abroad, even though no details about his foreign travels are documented. In 1663 he succeeded his father in the positions as court capellmeister and organist of the German church in Stockholm. After his death in 1690, he too was succeeded by his son, also named Gustav (1660-1726). The latter was ennobled in 1698 by King Charles XII whom he followed into the Great Northern War (1700-1721) where he encountered and eventually hired for the Swedish court capelle Johann Sebastian Bach’s older brother, Johann Jacob (b. Eisenach 1682-d. Stockholm 1722).
According to the Latin title page of the autograph manuscript of Buxtehude’s “Membra” the work is dedicated to the composer’s “amico” (friend) Gustav Düben. As the manuscript bears the date 1680, it is the first document of their friendship, which lasted for at least ten years until Düben’s death in 1690. Numerous manuscripts of other Buxtehude works, primarily vocal compositions, can be found in Düben’s rich music collection (today in the University Library of Uppsala) and provide further testimony to their close relationship. Moreover, in most instances they represent the only extant sources of many works of the Lübeck master.

It is unclear but seems likely that Düben commissioned the “Membra” from his friend for performances in Stockholm. Whether the work was also performed in Lübeck is not known, but the Abendmusiken series at the St. Mary’s Church under Buxtehude’s direction would have been an appropriate venue. The full Latin title of the cycle (from Buxtehude’s autograph) reads “Membra Jesu Nostri Patientis Sanctissimi” (Most Holy Members [of the body] of Our Suffering Jesus”). This multi-sectional sacred work of non-liturgical character is based on lyric poetry of medieval mysticism, usually attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux, but more likely written by Arnulf of Louvain (1200-1250). The source for Buxtehude’s text seems to have been an edition published 1633 in Hamburg under the heading “D. Bernhardi Oratio Rhythmica”.
Meeslepende uitvoering van Buxtehude's bekendste werk
Deel XVI van de Opera Omnia met de titel Membra Jesu Nostri is het 6e album in de reeks met vocale werken van Dieterich (Dietrich, Diderich) Buxtehude. Het is een cyclus van 7 cantates meeslepend en ook emotioneel uitgevoerd door Ton Koopman en het Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir. "Ton Koopman has an insatiable energy and exudes an enthusiasm that is contagious to all that are present.", J. Gahre, Das Opernglas, november 2011.

Membra Jesu Nostri bestaat uit lange teksten, waarin steeds een ander deel van het gekruisigde lichaam van Christus wordt bezongen: de voeten, de knieën, de handen, de zij, de borst het hart en het hoofd. Dit veelomvattende onkerkelijke werk is gebaseerd op de lyrische poëzie van de middeleeuwse mystiek.

Buxtehude was een Deens-Duitse organist en een door velen bewonderde componist uit de barokperiode. Hij componeerde vocale en instrumentale muziek. Het grootste deel van zijn oeuvre bestaat uit divers vocaal werk, zoals geestelijke concerten, aria's, koralen, cantates en canons, weelderige en rijke muziek. Zijn orgelwerken omvatten een aanzienlijk deel van het standaard orgelrepertoire van onze hedendaagse kerkdiensten. Buxtehude wordt beschouwd als de belangrijkste Duitse componist in de periode tussen Heinrich Schütz en Bach. Zijn stijl heeft veel componisten sterk beïnvloed. Hij was één van de grote voorbeelden van Johann Sebastian Bach. Het verhaal gaat dat Bach, toen 20 jaar, in 1705 helemaal naar Lübeck liep - 400 km - om Dieterich Buxtehude daar in de Marienkirche te horen spelen.

Wellicht dat die anekdote Ton Koopman inspireerde tot zijn project Opera Omnia om het gehele bewaard gebleven oeuvre van Buxtehude uit te voeren en op te nemen. Er was hem veel aan gelegen Buxtehude als het brein achter de vocale muziek van Bach te erkennen. Koopman is een van de meest vooraanstaande uitvoerders van oude muziek en voorzittter van het Internationale Buxtehude Gesellschaft.

Koopmans zweite Aufnahme der ‚Membra Jesu Nostri“.

