2010/07/21 by Markus Rathey · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Art #Choir #Context (archaeology) #Dance #Historical Influence and Diplomacy #History #Hymn #Literature #Musical #Philosophy #Piety #Reformation and Early Modern Christianity #Singing #Theology #Visual arts
paper · doi:10.1017/s0261127910000124
openalex publication_date 2010/07/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
In his chorale partita Auf meinen lieben Gott (BuxWV 179) Dieterich Buxtehude combines the (sacred) genre of the chorale with the (secular) genre of a dance suite by modelling the variations of the partita on popular dances. This essay explores the Sitz im Leben of the composition and shows that it was part of a larger trend to turn hymn settings into keyboard pieces that borrowed stylistic features from contemporary dances. At the same time, the choice of the hymn has to be understood within the context of contemporary piety and the ars moriendi in particular. Both aspects converge in the musical and religious practices of the educated middle class in the second half of the seventeenth century in northern Germany.