The Complete Keyboard Works Vol. II: Preludes, Toccatas, Fugues, and Canzonas: Keyboard Book

Christoph Wolff's edition puts one of the Baroque's most consequential but often overlooked keyboard composers within reach of serious pianists and organists. The combination of scholarly rigor, practical fingering, and interpretive guidance means performers can engage with genuinely challenging, rewarding music without sacrificing musical integrity for accessibility.

Buxtehude's keyboard writing combines restless harmonic motion, intricate contrapuntal detail, and moments of lyrical breadth that shift between virtuosic display and profound introspection. The music feels both intellectually demanding and emotionally generous, moving fluidly from tight fugal writing to improvisatory passages that seem to tumble forward with their own logic.

Keyboard performers seeking substantial Baroque repertoire with scholarly grounding and practical performance guidance will find this essential. Advanced pianists ready to move beyond the standard Bach and Händel repertoire, as well as organists looking to deepen their understanding of the northern German school, will benefit from Wolff's careful preparation and contextual notes.

• Study the ornament table carefully before beginning; Buxtehude's notation requires understanding both the symbols themselves and their typical execution speeds relative to the surrounding material.
• Treat the figured bass sections (where present) as a foundation for harmonic thinking rather than a literal prescription; allow your understanding of voice-leading to guide registration and articulation choices.
• Pay close attention to the distinction between toccata sections (often improvisatory in character) and fugal sections (strictly contrapuntal); the shift in texture and rhetorical gesture demands a corresponding shift in your touch and tempo flexibility.
• Use the performance notes to understand source variants and editorial decisions; knowing where Wolff has made choices about text clarifies your own interpretive options.

These works anchor a Baroque keyboard recital or serve as centerpieces for a program exploring the northern European keyboard tradition. Programming Buxtehude alongside Bach illustrates the direct lineage of influence and deepens audience understanding of both composers; a single prelude and fugue can also anchor a chamber program exploring Baroque form.

• Reading and performing ornaments in early Baroque keyboard style
• Tracking multiple independent voices in fugal textures while maintaining expressive shape
• Distinguishing rhetorical gesture from metric regularity in free prelude sections
• Building harmonic intuition through progressions that anticipate 18th-century language
• Adapting organ music idiomatically to harpsichord or piano
• Understanding performance practice conventions specific to northern Germany circa 1680, 1700