Dupré, Marcel (EN)

Dupré Marcel, *3 May 1886 Rouen, †30 May 1971 Meudon (near Paris), French organist, composer and teacher. He began learning music from his father, organist Albert Dupré. At the age of 8, he gave his first public organ concert in Rouen. In 1897, he became organist of the church of St-Vivien in Rouen and began learning to play the organ with A. Guilmant; at the age of 14, he composed La vision de Jacob. In 1902–14, he studied at the conservatory in Paris with L. Diemer (piano), A. Guilmant and L. Vierne (organ), P. Fouchet (counterpoint) and Ch.-M. Widor (fugue and composition). In 1914, he received the Grand Prix de Roma for the cantata Psyche. From 1906, he was the organist of the church of St-Sulpice, and in 1916–23, also of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. In 1920, at the Paris Conservatory, he performed from memory all the organ works by J.S. Bach during 10 recitals. These concerts established Dupré’s reputation as an outstanding virtuoso and were repeated at the Palais de Chaillot the following year. Dupré’s foreign career began with a concert at the Albert Hall in London in 1920; in 1921, he gave a series of recitals at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia and New York, where he improvised for the first time in the form of an organ symphony. He then toured England, Scotland, Ireland and throughout Europe. He regularly visited the United States and gave approximately 800 concerts during 10 tours and performed 30 concerts in Australia. In 1939, he went on a concert trip around the world. In December 1925 (after E. Gigout’s death), he took over the organ class at the conservatory in Paris. His most outstanding students include A. Fleury, O. Messiaen, J. Langlais, G. Litaize, M. Durufle, J.-J. Grunenwald, J. Alain, P. Cochereau and – among the youngest – J. Guillou, as well as women: H. Roget, J. Demessieux, R. Falcinelli, M.-C. Alain; in 1936–39, J. Kucharski also studied with him. In 1934, Dupré was appointed titular organist of the great St-Sulpice organ, replacing Ch.-M. Widor. In 1917, he became director of the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau, and after 28 years of teaching at the Paris Conservatory, its director (1954–56). In 1953, he received an honorary doctorate from the Istituto Pontificale in Rome, and in 1954, he became a member of the Académie des Beaux Arts; he also belonged to the Académie Royale de Belgique and many music societies around the world. He was awarded the Commander of the Legion of Honor (1948) and the Order of St. Gregory (1966). In 1959, he celebrated his 2,000^th concert, after which he stopped performing and served as organist of St-Sulpice until his death, researching technical and sonic improvements to the organ. He died in his own home in Meudon, which was a centre for students of organ performance for many years.

Dupré’s activity – a virtuoso organist and composer – coincides with the great renaissance of French religious music and the revival of the French organ school, which has been ongoing since the end of the 19^th century. Dupré, whose organ career is often compared to Liszt’s pianistic career, popularised a modern type of organ recital in his concert activities, transferred from the temple to the concert hall. Following the example of old masters, he cultivated organ improvisation in which he practiced traditional forms; chorale prelude, toccata, double fugue, 6-voice ricercar with double canon and others; he included his experiences in the treatise Cours complet d’improvisation a 1’orgue. It is difficult to draw the line between improvisation and composition in Dupré’s work, as most of them were initially improvised at concerts and only then written down and published (Symphonie-Passion improvised in New York in 1921 and recorded in 1924, Le chemin de la croix improvised in Brussels 1931 and recorded in the same year). Dupré’s repertoire was versatile: from works by baroque composers to contemporary music (on 7 June 1934, in the church of St-Sulpice, Dupré performed F. Nowowiejski’s First Organ Symphony in the composer’s presence).

As a student of A. Guilmant, Dupré was brought up in the spirit of respect for the classical tradition, and especially the organ legacy of J.S. Bach, of which – next to A. Schweitzer – he was the most outstanding expert. As a composer, he composed mainly for organ, using typical organ forms of liturgical and secular music; he also tried a combination of organ with piano or symphony orchestra, which is rare in contemporary music. Dupré represented the trend of organ music originating from C. Franck, whose basic feature is the symphonic treatment of the organ. This is evidenced by the excellently developed organ texture with virtuoso elements typical of this instrument; thanks to Dupré’s inventions in the field of texture, visible technical progress was made in organ playing. Dupr’s musical language is tonal with a predilection for polytonality and chromatisms. The first period of his work (until World War II) was characterised by a monumental style, bold sound combinations and rhythmic explorations, and the pursuit of maximum use of the possibilities of the late Romantic Cavaillé-Coll instrument. In the second period, Dupré turns more to descriptive music and expressing non-musical, most often religious, content, recalling the position of old French composers. He writes works with elaborate structures (chorales, fugues, hymns, antiphons, motets) and a considerable economy of resources. He also introduces elements of Gregorian chant as thematic material (for the first time in Symphonie-Passion, anticipating Ch. Tournemire and his collection Orgue mystique). Great musical frescoes are created that have no liturgical purpose (N. Dufourcq describes this type of form in French music as “music with a religious programme”): Symphonie-Passion, Symphony No. 2, 7 Pièces, and especially Le Chemin de la Croix, one of Dupré’s most important works, being the sum of harmonic, polyphonic and formal experiences. Dupré’s works entered the common repertoire of organists not only in France; in Poland, Variations sur un vieux noël are most often performed.

Literature: Marcel Dupré raconte…, Paris 1972, English translation R. Kneeream as Recollections, New York 1975; M.E. Widor, F. Raugel Les récitals J.S. Bach de M. Dupré au Conservatoire de Paris, Rouen 1920; S. Archer The Art of Marcel Dupré, “Musical Minor” X, 1930; O. Messiaen Marcel Dupré. Cours d’harmonie analytique, Hérélle, “Le Monde Musical” 1936 No. 2 and 6; N. Dufourcq La musique d’orgue française de J. Titelouze á J. Alain, Paris 1941, 2^nd ed. 1949; R. Delestre L’oeuvre de Marcel Dupré, Paris 1952; B. Gavoty, R. Hauert Marcel Dupré, Genewa 1955; F. Raugel Marcel Dupré. Catalogue des oeuvres, “Etudes Normandes” 1955 No. 15; F.-J. Zimmerhof Albert Schweitzer – Marcel Dupré, direkte Orgelnachkommer J.S. Bachs, “Musica sacra” LXXXII, 1962; H. Funk Marcel Dupré. Zum achtzigsten Geburtstag and E. Bachtold Ein Besuch bei Marcel Dupré, “Musik und Gottesdienst” XX, 1966; N. Dufourcq Hommage á Marcel Dupré, “Orgue” 1971 No. 140; R. Smith Dupré in the Twenties, “Diapason” VII, 1971; G. Steed Marcel Dupré at 85’ and Marcel Dupré. A Study of His Symphonic Poem for Organ, Evocation op. 37, “Musical Times” 1971 No. 112; H. Wagener Marcel Dupré. Frankreichs Meisterorganist starb am Pfingstfest, “Musica sacra” XCI, 1971; Hommage á Marcel Dupré (including O. Messiaen, B. Gavoty, R. Falcinelli), “Le Courrier Musical de France” 1971 No. 35; M. Szoka Marcel Dupré. 1886–1971, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1981 No. 10; M. Szoka Marcel Dupré i jego „Chemin de la croix”, «Lektury muzyczne» I, 1983.