Nach fast 30 Jahren erscheint nun Ton Koopmans zweite Aufnahme des siebenteiligen Kantaten-Zyklus’ nicht-liturgischen Charakters “Membra Jesu Nostri”. Das bekannteste Werke Buxtehudes erklingt in einer unvergleichlich emotionalen wie fundierten Interpretation, die seinesgleichen sucht. Die Texte stammen aus dem Umkreis der mittelalterlichen Mystik, die aus sieben Gedichten bestehen, die die sieben Glieder des Heiligen Leibes Christi anreden und über sie meditieren.

Artist(s)

Ton Koopman

Ton Koopman is a leading figure in Early Music and historically informed performance practice. As organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman has performed all over the world and played the most beautiful historical instruments of Europe. His Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has gained worldwide fame as one of the best ensembles on period instruments. Between 1994 and 2004 Ton Koopman and ABO&C have recorded all sacred and secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, an extraordinary project that earned international acclaim. After that Koopman recorded the complete works by Bach’s predecessor, Dieterich Buxtehude. Besides performing as a soloist and with his ABO&C, Ton Koopman is very active as a guest conductor for modern orchestras and also devotes part of his time...
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Ton Koopman is a leading figure in Early Music and historically informed performance practice. As organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman has performed all over the world and played the most beautiful historical instruments of Europe. His Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has gained worldwide fame as one of the best ensembles on period instruments. Between 1994 and 2004 Ton Koopman and ABO&C have recorded all sacred and secular cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach, an extraordinary project that earned international acclaim. After that Koopman recorded the complete works by Bach’s predecessor, Dieterich Buxtehude. Besides performing as a soloist and with his ABO&C, Ton Koopman is very active as a guest conductor for modern orchestras and also devotes part of his time to teaching. Ton Koopman is president of the International Dieterich Buxtehude Society and, since 2019, president of the Leipzig Bach Archiv.

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Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir

Ton Koopman founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979. The group consists of internationally renowned baroque specialists who meet up several times a year and work together to prepare and perform new exciting programmes. For the musicians each concert is a new experience and Koopman's boundless energy and enthusiasm are a sure guarantee of the highest quality. The Amsterdam Baroque Choir was founded in 1992 and it made its debut during the Holland Festival of Early Music in Utrecht performing the world première of the Requiem (for 15 voices) and Vespers (for 32 voices) by H.I.F. Biber. The recording of both of these works won the Cannes Classical Award for the best performance of 17th/18th century choral music. For its rare...
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Ton Koopman founded the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra in 1979. The group consists of internationally renowned baroque specialists who meet up several times a year and work together to prepare and perform new exciting programmes. For the musicians each concert is a new experience and Koopman's boundless energy and enthusiasm are a sure guarantee of the highest quality.
The Amsterdam Baroque Choir was founded in 1992 and it made its debut during the Holland Festival of Early Music in Utrecht performing the world première of the Requiem (for 15 voices) and Vespers (for 32 voices) by H.I.F. Biber. The recording of both of these works won the Cannes Classical Award for the best performance of 17th/18th century choral music. For its rare combination of textural clarity and interpretative flexibility, the Amsterdam Baroque Choir is considered among today’s most outstanding choirs. In 1994 Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir embarked upon the most ambitious recording project of the last decades: the integral recording of Bach’s secular and sacred cantatas. For this extraordinary project Koopman and his ensemble received the Deutsche Schallplatten-Preis Echo Klassik. Next to the CD recordings three books have been edited and published by Ton Koopman and the musicologist Christoph Wolff and a series of six documentaries was produced and broadcasted by various TV stations.
Alongside Bach’s music the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir has recorded all major baroque and classical works. Major recognitions include the Gramophone Award, Diapason d'Or, 10-Repertoire, Stern des Monats-Fono Forum, the Prix Hector Berlioz and two Edison Awards. In 2008 the ensemble and Ton Koopman have been honoured with the prestigious BBC Award. Since March 2003 “Antoine Marchand”, a new sub-label of Challenge Classics, took over the release of Koopman’s new recordings and among many others has published 22 CD boxes of the Bach Cantatas, a new recording of the St. Matthew Passion (on CD and DVD) and St. Markus Passion of J.S. Bach (DVD), live recorded in Milan, as well as the first seven volumes of the Buxtehude Opera-Omnia Edition. Ton Koopman and the ABO & ABC are regular guests at the major concert halls of Europe, the USA and Japan. In the 2008/09 season they will tour extensively in Europe (Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, Vienna, Milan, Cologne, Dresden, Düsseldorf etc) and in Far East with concerts in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo.
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Klaus Mertens

