Dietrich Buxtehude › BuxWV 197
In dulci jubilo
Scores on IMSLP
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Complete Score (EU) · 0.07 MB, 2 pp. · IMSLP #755834
PDF on IMSLP ↗IMSLP work page ↗
How to play
- Registration
- Chorale melody on a solo stop (Cornet, or Sesquialtera + Principal 8') in the right hand; accompaniment on a contrasting manual (Gedackt 8' + 4'); pedal 16'+8' for the cantus firmus support.
- Tempo
- Lilting compound metre — the chorale tune itself is a dance ('Now sing we, now rejoice'). Don't slow it down.
- Articulation
- Lightly detached, dance-like. The accompaniment figuration is decorative — keep it transparent.
- Ornamentation
- The written-out ornamental figuration of the chorale tune is itself the ornamentation; resist adding more.
Historical context
In dulci jubilo is a fourteenth-century macaronic Christmas carol (alternating Latin and German) that became one of the central tunes of the German chorale repertoire. Buxtehude’s setting is a chorale prelude in the ornamented-cantus style: the well-known tune appears in the soprano with decorative figuration woven around each phrase, while the lower voices provide a dance-like accompaniment in compound metre.
The piece is short and immediate — perfect as a service piece during Christmastide or as an encore. Its directness is part of its charm; the ornamentation should illuminate, not obscure, the chorale.
Structure
1 chorale prelude