Marcel Dupré
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2017) |
Marcel Dupré | |
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Born | Rouen, France | 3 May 1886
Died | 30 May 1971 Meudon , France | (aged 85)
Occupations |
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Marcel Jean-Jules Dupré (French pronunciation:
Early life and education
Born in Rouen into a wealthy musical family, Marcel Dupré was a child prodigy. His father Aimable Albert Dupré was titular organist of Saint-Ouen Abbey from 1911 til his death and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when Marcel was 10 years old. His mother Marie-Alice Dupré-Chauvière was a cellist who also gave music lessons, and his paternal uncle Henri Auguste Dupré was a violinist and violist. Both of his grandfathers, Étienne-Pierre Chauvière (maître de chapelle at Saint-Patrice in Rouen and an operatic bass) and Aimable Auguste-Pompée Dupré (who was also a friend of Cavaillé-Coll) were also organists.
Having already taken lessons from
Performances
Dupré became famous for performing more than 2,000 organ recitals throughout Australia, the United States, Canada and Europe, which included a recital series of 10 concerts of the complete works of
Succeeding Widor in 1934 as titular organist at
Teaching
In 1926, he was appointed professor of organ performance and improvisation at the
He taught two generations of well-known organists such as Jehan Alain and Marie-Claire Alain, Jean-Marie Beaudet, Pierre Cochereau, Françoise Renet, Jeanne Demessieux, Rolande Ginabat-Falcinelli, Jean-Jacques Grunenwald, Odile Pierre, Jean Guillou, Jean Langlais, Carl Weinrich, Clarence Watters and, most famously, Olivier Messiaen, to name only a few.
He prepared study editions of the organ works of
Composing
As a composer, he produced a wide-ranging oeuvre of 65 opus numbers (+1 "bis"). Aside from a few fine works for aspiring organists (such as the 79 Chorales op. 28) most of Dupré's music for the organ ranges from moderately to extremely difficult, and some of it makes almost impossible technical demands on the performer (e.g., Évocation op. 37, Suite, op. 39, Deux Esquisses op. 41, Vision op. 44).
Dupré's most often heard and recorded compositions tend to be from the earlier part of his career. During this time he wrote the Three Preludes and Fugues, Op. 7 (1912), with the First and Third Preludes (in particular the G minor with its phenomenally fast tempo and its pedal chords) being pronounced unplayable by no less a figure than Widor. Such, indeed, is these preludes' level of complexity that Dupré was the only organist able to play them in public for years.
In many ways Dupré may be viewed as a Paganini of the organ. Being a virtuoso of the highest order, he contributed extensively to the development of technique (both in his organ music and in his pedagogical works) although, like Paganini, his music is largely unknown to musicians other than those who play the instrument for which the music was written. A fair and objective critique of his output should take into account the fact that, occasionally, the emphasis on virtuosity and technique can be detrimental to the musical content and substance. Nevertheless, his more successful works combine this virtuosity with a high degree of musical integrity, qualities found in compositions such as the Symphonie-Passion, the Chemin de la Croix, the Preludes and Fugues, the Esquisses and Évocation, and the Cortège et Litanie.
As an improviser, Dupré excelled as perhaps no other did during the 20th century, and he was able to take given themes and spontaneously weave whole symphonies around them, often with elaborate contrapuntal devices including fugues. The achievement of these feats was partially due to his native genius and partially due to his extremely hard work doing paper exercises when he was not busy practising or composing.
Although his emphasis as composer was the organ, Dupré's compositions also includes works for piano, orchestra and choir, as well as chamber music, and a number of transcriptions.
Death and legacy
Dupré died after suffering
The Association des amis de l'art de Marcel Dupré was founded in 1970 with the composer's own consent to help promote his work. They own his former house in Meudon.
Compositions
References
- Lynn Cavanagh. "The rise and fall of a famous collaboration: Marcel Dupré and Jeanne Demessieux." The Diapason (July 2005): 18–21.
- Lynn Cavanagh. "Marcel Dupré's “dark years”: unveiling his occupation-period concertizing." Intersections: Canadian Journal of Music 34, nos. 1-2 (2014): 33-57.
- Bruno Chaumet. Marcel Dupré, Souvenirs. Paris: Association des Amis de l'Art de Marcel Dupré, 2006.
- Robert Delestre. L'oeuvre de Marcel Dupré. Paris: Éditions "Musique Sacrée", 1952.
- Jeanne Demessieux. "L'art de Marcel Dupré." Études (Paris, April 1950).
- Rolande Falcinelli. Marcel Dupré, 1955: Quelques oeuvres. Paris: Alphonse Leduc, 1955.
- Bernard Gavoty. Marcel Dupré. Les grands Interprètes. Genève, Switzerland: Éditions René Kister, 1955.
- Michael Murray. French Masters of the Organ. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.
- Michael Murray. Marcel Dupré: The Work of a Master Organist. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1985.
- Graham Steed. "Dupré and Demessieux: The master and the pupil." The American Organist 13 (March 1979): 36–37.
- Graham Steed. The Organ Works of Marcel Dupré. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press, 1999.
- Vincent Warnier. Marcel Dupré (1886-1971). In Renaud Machart and Vincent Warnier (ed.): Les grands organistes du XXe siècle. Paris: Buchet-Chastel, 2018, 73–80.
Notes
- ISBN 0-246-11323-5.
- ^ "Méthode d'orgue (Dupré, Marcel) - IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download". imslp.org. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
External links
- L'Association des Amis de l'Art de Marcel Dupré (in French and English)
- Biographie de Marcel Dupré (in French)
- Leduc/Bornemann published the majority of Dupré's work. (in French and English)
- Notice biographique de Dupré (in French)
- Crescendo Music Publications
- Free scores by Marcel Dupré at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Performances of organ works by Marcel Dupré in MP3 format at Logos Virtual Library