organ compositions in Northern Germany. Organ chorale preludes and free works by Johann Christoph Bach (Johann Sebastian's first cousin once removed), Johann Adam Reincken, Johann Pachelbel and Johann Sebastian Bach have been based on "An Wasserflüssen Babylon". The 17th-century musical style of the stylus phantasticus covers the freely composed organ and harpsichord/clavichord works, including dance suites. They lie within two traditions: those from northern Germany, primarily for organ using the whole range of manual and pedal techniques, with passages of virtuoso exuberance; and those from central Germany, primarily for string keyboards, which have a more subdued style. Buxtehude and Reincken are important exponents of the northern school and Pachelbel those from the centre. Johann Christoph Bach was born in Arnstadt in 1642 and was appointed organist at St George's, the principal church of Eisenach, from 1665. The 4-part chorale prelude "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" has the same kind of expressive dissonances, with suspensions, as his Lamento "Ach, daß ich Wassers gnug hätte" for voice and strings. Born probably in 1643, Reincken was the natural successor to Scheidemann as organist at the St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg, with his musical interests extending beyond the church to the Hamburg Opera and the collegium musicum: as remarked by the 18th-century musician Johann Gottfried Walther, his famous, dazzling and audacious chorale fantasia "An Wasserflüssen Babylon" probably marked that succession; its vast dimension of 327 bars and 10 chorale lines, some broken into two, encompass a wide range of techniques, such as its "motet-like development, figuration of the chorale in the soprano, fore-imitation in diminished note values, introduction of counter-motifs, virtuoso passage work, double pedals, fragmentation, and echo effects." A detailed account of the history and musical structure of the chorale fantasia has been given in . The composer and organist Johann Pachelbel (1653–1707), born in Nuremberg in Bavaria, was most active in central Germany, particularly Thuringia. His vocal and instrumental music reflected the musical traditions across Germany. Having spent some of his early years as a musician in Vienna, he was appointed to the Predigerkirche, Erfurt in 1679–1690 As part of his duties as official organist at the Predigerkirche in Erfurt, 1678–1690, Pachelbel was required to give a concert each year to show his musical skills; the same contract also prescribed preludes for chorales. As outlined in , Pachelbel's repertoire contained eight different types of chorale preludes, the last of which formed a "hybrid combination-form", one