DARMSTADT – The organist Wolfgang Kleber resumed concert life on Saturday in the Pauluskirche with a special project after a long break. In front of only a few listeners who were placed at a measured distance, he played the entire so-called Leipzig Organ Book by Johann Sebastian Bach in a continuous three-hour playback. In meticulous research, Kleber came to the conclusion that the manuscript that had been created in Bach’s last two decades of life follows an overarching idea that relates to “one of the visionary images in the last book of the Bible”, the Revelation of John.
With insights into the symbolism of numbers, the symmetries of the layout, thematic connections, clock quantities and key ratios, Kleber underpins his conviction that Bach had a strict cyclical order in mind, culminating in the final chorale “I hereby step before your throne”, with which Composer joins the group of “twenty-four elders” who sing a new song of praise to the Lamb of God. And so the organist undertook the “experiment” of an overall performance that has probably never existed in this form before.
The six sonatas BWV 525 to 530, each in three movements, appeared in Kleber’s representation as a compendium of the possibilities of the three-part movement, whereby the mobility of the two upper parts met the more deliberate pedal tones. The transparent registration emphasized the chamber music character of the movements, but the sonatas V and VI saw an increase towards the concert style. The immediately connected fantasy “Come holy spirit, Lord God”, which opened the series of choral arrangements in a radiant plenary sound, appeared like a revelation. When listening to the chorals that followed, it became apparent that there are certainly thematic cross-connections to the six sonatas, as Kleber has shown in detail.
Thanks to the color registration and the clear articulation, it was a great experience to experience the abundance of techniques and variants in choral processing. Finally, the canonical variations on “From Heaven Up, Here I Come From” BWV 769, which condense up to a six-part movement when all four lines of the chorale sound simultaneously, appeared as an increase in the highest counterpoint art and condensation.
After Kleber ended his respectable performance with the chorus “Before your throne”, there was long-lasting applause after a period of silence.
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