(''The Last Judgement''), BuxWV Anh. 3, is an anonymous 17th-century oratorio in three acts, attributed to

Dieterich Buxtehude Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...

. It is also known by its incipit, "Wacht! Euch zum Streit gefasset macht" (Wake up! Prepare yourselves for battle).

History

Buxtehude was organist and Werkmeister (administrator of the church's finances) at the Marienkirche in Lübeck, where he performed his concert series, the '' Abendmusiken''. He possibly performed it as part of the Abendmusiken, a concert series begun by his predecessor,

Franz Tunder Franz Tunder (1614 – November 5, 1667) was a German composer and organist of the early to middle Baroque era. He was an important link between the early German Baroque style which was based on Venetian models, and the later Baroque style ...

, and which Buxtehude brought to fame. The work is only preserved in an undated and anonymous set of parts in the Düben collection. There has been much scholarly debate on the subject of the work's authenticity. The work was first identified and attributed to Buxtehude by Willy Maxton in the 1920s. Maxton assessed it as being ''Das allerschrocklichste und allererfreulichste'' (BuxWV 129), an hypothesis which has since been rejected. This was accepted by scholars at the time, including

Friedrich Blume Friedrich Blume (5 January 1893, in Schlüchtern, Hesse-Nassau – 22 November 1975, in Schlüchtern) was professor of musicology at the University of Kiel from 1938 to 1958. He was a student in Munich, Berlin and Leipzig, and taught in the las ...

who described it as such in the Buxtehude entry for the 1952 edition of

Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik (MGG)'' is one of the world's most comprehensive encyclopedias of music history and musicology, on account of its scope, content, wealth of research areas, and reference t ...

. However, the authenticity of the work was disputed by

Martin Geck Martin Geck (19 March 1936 – 22 November 2019) was a German musicologist. He taught at the Technical University of Dortmund. His publications concerned a number of major composers. Among the composers in whom he specialised was Johann Sebastian ...

, writing in

Die Musikforschung ''Die Musikforschung'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal of musicological which since 1948 is published on behalf of the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung by Bärenreiter. The editors-in-chief are Panja Mücke ( Hochschule für Musik ...

, in 1961. This led to the work being included as a doubtful work in the Buxtehude-Werke-Verzeichnis compiled by Georg Karstädt. The question was covered in-depth in a thesis by Sara C. Ruhle in 1982, but this has not led to definitive conclusions. One strong defender of the work's attribution to Buxtehude has been Kerala J. Snyder.

Music

The oratorio deals with the Last Judgment. Allegorical figures are the Göttliche Stimme (divine voice) and the vices of avarice, frivolity and arrogance. The godless, seeking lust for life, are juxtaposed to the godly, pursuing piety, humility and joy of life. They expect the judgement in deep despair or in joyful expectation. The music combines inwardness (''Innerlichkeit'') with dramatic impact.

Recordings

''Das jüngste Gericht'' was recorded in 2006 as part of Buxtehude's complete works,

Opera Omnia The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, ''Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete W ...

, by the

Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir is a Dutch early-music group based in Amsterdam. The Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra & Choir was created in two stages by the conductor, organist and harpsichordist Ton Koopman. He founded the Amsterdam Baroq ...

conducted by

Ton Koopman Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...

, with soloists

Caroline Stam Caroline Stam is a Dutch classical soprano who has an international (European) performing career specializing in baroque repertoire, reinforced by a distinguished presence in modern recordings (see below). Education Stam studied voice at the ...

, Orlanda Velez Isidro,

Johannette Zomer Johannette Zomer is a Dutch classical concert and opera soprano. Career After having worked as a microbiology technician, Johannette Zomer shifted gears in 1990 and studied voice at the Sweelinck Conservatory Amsterdam in Amsterdam with Charle ...

, Robin Blaze, Andreas Karasiak and Klaus Mertens. Two recordings followed in 2008, one by La Capella Ducale conducted by Roland Wilson, and another, of a shortened version, by the ensemble Weser-Renaissance Bremen conducted by Manfred Cordes.

References

External links

* {{italic title Compositions by Dieterich Buxtehude Oratorios