Marcel Dupre
(born
Rouen
,
Normandy
,
3 May
1886
; died Meudon, near
Paris
,
30 May
1971
), was a leading French
organist
,
composer
, and
teacher
.
Marcel Dupre was born to a musical family in
Rouen
(
Normandy
,
France
). His father Albert Dupre was organist at the
gothic
abbey
of St Ouen in Rouen. The young Marcel was a
child prodigy
. He entered the
Paris Conservatoire
in 1904, where he studied the
piano
and
organ
. He studied organ with
Alexandre Guilmant
and
Louis Vierne
, and
Charles-Marie Widor
. His studies with Widor also included composition. In 1914, Dupre won the Grand
Prix de Rome
for his
cantata
,
Psyche
. Twelve years later, he became professor of organ at the
Paris Conservatoire
, serving until 1954.
Among his best-known work were more than 2,000 organ
recitals
in
Europe
, the
United States
,
Canada
and
Australia
. In
1920
he played in a series of concerts at the Paris Conservatoire in which he played the complete organ works of
Johann Sebastian Bach
from
memory
.
In 1934 he succeeded Widor as organist at St. Sulpice in Paris, serving until his death.
From 1947 to 1954, he was director of the American Conservatory, which was in the
Chateau de Fontainebleau
near Paris. In 1954, Dupre succeeded
Claude Delvincourt
(who had been killed in a car crash) as director of the Paris Conservatoire, serving until 1956. He died at the age of 85.
Dupre's organ
recitals
often included his own work, as well as those of other composers, especially Bach. In the tradition of Widor and Vierne, his compositions included long works in several
movements
which he called “symphonies”. When he played in church services he would start by playing composed music which was suitable for the time of year. Then he would improvise, playing complicated
fugues
,
trio sonatas
and
chorale
improvisations. He was so good at improvising that many people thought he had composed the music beforehand.
When playing in concerts he was often given a tune, and then he would immediately make up a large work from that tune. In
1906
, when he was still a student, he played for a wedding and two services when the famous Widor was going to be absent. Dupre asked Widor what music he should play. Widor told him to improvise something. Dupre waited for Widor to go out of the church before he started practising, but Widor crept back in and listened to him. He realized that Dupre would manage very well.
Dupre was famous as an organ teacher. He taught two generations of well-known organists including
Jehan Alain
,
Marie-Claire Alain
,
Pierre Cochereau
,
Jeanne Demessieux
,
Jean Guillou
,
Jean Langlais
, and
Olivier Messiaen
.
Dupre composed a great deal of organ music. As a young child he got to know
Aristide Cavaille-Coll
, the most famous organ builder in France. Cavaille-Coll had built the organ that Dupre’s father played, so he was used to the sound of modern French organs. Most of Dupre's music for the organ is very difficult to play. It includes the
Three Preludes and Fugues
, Op. 7 (1914). Even Widor thought that the Prelude of the third piece was simply impossible to perform. However, Dupre could play it, and many organists after him learned to play it, too. Other notable works of Dupre's include the
Symphonie-Passion
, the
Esquisses
and
Evocation
, and the
Cortege et Litanie
.
As well as composing lots of music, Dupre prepared study editions of the organ works of
Bach
,
Handel
,
Mozart
,
Liszt
,
Mendelssohn
,
Schumann
,
Cesar Franck
, and
Alexander Glazunov
. He also wrote music for people who were learning to play the organ, and books on how to improvise on the organ.
- Groves Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed Stanley Sadie (5th edition, 1980)
“Marcel Dupre at Saint-Sulpice” ? Gerard Brooks: Organist’s Review Aug 1986 p. 161-166