Buxtehude: Complete Works VII; Amsterdam Baroque Orch & Choir/Koopman

As if completing their recordings of all of Bach's cantatas were not achievement enough, Ton Koopman and his outstanding period band have turned their attention to issuing a complete edition of the works of Bach's idol, Buxtehude. Koopman has already recorded all the keyboard works, for organ and harpsichord, and is now working through the vocal music. This latest collection is mostly sacred pieces. The set begins with a selection of Buxtehude's strophic arias, composed for a variety of purposes and a considerable range of instrumental and vocal force. The sequence is interleaved with two sacred concertos on biblical texts, while the second disc is dominated by three cantatas, one of them secular, based upon Lutheran chorales. If generally lacking the range and expressive depth that Bach brought to such works, Buxtehude's deft contrapuntal textures are beautifully wrought, especially in some of the duet arias, where the carefully matched singers from Koopman's choir intertwine to magical effect.