Taking its name from the long-running performance series at St Mary’s Church in Lübeck, north Germany, Abendmusiken features a thoughtful selection from Dietrich Buxtehude’s impressive catalogue. Buxtehude had become the church’s organist in 1668, and within five years had revamped the winter Sunday Evening Music concerts instigated by his predecessor, Franz Tunder. One admirer, a young J.S. Bach, walked 400 kilometres in the winter of 1705 to meet the famous Buxtehude and experience the music for himself. This carefully recorded and enticing array of instrumental and vocal music sees the singers of Vox Luminis achieve astounding levels of expression and blend, and the interludes provided by Ensemble Masques are exquisite. This is a sensational portrait of Buxtehude, a giant of German Baroque music too often overlooked.