Buxtehude und der Kaiser

You've heard of the saying 'changing horses in midstream'? How about 'changing horses before anyone has gotten their hooves wet'? No, cuz I just made it up.

Here's the deal: I love Buxtehude, and will always remain one of his biggest cheerleaders. But for now, the book about him is shelved. (Ha. See what I did there?)

What can I say? I've been thinking about this for over 10 years, but in purely abstract terms. In all that time, not even the ghost of an idea for a story outline about Buxtehude has occurred to me.

I feel guilty every time I pass St. Mary's, but the thing is, I've gotten a better offer.

Here's the story of how the change came about.

I've given a handful of lectures in my life, and most have them have had one thing in common: I have a great time doing the research and giving the talk, but once it's over, I'm sick of it and never want to hear about that particular subject ever again. At least for a good long while.

The lecture I gave in November 2013 at the Blanton Museum of Art in Austin about music at the court of Emperor Maximilian was different. After it was over, I kept wanting to know more. I bought and devoured a couple of books about Kaiser Max, along with more than a couple of CDs: de la Rue, Senfl, Isaac, Binchois, Brumel...

This subject kept nagging at me. I wanted more and more and more. It even insinuated itself into my dreams.

Just about a week after the lecture, I started writing about Max and his musicians. I haven't had the urge to write in years. Not like this urge. Ghost of an idea? This was a flesh-and-blood idea, with legs!

Hence my recent field trip to Vienna and Innsbruck. It was important for me to visit Maximilian's 'home turf': Wiener Neustadt, where he was born and buried; Vienna, where many of his artistic treasures are housed; and Innsbruck, by all accounts his favorite city. (And boy, is he everywhere in Innsbruck!)

Working title: The Eagle and the Songbird. In its present form, it focuses on the last two years of Kaiser Max's life (1517-1519), involving a fictional court musician who is based on a real person, and court composer Ludwig Senfl. With special appearances by Albrecht Dürer, Paul Hofhaimer, Duchess Margaret of Austria, and Martin Luther!

I have apologized profusely to Buxtehude for my sudden departure from 'The Plan'. He was very understanding. As a citizen of the Holy Roman Empire, he totally gets that when you've been summoned by the emperor, you don't tell him that you have a previous engagement.

:-)