In Mexico City, this German organist says music is a gift from God and the organ's sound is proof
MEXICO CITY (AP) — After six decades of devotion to the organ, Maestro Leo Krämer treats the instrument like an extension of himself. He doesn't even need to lay hands on it to hear in his mind how a song will sound.
“That’s why it’s called an organ,” Krämer said. “Because it’s alive.”
The 81-year-old German director and organist was the latest guest star of Mexico City’s Catholic cathedral, where he recently inaugurated a season of sacred music concerts.
Subsequent presentations will be announced by the Archdiocese’s social media channels. Throughout 2025, a diverse range of musicians, directors and choirs will play once a month. Krämer is expected to come back for the closing concert in December.
“Our goal is to position the cathedral as a space in which we can praise God and convey the taste for good music,” said Arturo Hernández, from the organizing committee of the music festival, during a recent press conference. “Within these walls, we can find marvelous works of art — paintings, sculptures — but musical expressions can sometimes go unnoticed.”
Not for Krämer, that is. In the 1980s, he performed a concert at the very same Cathedral and was beyond excited to make its two organs roar a second time.
“Each organ represents a nation’s culture,” he said. “It might be a single instrument, but it can be tremendously variable depending on its origin.”
Back home, in Germany, the touchstone moment for organ music came with Johann Sebastian Bach during the Baroque period, he said. And in Mexico, where the Indigenous lands were conquered in 1521, organ music arose from the nation's Spanish heritage.
“For a European musician like myself, entering a magnificent space as this cathedral, having the opportunity to play and listen to these historical instruments, is just fascinating.”
According to historian Kevin Valdez, the cathedral itself is special because it has two organs — one Mexican, one Spanish — and both survived a fire in 1967.
The wooden titans rest over the choir loft facing each other like 18th century twins. Their dimensions slightly differ with the Spanish one being the tallest, but together have more than 6,000 pipes capable of producing thousands of sound variations.
Since their construction, several composers have specifically written music to be played on the pair. And to this day, cathedral staff take care of its precious musical archive, which musicians worldwide, like Krämer, revere.
Unlike violinists or trumpeters who bring their instruments with them, Krämer encounters new organs as he changes venues.
Days before each concert, he climbs the stairs to the organ's bench and keyboards, getting to know the instrument by allowing his fingers to dance freely.
“Once I recognize the organ, what I acoustically feel with it, I choose the music I will play,” Krämer said. “It all depends on the acoustic capacities of the instrument and the space.”
His fascination with music came from childhood. In Püttlingen, where he was born, both his parents were amateur singers.
Before he left for school, as his mom prepared his lunch, he listened to her songs. Other days, while his dad took him to church to practice with the choir he was part of, Krämer rejoiced.
“My earliest memories are not from when I learned to read or write,” he said. “My first memories are being in church, listening to music, feeling fascinated by the sound of the organs.”
That was all it took. At age 11, he decided to become a musician and fill holy spaces with an organ’s voice.
It might seem a solitary job. Krämer plays practically isolated, merely aided by two assistants who pull in and out the side knobs that determine the pipes’ sound. But he never feels too far from his listeners.
“I can absolutely feel the contact,” he said. “It’s energy. It’s connection. Music is like a street that you create between yourself and the public. It’s God’s gift for humankind.”
During his latest concert at Mexico’s cathedral, Krämer performed with both organs, pleasing the audience.
Saira de la Torre, a soprano who happened to be among the audience, said she felt overwhelmed by the opportunity to “watch closely” such an emotive musician and feel an instrument as majestic as the organ. “The most moving moments were those of simplicity,” she said. “This touched my soul.”
Óscar Ramírez, an architect, was impressed by how the organ filled the church. “The sound dissipated through lots of places. You could feel one thing here, another one there,” Ramírez said. “This space alone could make music sound this way.”
Krämer’s repertoire included works by Bach, Italian composer Ignacio de Jerusalem and pieces from the cathedral’s archive, such as “Misa Ferial a 4” by Spanish artist Hernando Franco. Krämer also improvised, sound spilling out of his hands.
Verónica Barrios sat quietly for a few minutes after Krämer faded behind the choir.
“You don’t just come here to pray,” she said. “This is music that brings us closer to God.”
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