Body and Soul

Buxtehude’s beautiful Membra Jesu nostri (The Limbs of our Jesus) is considered to be the earliest Lutheran oratorio. The unusual text addresses the different parts of Christ’s crucified body: feet, knees, hands, sides, breast, heart, and face. Bach was a great admirer of Buxtehude, and his church-music style owed much to his influence. Jesu, meine Freude, is the longest and greatest of his six choral motets, a searching and powerful contemplation of the contrasting lives of the flesh and the spirit.