In Memoriam Marcel Dupré #2121

Hour One

MARCEL DUPRÉ: Prelude & Fugue in A-flat, Op. 36, no. 2 –Marcel Dupré (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/Church of St. Sulpice, Paris, France) Mercury 478 8388

J. S. BACH: Allegro (iii.), fr Trio Sonata No. 1 in E-flat, BWV 525 –Marcel Dupré (1923 Hill, Norman & Beard/Queen’s Hall, London, England) Opal 9863

DUPRÉ: Tantum ergo, Op. 9, no. 3 –Vasari Singers/Jeremy Backhouse; Ian Curror (1978 Tamburini) & Jeremy Filsell (1994 Tickell/Douai Abbey, Reading, England) Guild 7220

DUPRÉ: Scherzo, Op. 16 –Ben van Oosten (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) MD&G 316 1294

DUPRÉ: Quartet for Violin, Viola, Cello and Organ, Op. 52 –Timothy Durbin, violin; Jennifer Rende, viola; Clyde Beavers, cello; Bruce Neswick (1991 Fisk/1st Presbyterian Church, Evansville, IN) Naxos 8.554378

DUPRÉ: Final, No. 27, no. 7 –Michael Murray (1862 Cavaillé-Colle/Church of St. Sulpice, Paris) Telarc 60516

Filler – Scherzo (see above)

Hour Two

DUPRÉ: Lamento, Op. 24 –Marcel Dupré (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) Mercury 478 8088

DUPRÉ: In Memoriam, Op. 61 (Prélude; Allegretto; Méditation; Quodlibet; Postlude) –Robert Delcamp (1962 Aeolian-Skinner/Cathedral of St. Philip, Atlanta, GA) Naxos 8.554209; Jeremy Filsell (1979 Möller/St. Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota, FL) Guild 7157; Ben van Oosten (1992 Mander/Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, NJ) MD&G 3161289

EMILE BOURDON: Elégie, Op. 59 (À la mémoire de son très cher ami Marcel) –Carolyn Shuster-Fournier (1865 Merklin-Schütze/Holy Spirit Reformed Church, Paris) Organ 7201

DUPRÉ: Poème héroïque, Op. 33 –Empire Brass; Michael Murray (1936 Aeolian-Skinner/Church of the Advent, Boston, MA) Telarc 80218

Filler – Ricercare (v.), fr In Memoriam, Op. 61 –Ben van Oosten (1992 Mander/Princeton University Chapel, Princeton, NJ) MD&G 316 1289

Details about Michael Murray’s newly enhanced biography, Marcel Dupré – The Work of a Master Organist, are available from the Association des Amis de Marcel Dupré  and the Organ Historical Society catalog.  

For those for whom Bruno Chaumet’s accent may have provided some intelligibility issues, here is a transcript of his comments:

CLIP #1:  The text itself is almost identical, but all the indexes are either much more developed or are completely new.  One can find a text written by Dupré, “The Organ of the Future”, published in the French version of the biography only, at the moment, before this new edited version, where Dupré shows his ideas regarding the organ building.  His discography is complete, also, in the Appendix, and it shows the extent of his recorded repertoire and we are sometimes very, very surprised.  The catalog of his works has been the subject of long research; Dupré is really a complete musician, because he wrote for all genres of music.  Another appendix indicates all the winners of his organ classes at the Conservatoire de Paris.  And, finally, there is a particularly rich iconography with some color photos.  

This biography is the only one written about Dupré.  Michael Murray knows Dupré perfectly well, and he gives a very human aspect of Dupré at the same time as all the musical events that marked Dupré’s life.  It is the reason why this book, this biography, is particularly important to know the real genius of the organ of the last century.

CLIP #2:  Dupré undoubtedly dominated the world of the organ for several decades.  He had masterfully evolved the technique of the organ and the writing of organ music.  Many of Dupré’s works are performed all over the world now.  But we also remember Dupré because he wrote The Art of Improvising a summit never equaled since Johann Sebastian Bach.  Everyone who could hear him improvising was amaze to hear what was happening right in front of them.  He routinely improvised double fugues, and I was able to find a program of a concert in which he indicated he had improvised a triple fugue, something incredible.  

Marcel Dupré made the French Organ School shine everywhere he gave concerts. But I would say that we don’t now remember Dupré enough at the moment, apart from his organ music.  His music is far too little known and it holds many, many superb surprises.  

Continuing support of PIPEDREAMS is provided in loving memory of Wesley and Lucinda Dudley by their family, with additional support from Walter McCarthy, Clara Ueland, and the Greystone Foundation, by Jan Kirchner on behalf of her family foundation, by the Art and Martha Kaemmer Fund of the HRK Foundation, in celebration of the life of Martha Hulings Kaemmer, and by listener-contributors to this public radio station. Additional support comes from Buzard Pipe Organ Builders of Champaign, IL, and Casavant Freres, Ltd, of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, members of APOBA, the Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America, a collaborative of designers, creators, and maintainers of pipe organs found in religious and educational institutions, concert halls, and residences throughout the United States and beyond. An APOBA resource guide and member prospectus is available at APOBA.COM.