Dietrich Buxtehude › BuxWV 141
Prelude in E major
Scores
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![Prelude in E major, BuxWV 141 [#924903].pdf](/files/_pending_vlm/Organ/Buxtehude%2C%20Dietrich/Prelude%20in%20E%20major%2C%20BuxWV%20141/Prelude%20in%20E%20major%2C%20BuxWV%20141%20%5B%23924903%5D.p5.png)
How to play
- Registration
- Bright principal chorus 8'+4'+2' for the brilliant E-major figuration; full plenum only at the final cadence. The sharp keys suit a Werkprinzip Hauptwerk balance.
- Tempo
- Brilliant but never rushed — the cross-rhythms in the toccata need to be heard. Fugue moderately quick, dance-inflected.
- Articulation
- Light, springing touch. Detached sixteenths in the toccata; lifted articulation at every bar line in the fugue.
- Ornamentation
- Trills on long notes mid-phrase as well as at cadences (a North German affectation in bright keys). Mordents on the descending fifth in the fugue subject.
Historical context
E major is rare in seventeenth-century organ literature — the meantone tuning of most North German organs made the key painfully out of tune. Buxtehude’s choice here is itself a virtuoso gesture, presupposing either a well-tempered instrument or a player willing to brave the wolf intervals. On a modern equal-tempered instrument, exploit the brilliance without apology.
Structure
5 sections Prelude Fugue 1 Presto Fugue 2 Adagio-Allegro (Fugue 3)