"O Heiland reiß die Himmel auf." Sechs Strophen fuer Orgel

I uploaded a memorial piece by Ploeger nearly a month ago: https://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/61904 It was one of his pieces as a mature composer. And a lot can be read about the composer and his work there.

This upload features the very first set of organ pieces he ever wrote from 1949, a set of six verses on “EKG 7: O Heiland reiß die Himmel auf.” He wrote this for Distler’s house organ by Paul Ott, so I’ve uploaded them here played on the small Paul Ott organ sampled by AB. Ploeger modeled these works after Distler’s by including much of his tonalities (seconds and fourths), basing the tune on a well-known chorale, exchanging the cantus firmus around from voice to voice, employing a canon (verse V), and using inversion (verse III). So this set falls very clearly in the Neo-Baroque category. In performance, I also add judicious Distleresque ornamentation to Ploeger’s score (as can be found in 30 Small Pieces).

I did not register these as Distler probably would have. Instead, I imagined, as I did on the Yokota instrument, what kinds of combinations may have fascinated Ploeger (and which fascinated me) and used those. In keeping with Distler’s ethos, though, I make sure every line is transparent and clearly heard and balanced against the others, as this clearly had an impact on Ploeger’s works. Also, Ploeger did not include any tempo markings or dynamics, and there is no indication of which setting goes with which verse of the actual hymn. I used the texts from 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7 for my inspiration. Finally, I placed the instrument in a bigger venue for some added reverb–Szar Cathedral sampled by AVO at 15% wet.

Verse 1: 0:00
Verse 2: 0:43
Verse 3: 1:27
Verse 4: 2:23
Verse 5: 3:36
Verse 6: 5:23