합창 음악지도를 위한 북스데후데의 음악연구

A Study on Buxtehude’s Choral Music Membra Jesu Nostri

Dieterich Buxtehude (ca. 1637-1707) is known for his many organ works. However, no significant portion of his choral music is in the standard performing repertoire. Buxtehude’s large-scale choral work Membra Jesu Nostri should be considered a seminal “passion” composition in part because of its historic position in early German Lutheran church music. It also serves as an example of the heightened levels of affect in a seventeenth century devotional passion. To better understand Buxtehude and his music, an overview of his life, career and religious beliefs are discussed, including the incorporation of pietism and mysticism in his cantata, Membra Jesu Nostri. Details of the composition’s structure, unifying thematic elements and text sources with translations are included. Through these observations, it will be shown that Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri is one of the most well-conceived and well-constructed choral works of the early Baroque era.