Praeludium und Fuge E-Dur

Lübeck was born in 1654 in Paddingbutel, a small town situated some 70 km north of Bremen. His father (also named Vincent) worked as organist first at Glückstadt and then, from 1647, at the Marienkirche in Flensburg, where he was succeeded in 1654 by Caspar Förckelrath. Lübeck's father died that year, and Förckelrath married the widow; it follows that he must have been young Lübeck's first teacher. In late 1675 Lübeck became organist of St. Cosmae et Damiani in Stade. St. Cosmae had an organ built by the celebrated Arp Schnitger (which still survives, although it has been reconstructed).
His reputation as organist, organ consultant and teacher grew steadily, and finally landed him the position at St. Nikolai in Hamburg in 1702; he was succeeded in Stade by his son, Peter Paul (1680–1732). Hamburg was already one of the largest cities in Germany and had a long organ tradition associated first with pupils of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck: Heinrich Scheidemann, Jacob Praetorius, and others. A number of other important composers worked in Hamburg in the late 17th century: among them Matthias Weckmann, who helped organize the concert life of the city, and Johann Adam Reincken, one of the most celebrated organists of his time.
Lübeck's position in Hamburg was a prominent one. St. Nikolai was one of the city's most important churches, and the organ was not only another Schnitger but also one of the largest organs in the world: a four-manual instrument with 67 stops. Johann Mattheson, writing in 1721, named both the organ and the organist "extraordinary". Lübeck remained organist of St. Nikolai until his death in 1740.