Performing on two copies of Stefanini and Ruckers harpsichords, Ton Koopman completes the exquisite solo oeuvre by Buxtehude with captivating élan. For a musician with somewhat precipitous tendencies, Koopman here delivers a considered programme of mainly standard four-movement suites, interpolated with other contemporaneous genres, from variations to the flamboyance of the 'stylus phantasticus' of toccatas and the like.
Koopman's most significant achievement is the poetry he brings to Buxtehude's cultivated and understated world of pre-Telemann domestic music. This is where the Suites appear as the apogee of a tradition which Froberger honed and which Bach extended in his early works.
Indeed, keen ears will notice the prescient melodic seeds of the English Suites and, more specifically, the Canzona in C whose turns perhaps inspired the ambitious young Turk in the Capriccio in E (BWV993).
That aside, witness the sheer richness of Buxtehude's luminous textures, as well as the finely drawn and grateful melodic contours. The opening Aria in C (with 10 variations) reveals the warmth of both Buxtehude's hypnotically life-affirming variations and Koopman's concentrated placement and esprit.
Within such compositional calibre and refinement, Koopman also explores a steeliness in the investigative lines of the fine C major Suite which concludes the first disc; as throughout, the tempo relationships between movements are thoughtfully rendered, with the 'gamey' meantone tuning and elegant characterisation all conspiring towards a notable 'world premiere' set of harpsichord recordings. In sum, an outstanding release in this enterprising series.

Ton Koopman completes the exquisite solo oeuvre by Buxtehude with captivating élan. Witness the sheer richness of Buxtehude's luminous textures, as well as the finely drawn and grateful melodic contours.