La Capricciosa
Italian work
Definition
Buxtehude's keyboard variation set BuxWV 250 in G major — 32 variations on a theme attributed to Giovanni Kerll. Bach later used the same theme for his Canonic Variations BWV 769, almost certainly having encountered it through Buxtehude.
Interpretive Guidance
La Capricciosa is the most technically demanding of Buxtehude's keyboard works. Plan the 32 variations as a sequence building variety and contrast rather than simple intensification. The theme is deceptively simple; let it breathe at a moderate tempo so later variations have room to expand.