Bass-baritone Klaus Mertens is celebrated by critics as an “excellent master of his craft” for his “unique power of expression, his congenial timbre, his keen intuition for text, as well as his convincing manner of making music”. He has recorded more than 200 CDs, including the entire works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude. These testify eloquently to his art of singing, which spans a great arch from Monteverdi to his contemporaries. Characterized as “the most significant Telemann interpreter of our time”, Mertens received the Telemann prize of the city of Magdeburg in 2016. In 2019, he was honored with the renowned Bach medal of the city of Leipzig as the “ideal interpreter of Bach’s cantatas and passion texts”.
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Bass-baritone Klaus Mertens is celebrated by critics as an “excellent master of his craft” for his “unique power of expression, his congenial timbre, his keen intuition for text, as well as his convincing manner of making music”. He has recorded more than 200 CDs, including the entire works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Dietrich Buxtehude. These testify eloquently to his art of singing, which spans a great arch from Monteverdi to his contemporaries. Characterized as “the most significant Telemann interpreter of our time”, Mertens received the Telemann prize of the city of Magdeburg in 2016. In 2019, he was honored with the renowned Bach medal of the city of Leipzig as the “ideal interpreter of Bach’s cantatas and passion texts”.

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Jörg Dürmüller

The Swiss lyric tenor, Jörg Dürmüller, studied violin and voice at the Winterthur Conservatoire in Switzerland with Ruth Binder (1977-1982), and with a scholarship of the Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Hamburg with Naan Pöld, Hans Kagel and Hertha Werner (1982-1987). He attended master-classes given by Edith Mathis, Christa Ludwig and Hermann Prey. Jörg Dürmüller's first opera-engagement led him in 1987 to the Bielefeld City Theatre, where he was a member of the ensemble for five years. From 1995 to 1997 he was engaged as the first tenor at the Brunswick State Theatre under Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender. He appeared also at the State Opera of Hamburg, and at the Theatre in Revier Gelsenkirchen. In 1996 he appeared as a guest at the Comic Opera Berlin...
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The Swiss lyric tenor, Jörg Dürmüller, studied violin and voice at the Winterthur Conservatoire in Switzerland with Ruth Binder (1977-1982), and with a scholarship of the Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund at the Academy of Music and Theatre in Hamburg with Naan Pöld, Hans Kagel and Hertha Werner (1982-1987). He attended master-classes given by Edith Mathis, Christa Ludwig and Hermann Prey.
Jörg Dürmüller's first opera-engagement led him in 1987 to the Bielefeld City Theatre, where he was a member of the ensemble for five years. From 1995 to 1997 he was engaged as the first tenor at the Brunswick State Theatre under Kammersängerin Brigitte Fassbaender. He appeared also at the State Opera of Hamburg, and at the Theatre in Revier Gelsenkirchen. In 1996 he appeared as a guest at the Comic Opera Berlin in the role of Fernando in Così fan tutte produced by Harry Kupfer, and at the National Theatre of Braunschweig as Andres in Wozzeck by Alban Berg. In 2002 and 2003 he sang the role of Bajazete in George Frideric Handel’s Tamerlano also at the Opera Comique Berlin directed by David Alden.

