This fine disc of keyboard music by Dietrich Buxtehude originally appeared on the Dacapo label in 1999 and was reissued by Naxos in 2008. The cover describes the contents as harpsichord music, which is mostly but not entirely accurate even though everything is played on the harpsichord by Danish keyboardist
Lars Ulrik Mortensen. The music dates from the late seventeenth century, when styles for harpsichord and organ were just beginning to differentiate themselves. The Prelude in G major, BuxWV 162, and perhaps the Canzonetta in D minor, BuxWV 168, were probably originally organ works, albeit without pedal parts. The two four-movement dance suites in French style probably used the harpsichord to reflect the arpeggio-heavy sound of the lute, and the final Aria: "La capricciosa" in G major, BuxWV250, a massive group of 31 variations on a ground bass-related tune likewise seems much more closely allied to the harpsichord. The last-named of these is an extremely intriguing work. It looks back to the configuration of ground bass and brief "divisions" that was common in the early days of keyboard music, but in its sheer exhaustiveness it looks forward to the Bachian spirit. Sample the slow, strangely chromatic Partita 12 (track 22). The rest of the pieces on the disc are among those in which Buxtehude came closest to Bach, partly because the basic suite of French dances, by Bach's maturity, was becoming an old-fashioned form. They're also works that showcase
Mortensen's bright, brilliant style at its most agreeable; partly trained in Britain, he's less severe than many of the keyboardists who have spent their careers exclusively in northern Europe. The end result is a good budget choice for those getting to know the keyboard music of Buxtehude, who remains an underrated and fascinatingly multifaceted composer.