Marcel Dupré

Synopsis

French organist, composer, teacher, editor

• 1886 born in Rouen, France
• 1904 began formal study at the Paris Conservatory
• 1907 received first prize for Organ
• 1909 received first prize for Fugue
• 1920 performed over ten recitals, playing the complete organ works of Bach from memory
• 1926-1954 professor of organ performance and improvisation at Paris Conservatory
• 1934-1971 titular organist at Sainte-Sulpice in Paris
• 1971 died in Meudon (Near Paris), France
• A student of Guilmant, Vierne, and Widor
• Became famous as an improviser and composer in a French symphonic style
• Some of his most famous compositions began as concert improvisations
• He performed more than 2000 concerts, including ten tours in the United States
• "His organ technique was considered formidable in his day"

Biography

Born in 1886 to a family of musicians, Marcel Dupré was immersed in music early in life. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatory in 1904, studying with Guilmant, Diémar, and Widor. He received first prize in three contests there – fugue, organ, and composition. In 1916 he was appointed interim organist at the great Notre Dame Cathedral. In 1926 he returned to his Alma Mater, this time as a professor of organ. He succeeded his former teacher Widor as the organist of St. Sulpice in 1934, where he remained until his death in 1971.

Throughout his life Dupré performed and taught extensively­, including ten concert tours to the United States. Dupre had an excellent memory, and in 1920 performed the complete works of Bach by memory in a ten-concert recital series. He was even appointed General Director of the American Conservatory in 1947. Many of Dupré’s own compositions have overt pedagogical purposes. For example, both the Tombeau de Titelouze and the 79 Chorales use chorale and chant tunes found in the works of other composers (Titelouze and JS Bach), and are meant to be introductions to that music.

Dupré's compositions develop from his extraordinary improvisations. For example, his Symphonie-Passion was first improvised in 1921 on the Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia. It was not written down and performed until three years later, at the Westminster Cathedral. Dupré's compositions reflect the trend towards concert repertoire, rather than liturgical pieces.

Representative Works

• Preludes and fugues
• Organ Symphonies

For details, see the Wikipedia article on Marcel Dupré.

List of Organ Works

Click to sort by opus number, title, or year of composition or publication

Opus	Title	Year
	Prière en sol majeur (Prayer in G major	1895
	Fugue en ut majeur (Fugue in C major)	1895
	Fugue en la mineur (Fugue in A minor)	1901
	Fugue en fa majeur (Fugue in F major)	1900
	Dans la Gloire des Invalides
Op. 7	3 Préludes et fugues	1912
Op. 16	Scherzo en fa mineur	1918
Op. 18	15 Versets...	1919
Op. 19	Cortège et litanie	1921, 1923, 1925
Op. 20	Variations sur un Noël	1922
Op. 21	Suite Bretonne	1923
Op. 23	Symphonie-Passion	1924
Op. 24	Lamento in B♭ mineur	1926
Op. 26	Symphony No. 2 in C♯ minor	1929
Op. 27	7 Pièces	1931
Op. 28	79 Chorales	1931
Op. 29	Le Chemin de la croix, 14 Stations	1931
Op. 32	3 Élévations	1935
Op. 34	Angélus	1936
Op. 37	Évocation, Poème symphonique	1941
Op. 38	Le Tombeau de Titelouze	1942
Op. 39	Suite en fa mineur	1944
Op. 40	Offrande à la Vierge	1944
Op. 41	3 Esquisses (3 Sketches)	1945
Op. 43	Paraphrase sur le Te Deum	1945
Op. 44	Vision, Poème symphonique	1947
Op. 45	8 Petits préludes sur des thèmes grégoriens	1948
Op. 46	Miserere Mei	1948
	Variations sur «Il est né le divin Enfant», Offertoire	1948
	Épithalame	1948
Op. 47	Psaume XVIII, Poème symphonique	1949
Op. 48	6 Antiennes pour le temps de Noël	1952
Op. 50	24 Inventions	1956
Op. 51	Triptyque	1957
Op. 54	Nymphéas	1959
Op. 56	Annonciation, 2 Méditations	1961
Op. 57	Choral et fugue	1962
Op. 58	3 Hymnes	1963
Op. 59	2 Chorales	1963
Op. 61	In Memoriam, 6 Pièces pour orgue «à ma fille» (Marguerite)	1965
	Méditation	1966
Op. 62	Entrée, Canzona et Sortie	1967
Op. 63	4 Fugues modales	1968
Op. 64	Regina coeli	1969
Op. 65	Le Vitrail de St. Ouen	1969
Op. 65b	Souvenir	1965

Background and General Perspectives on Performing Dupré Organ Works

"Dupré's harmonic style was based upon early Twentieth-century common-practice harmonic style, with occasionally -added sixths and ninths that sometimes suggest elements of quartal harmony. His harmonic progressions were enriched by a delightfully unpredictable angularity that continue to make his style sound fresh and inviting, and certianly distinctly late Twentieth-Century to today's listener."

Registration and Organs

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See the footnote in the "Notes" section at the bottom of the page.

Fingering and Pedaling

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Articulation and Phrasing

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Ornamentation

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Tempo and Meter

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Scores and Editions

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Recordings

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Free Online

• Prelude and Fugue in B Major (Op. 7 No. 1) as performed by Daryl Robinson
• Antiphon III (Op. 18 No. 3) as performed by Linda Margetts
• Cortege et Litanie (Op. 19 No. 2) as performed by Marcel Dupre
• Crucifixion from Symphonie-Passion (Op. 23 No. 3) as performed by Marcel Dupre

Pay to Listen

• The Stations of the Cross (Op. 29) as performed by Stephen Tharp on NAXOS
• Cortege et Litanie (Op. 19 No 4.) and Symphonie Passion (Op. 23) as performed by Peter Richard Conte on NAXOS
• Cortege et Litanie (Op 19 No. 2) as performed by Daniel Jay McKinley and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic, under the direction of David Bowden

Other Resources

"Marcel Dupre': The Man and His Music." B. The Musical Times, Vol. 61, No. 934 (Dec. 1, 1920), pp. 814-816.

Marcel Dupré, the work of a master organist. Murray, Michael 1943 March 19, Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1985, xxv, 259 p.: ill.; 25 cm., English. ML 416 .D83 M9 1985

The organ works of Marcel Dupré. Steed, Graham. Hillsdale, N.Y.: Pendragon Press, 1999, xviii, 271 p.: ill.; 24 cm., English. MT 145 .D76 S73 1999

Recollections. Dupré, Marcel 1886-1971. Melville, N.Y.: Belwin-Mills Pub. Corp, 1975, xiv, 162 p.: ill.; 23 cm., English. ML 410 .D947 A33

Notes

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