Marcel Dupré

Synopsis

French organist, composer, teacher, editor

• 1886 born in Rouen, France
• 1926-1954 professor of organ performance and improvisation at Paris Conservatory
• 1934-1971 titular organist at Sainte-Sulpice in Paris
• 1971 died in Meudon, 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

Dupré was born in 1886 to a family of musicians. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and took first prize in three contests there – fugue, organ, and composition. He was the organist at St Sulpice from 1934 until his death in 1971, toured, and taught extensively in Europe and America.

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.

Dupre had an excellent memory and could play the entire works of Bach from memory.

For details, see the Wikipedia article on Marcel Dupré.

List of Organ Works

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Opus	Title	Year
Op. ??	Prière en sol majeur (Prayer in G major	1895
Op. ??	Fugue en ut majeur (Fugue in C major)	1895
Op. ??	Fugue en la mineur (Fugue in A minor)	1901
Op. ??	Fugue en fa majeur (Fugue in F major)	1900
Op. ??	Dans la Gloire des Invalides
Op. 7	3 Préludes et fugues
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
Op. ??	Variations sur «Il est né le divin Enfant», Offertoire	1948
Op. ??	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
Op. ??	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

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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.

Notes

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