Dieterich BUXTEHUDE (c. 1637-1707)
            Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 1, No. 4, BuxWV 255 [9:07]
            Prelude in G Minor, BuxWV 163 [9:20]
            Sonata in C Minor, Op. 2, No. 4, BuxWV 262 [10:45]
            Choral Prelude “Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren”, BuxWV 
            213 [2:29]
            Choral Prelude “Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren”, BuxWV 
            214 [3:56]
            Sonata in F Major, Op. 1, No. 1, BuxWV 252 [11:33]
            Choral Fantasy “Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren”, BuxWV 
            212 [3:41]
            Fugue in C Major, BuxWV 174 [3:09]
            Sonata in A Minor, BuxWV 272 [9:14]
            Le Concert Brisé
            Pierre-Alain Clerc (organ)
            Stefan Legée (sackbut)
            William Dongois (cornett)
            rec. 20-22 August 2005, St Paul, Lausanne, Switzerland
            
ACCENT ACC 24291 [63:18]
            
            
Recorded in 2005, it has taken nearly ten years 
              for this recording to see the light of day, but this is no reason 
              to overlook some genuinely fine musicianship. The premise of these 
              recordings is an investigation of the practice of arranging music 
              for instruments different to those for which indicated by surviving 
              scores. Adaptation and improvisation on someone else’s material 
              was seen more as a tribute until relatively recently in musical 
              history, and in this case William Dongois has made his programme 
              from a selection of Buxtehude’s sonatas for violin, viol and 
              continuo, adapting them for cornett, sackbut and organ.
               
              Dieterich Buxtehude frequently used the cornett in his concertante 
              vocal music, and with the lower tones of the sackbut and a superb 
              sounding 17th century style organ this has all the period 
              feel you could ask for. The sound is set in a nice acoustic in a 
              realistic perspective, and there is both unity and variety in the 
              various tracks, with organ solo, duo and trio contrasts adding to 
              a satisfying all-round effect.
               
              Buxtehude’s music is full of surprises and fascinating little 
              tricks, and we are wrong-footed if the da chiesa context 
              of these performances leads us to expect churchy conventions. Even 
              the three versions of Nun lob, mein Seel, den Herren are 
              fascinating, though function more as organ intermezzos for the highlights 
              in the four Sonata compositions which are the stars of 
              the show. Harmonic twists and turns, breathtaking melodic expressiveness 
              and entertainingly animated and sometimes truly virtuoso writing 
              are all part of the fun, and these are the kinds of performances 
              in which you can lose yourself, forget time, and emerge refreshed 
              and stimulated. Expressive musicianship is combined with the utmost 
              clarity, allowing Buxtehude’s remarkable chamber music to 
              glow and flourish. William Dongois makes no claim for ‘musicological 
              correctness’, “our intention is merely to present a 
              plausible view of what could well have been the practice of the 
              time.”
               
              With a typically clean and atmospheric recording from the Accent 
              label, this is a genuinely desirable release and one which will 
              deliver delights and a shot of Baroque sunshine to your mood every 
              time it’s played.
               
              Dominy Clements