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Composer(s)

Dieterich Buxtehude

Among the general public, Dieterich Buxtehude is mostly known due to the admiration Johann Sebastian Bach had for his organ and composing skills, for which Bach traveled to the North German city of Lübeck to stay with him for four months, no less. This says quite something about the quality of Buxtehude's performance, but even more so about the influence it had on Bach and all composers after him. Yet, nowadays Buxtehude's music does not need Bach to survive, as a matter of fact it is extraordinarily beautiful just by itself! Buxtehude was originally Danish, but he spent most of him life in Lübeck. His so-called 'Abendmusik', which was a series of evening concerts outside of the liturgy, grew famous. In...
more

Among the general public, Dieterich Buxtehude is mostly known due to the admiration Johann Sebastian Bach had for his organ and composing skills, for which Bach traveled to the North German city of Lübeck to stay with him for four months, no less. This says quite something about the quality of Buxtehude's performance, but even more so about the influence it had on Bach and all composers after him. Yet, nowadays Buxtehude's music does not need Bach to survive, as a matter of fact it is extraordinarily beautiful just by itself! Buxtehude was originally Danish, but he spent most of him life in Lübeck. His so-called 'Abendmusik', which was a series of evening concerts outside of the liturgy, grew famous. In the works he wrote for these occasions, his enormous fantasy and creative freedom truly shows. As an organ player, Buxtehude was widely famous. If you would listen to his Organ Preludes, you would quickly know why. Buxtehude manages to combine an unprecedented virtuosity with a large variety of styles and techniques. No wonder Bach traveled all that way to see him!


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Press

Koopman captures the fascinating creative tension between the text, which is rooted in Catholic mysticism, and a sense of Buxtehude the northern Lutheran.
BBC Music Magazine, 01-11-2012

with a dream-cast
Diapason

Play album Play album
01.
I. Ad Pedes: Sonata
00:53
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
02.
I. Ad Pedes: Coro: Ecce super montes
01:08
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
03.
I. Ad Pedes: Aria: Salve mundi salutare - Clavos pedum, plagas duras - Dulcis Jesu, pie Deus
04:09
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
04.
I. Ad Pedes: Coro: Ecce super montes
01:05
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
05.
I. Ad Pedes: Coro: Salve mundi salutare
00:45
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
06.
II. Ad genua: Sonata in tremulo
01:53
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
07.
II. Ad genua: Coro: Ad ubera portabimini
01:18
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
08.
II. Ad genua: Aria: Salve Jesu, rex sanctorum - Quid sum tibi responsurus - Ut te quaeram mente pura
03:07
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
09.
II. Ad genua: Coro: Ad ubera portabimini
01:21
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
10.
III. Ad manus: Sonata
00:50
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
11.
III. Ad manus: Coro: Quid sunt plagae istae
01:40
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
12.
III. Ad manus: Aria: Salve Jesu, pastor bone - Manus sanctae, vos amplector - In cruore tuo lotum
04:08
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
13.
III. Ad manus: Coro: Quid sunt plagae istae
01:45
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
14.
IV. Ad latus: Sonata
00:37
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
15.
IV. Ad latus: Coro: Surge, amica mea
01:15
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
16.
IV. Ad latus: Aria: Salve latus salvatoris - Ecce tibi appropinquo - Hora mortis meus flatus
03:44
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
17.
IV. Ad latus: Coro: Surge, amica mea
01:18
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
18.
V. Ad pectus: Sonata
00:42
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
19.
V. Ad pectus: Voci: Sicut modo geniti
02:18
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
20.
V. Ad pectus: Aria: Salve, salus mea, Deus - Pectus mihi confer mundum - Ave, verum templum Dei
03:51
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
21.
V. Ad pectus: Voci: Sicut modo geniti
02:21
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
22.
VI. Ad cor: Sonata
01:48
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
23.
VI. Ad cor: Vulnerasti cor meum
02:11
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
24.
VI. Ad cor: Aria: Summi regis cor, aveto - Per medullam cordis mei - Viva cordis voce clamo
02:49
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
25.
VI. Ad cor: Vulnerasti cor meum
02:09
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
26.
VII. Ad faciem: Sonata
00:45
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
27.
VII. Ad faciem: Coro: Illustra faciem tuam
01:18
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
28.
VII. Ad faciem: Aria: Salve, caput cruentatum - Dum me mori est necesse - Cum me jubes emigrare
03:09
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
29.
VII. Ad faciem: Coro: Amen
01:19
(Dieterich Buxtehude) Ton Koopman, Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir
show all tracks

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