About the Performer Gayle h. Martin is Associate Professor of Music at Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick. She is University Organist and teaches organ performance, musicianship, choral conducting, introduction to conducting, and music history. She also directs the Elliott Chorale and Choral Society, and coaches an early music group, Opella Nova. Martin's passion for music, animals and nature began in the countryside where she grew up, the beautiful Green Mountain State of Vermont. She holds the following degrees: BMus (Crane School of Music, SUNY, Potsdam), MMus (McGill University) and DMus (University of Alberta). Further studies followed with a three-year stay in France, where Martin was organist at the American Cathedral in Paris and lived in the cathedral tower. She received a premier prix à unanimité from the Conservatoire de Rueil Malmaison, studying under the tutelage of renowned organists Jean Langlais and Susan Landale. Martin has produced several recordings. This recent recording, her third solo CD, entitled Partners in Time: Comparing Notes, Part I, includes stylistically similar works by Bach and Buxtehude, and is performed on the Mount Allison chapel organ. Celtic Impressions, Martin’s first CD, was also recorded on the organ at the Mount Allison University Chapel. It features a commissioned work by Edmonton composer Jacobus Kloppers, based on Scottish jigs, airs, strathspeys and marches; a work by American composer, Leo Sowerby and Canadian composer Graham Hunter are also on this disc. Air Races, a collaborative CD with piper Ian MacKinnon, was nominated for an East Coast Music Award and contains various Celtic tunes arranged by Martin. Prism, Martin's first solo CD, was recorded on the restored organ at Trinity-St. Stephen's in Amherst Nova Scotia, and features music from the French symphonic era and music by Petr Eben. Gayle h. Martin has accompanied various choral groups including the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers, the Université de Moncton choir, Chorale Beausejour, Choeur Louisbourg, Camerata Singers of Halifax, and Cantabile Singers of Truro. In addition, Martin has performed as organist/accompanist for other recording projects such as Songs of the Stable: Christmas Music from Canada, with the Camerata Singers, Jeff Joudrey, conductor. Martin also performed for the First Baptist Choir in Halifax under the direction of the late David MacDonald on a recording entitled ‘Sing Lullaby’. Martin serves regularly as an adjudicator for festivals and competitions. She plays continuo for the early music ensemble ¡Sacabuche! (Linda Pearse, artistic director) with recent touring including a collaboration with the Houston Chamber Choir. Other performances with ¡Sacabuche! have brought Martin to Macau, Hong Kong, British Colombia, and Minnesota. Performer’s Note Joyfulness and peacefulness—these are the themes that I wish to impart on the listeners ears. Consequently, much of the music on this recording is associated with the Advent season and the German/Lutheran chorale tunes connected with that time of year. My most preferred Baroque organ composers, Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707) and Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750), were partners in time in that they developed similar genres of organ composition, such as the chorale settings, the toccata/praeludium, and imitative works such as the canzonetta and fugue. This recording pairs works of similar genres by each composer—Buxtehude, from the middle Baroque period and Bach from the high. This pairing allows the listener to compare and contrast the stylistic differences between the two composers. Are there differences/similarities between the works inimitably reflected through the influence that, perhaps, Buxtehude had on his friend and admirer, Bach? Gayle h. Martin, Associate Professor of Music, Mount Allison University Critical Notes. Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707), one of the great musical masters of his generation, is best known as a composer of organ music. After a musical upbringing encouraged and fostered by his father, Buxtehude served as organist at a variety of churches until 1667. It was at this time that the organist post at Saint Mary’s Church (Marienkirche) in Lübeck became vacant, and in 1668 Buxtehude was appointed organist of this prestigious musical post. Buxtehude spent the remaining thirty-nine years of his life working in Lübeck and composing some of the most innovative and prolific organ music of his time. The stylistic development of organ literature around the turn of the eighteenth century in northern Germany was steered by Buxtehude’s compositions, particularly his praeludia (also known as toccata). Buxtehude challenged the limits of the genre by expanding on the traditional alternation of fugal and free sections, lending unprecedented prominence to the organ pedals, experimenting with gigue styles, and through his use of musical idioms from other nationalities. His organ compositions epitomize the mid-Baroque north German style, the legacy of which can be heard in the music of J. S. Bach. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) is the foremost composer of the Baroque period. He was a virtuoso organist and prolific composer of most genres of his time except opera. His works for organ represent a significant portion of his substantial compositional output. Like Buxtehude, Bach was born into a musical family and received his early musical training from his father. In the winter of 1705, Bach journeyed to Lübeck, where he heard Buxtehude perform. While in Lübeck, Bach was exposed firsthand to the unique and innovative craft of north German organ composition. Buxtehude’s flamboyant approach to composition, characteristic of the north German style, had an immediate effect on Bach. The influence of Buxtehude’s style manifested itself quite remarkably, so much that when Bach returned to his post in Arnstadt four months later, Bach’s employers, the church council, were taken aback by the “curious” musical liberties Bach apparently adopted from Buxtehude; heightened chromaticism and an increased usage of improvisatory flourishes within chorale tunes were a few of Bach’s new tricks the church council viewed as problematic. Bach had other church and court jobs throughout the early to mid part of his career, though in 1723 Bach settled in Leipzig until his death in 1750. While in Leipzig, Bach was cantor of the St. Thomas School and civic music director, one of the most important musical posts in Germany. It was in Leipzig that he composed his most intellectually mature works. The recording highlights larger works illustrating the stylistic continuities between Buxtehude and Bach. Chorale settings, such as chorale fantasias and chorale preludes, were widely employed by church musicians, in part, as a way of introducing congregations to the chorale tune. Both Buxtehude and Bach’s Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (How brightly Shines the Morning Star) are chorale fantasias—compositions based on Lutheran chorale melodies. In Buxtehude’s setting, BuxWV 223, the tune is heard in various voices and textures—at the beginning in long, flute-like notes under sparkling moving notes, and in later sections, hidden in the brightly woven fabric. He incorporates three different fugal sections, each marked by a change in meter (6/4, 6/8, 12/8). This sectionalized approach—with changes to meter, texture and registration—creates an exciting work full of dramatic contrast. In addition, a free and improvisatory cadential section appears with flourishes in characteristic Buxtehudian style. In Bach’s setting, BWV 739, the treatment of the chorale melody is consistent with the style of Buxtehude and the north German tradition, however its treatment is even more controlled in that it remains in the same meter throughout. The structure of the chorale fantasia is inspired by Buxtehude’s sectionalized setting although the section changes are less dramatic. Bach employs the following methods in devising a subtle treatment of the chorale melody: 1) by changing the pace of the tune—for example, as a way of introducing the melody, he sets the first portion of the melody in faster notes in an imitative style and later sets the tune in the top voice in slower notes; 2) by treating the tune as a solo with accompaniment; and 3) by setting the tune imitatively. Bach’s setting concludes with a series of flourishes, very much indicative of the Buxtehudian style. It is interesting to note that both settings use little pedal, and only for long notes close to the end. Having spent the majority of their lives playing, directing and composing church music, one can assume that organ composition and performance were at the heart of both composers’ careers. The Praeludia (also called toccatas) of Buxtehude and preludes and fugues of Bach belong to instrumental genres and were not based on a tune with text. These works were written with a religious intent and for inclusion at the beginning or end of church services, but were also used as concert material. In contrast to the chorale fantasias, which employed little pedal, these works are rife with it. Buxtehude’s Toccata in F, BuxWV 156, is constructed in the typical north German fashion: sections of free, improvisatory material that capture the listeners’ attention are alternated with more intellectual sections of rhythmically strict, imitative material. As heard at the beginning of the work, the free, improvisatory material features impressive technical figuration over expansive, prolonged harmonies. The ‘strict’ or controlled material appears in imitative, fugal sections; the characteristics of the themes are mainly melodic leaps and gigue-like motives. Generally, the different sections in this toccata are rather short, especially in comparison to those of the Bach fugue. Owing to this, musical interest is maintained through rapid musical change, flux and surprise; a single section of music is appreciated in the context of the contrasting material that surrounds it. On a first listen, Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547 (his only prelude and fugue for organ in 9/8), seems quite different in structure than the Buxtehude toccata. Rather than a series of short musical sections strung together, Bach’s work has only one obvious sectional division; between the prelude and the fugue; each could be a work in itself. However, the influence of Buxtehude’s sectionalized approach on Bach’s ‘new’ structure is still discernible. Bach’s prelude essentially expanded upon Buxtehude’s sectionalized structure by developing the sections in such a way that creates musical interest. He accomplishes this not through constant musical contrast, but through a detailed and complex tonal, thematic, and motivic development. In the majestic and stately prelude, Bach uses three short musical ideas throughout as vehicle for musical development; the repetitive use of such ideas