Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri: Choral Meditation for Holy Week

Join us in the beautiful setting of Christ Church Cathedral on Tuesday 15th April at 7.30 pm for a free performance of Dietrich Buxtehude’s Passiontide masterpiece, Membra Jesu Nostri.

First published in 1680, this cycle of seven cantatas explores the individual believer’s response to the suffering body of Christ on the cross as they gradually raise their gaze upwards: beginning at His feet, then His knees, hands, side, breast, and heart, before finally meeting His face. Buxtehude sets texts chosen from the bible and the medieval Salve mundi salutare hymn with a mixture of Italian and German styles, combining intense expression with contemplative clarity. The resulting music is one of the masterpieces of the German baroque. 

Interspersed between the cantatas are three meditations from our Priest Vicar, The Reverend Dr Zachary Guiliano, guiding us in accessing the ideas, theology and emotions that surrounds Membra Jesu Nostri. 

This performance is offered as an act of worship, and admission is therefore free and no booking is required. Whoever you are and whatever you believe, you are warmly welcome to come along and experience Holy Week and the Passion story through Buxtehude's beautiful music.