gives the work a sense of unity. These three ideas can be heard in the beginning of the prelude: (1) an upward scale, (2) a simple rhythmic pattern, and (3) a downward leaping movement in the pedal part. The recurrence of these three ideas throughout suggests that the prelude is written in a ritornello style; an Italian musical technique, meaning ‘refrain’. This indeed shows both an Italian influence on Bach’s composition as well as a Buxtehudian one; the north German organ school typically embraces styles from other musical traditions, notably French and Italian. Bach’s fugue is impressive in that it is more thorough in its development compared with that of Buxtehude. Bach begins the fugue with a statement of the theme, consisting of only eight notes. This short theme is then developed extensively, and appears more than fifty times throughout the fugue in different transpositions, variations and registers. Bach’s Concerto in a minor, BWV 593, was originally composed as a concerto for two violins by Italian Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Scholars believe Bach, fond of Vivaldi and intrigued by the Italian style, transcribed Vivaldi’s work as an exercise in transcription. The result was the creation of this impressive concerto for solo organ. This concerto exemplifies aspects of the Italian style that are subtly incorporated in the music of Buxtehude and Bach. Rhythmic vitality, contrast in texture and dynamics, the use of ritornello, and virtuosic melodic lines are heard throughout the work. The first and third movements are full of energy, excitement, and driving movement, exposing the powerful sound and technical facility of the organ. The second movement is calm, contemplative, and naïve. When listening to this work, one can imagine the violinistic origins of the melodic lines, and the ways in which the organ is able to evoke and enhance them. The smaller pieces on this recording are gems. The two gigue fugues, BuxWV 174 and BWV 577, feature dance-like imitative textures based on a single musical subject. Both are light and lively works with a dance-like feel, are constantly in motion, and contain compound meters, and wide melodic leaps. Both works employ simple, sequential, and lengthy thematic material in 12/8 meter. The musical character is joyful—Buxtehude’s work is sprightly and Bach’s jolly. The performer takes the liberty to change the color of the sound throughout the works by changing manuals and registration (a combination of ‘stops’)— enhancing the continuous motion and providing musical contrast and drama. Buxtehude’s short Canzonetta in g minor, BuxWV 173, is a delight with its unpretentious 2-3 voice imitative writing. As with his Ciacona, BuxWV 160, (sometimes written as Chaconne), a musical peacefulness prevails over musical drama. The Ciacona, an ostinato variation form with repeating bass line, is characterized more by pleasant vertical harmonies than by an imitative horizontal direction. The work is based on a short repetitive figure in the lowest voice, which can be heard in the pedal part in the opening measures. Buxtehude weaves his charming variations around this bass motive. Towards the end of the piece Buxtehude employs the pedals in a manner beyond their traditional role of harmonic support by employing a frenzied and virtuosic sixteenth note passage. Again, as in the Gigue fugues the performer can take liberties in varying the colour of the sound with changes to manual and registration. Bach composed six trio sonatas for two violins and basso continuo, which he would later transcribe for organ. However the Trio in c minor (BWV 585) is a work independent from this practice; scholars believe it may be an adaptation of a work by another composer. Nevertheless, it is charming in its innocence; the interplay between the upper voices in the Adagio is pleasing to the ear since it avoids dense complexity, and is often set in thirds over a slower moving bass line. The Allegro involves similar interaction between the top two voices and exudes a sunny and cheerful character highlighted by the sparkling registration. Chorale settings, and in particular the chorale preludes of Buxtehude and Bach featured here, are based on hymn tunes—in these cases hymns composed by Martin Luther. Buxtehude’s In dulci jubilo, BuxWV 197, and Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland, BuxWV 211, are breathtaking in their simplicity and grace. Bach takes the same tune, Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659, and makes the melody highly decorative. A compelling musical effect is achieved when Bach places this deeply ornamented melodic line against a richly textured harmonic background with its steady, heartbeat-like bass line. In Bach’s trio version of Nun Komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660, the depiction of the text ‘Now, come, Saviour of the Gentiles’ emerges; the chorale tune can be heard on the trumpet stop of the organ as the other parts engage in imitative fashion around the tune. In the final portion of this set, BWV 661, Bach asks for an organo pleno registration, which indicates a full sound with bright mixtures and sixteen-foot stops. As if to portray the final verse of the text, ‘Praise be given to God the Father…’ the mood is that of joyful celebration with the melody found in the pedal part. Above this gradual, heavy, and powerful pedal melody are the upper voices, providing a full-textured and imitative chordal support. - Gayle h. Martin and Charles Nicholas Godsoe