Marcel Dupré - Works for Organ, Vol. 2 (Robert Delcamp)

Information

Composer: Marcel Dupré

• 15 Versets sur les Vêpres de la Vierge, Op. 18
• Lamento, Op. 24
• 79 Chorales, Op. 28 (selections)
• Élévation, Op. 2
• Triptyque, Op. 51

Robert Delcamp, organ

Date: 1997

Label: Naxos

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Description

Marcel Dupré had a long and busy career as a recitalist, composer, teacher, writer and editor and he exerted enormous influence on all aspects of the organist's art in the early part of this century. Dupré's place in the evolution of twentieth century organ music has yet to be fully understood or appreciated and there are those who would seek to detract from the enormous impact his playing and teaching had on countless students who studied with him. It cannot be ignored that the list of his Premier Prix students at the Paris Conservatoire contains nearly every important twentieth-century French organist and composer, including Marie-Claire Alain, Jean Langlais, Jean Guillou, Jeanne Demessieux, and Olivier Messiaen. Several of his organ works have become recognised as standard repertoire for the instrument, and Dupré was unique in that, like Chopin and Liszt in the nineteenth century, he wrote with the innate understanding of the possibilities of the organ as 'seen' through the hands and feet of a virtuoso performer. The technical and colouristic innovations present in his organ music are perhaps comparable to those Chopin and Liszt for the piano who in their time, like Dupré, exerted enormous influence as performers, composers, and teachers. If nothing else, the consummate artistry of Dupré the improviser, will certainly assure him of an exalted place in the history of the King of Instruments.

The Fifteen Versets originated as improvisations, made during the Vesper service for the Feast of the Assumption at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15th August, 1919. Dupré was interim organist at Notre-Dame from 1916 until 1923, while Louis Vierne was in Switzerland undergoing eye treatments. The work was dedicated to Claude Johnson, co-founder of Rolls Royce, who was present at that service and commissioned Dupré to reconstruct the improvisations and bring them into print. Johnson was later responsible for Dupré's first visit to England in 1920, where Op. 18 was heard at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The collection is divided into three books, Books I and II being based upon the original Gregorian chants, while the Magnificat versets of Book III use original themes.

Lamento was composed in 1926 in memory of the son of Mr and Mrs Arthur M. Henderson of Glasgow, Scotland. Henderson had been a pupil of Widor and a long time friend of Dupré. It is the first in what was to be a long series of commemorative works written in memory of family and friends. Two themes are heard, the first a sombre lament played on the oboe stop, the second a gentle theme of consolation. After a build-up, the second theme reappears played on the vox humana.

The Seventy-Nine Chorales were conceived as a pedagogical work, intended to prepare the student for the study of the chorale preludes of Bach. They are graded in difficulty, and each piece is based upon the same chorale used by Bach.

Élévation is Dupré's first published organ work (1912) and is dedicated to Louis Vierne. It is typical of the numerous meditative pieces of that title which where were meant to be played during the most solemn portion of the Mass.

The Triptyque dates from 1956-57, and was first performed at the dedicatory recital of the Henry Edsel Ford Auditorium organ in Detroit, Michigan. As the title suggests, the work pays homage to certain antique forms. The Chaconne is a series of nineteen variations on a four-bar theme first heard in the pedals. The Musette features a folk-like tune heard over a murmuring accompaniment played on a 4' flute in the pedals. The Dithyrambe (in the manuscript entitled Humoresque), is a movement of frenzied abandon in which two themes are subjected to spirited development.

— Robert Delcamp

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Marcel Dupré (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist and composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Guilmant, Vierne and Widor, and won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1914. Renowned for his extraordinary memory and virtuosity, he performed more than 2,000 organ recitals worldwide. Dupré served as organ professor and later director of the Paris Conservatoire, while remaining titular organist at St. Sulpice from 1934 until his death. His extensive, technically demanding compositions and influential teaching shaped generations of organists, such as Jehan and Marie-Claire Alain and Olivier Messiaen.

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Robert Delcamp is an American organist, educator and choral director who serves as Professor of Music, University Organist and Choirmaster, and Chair of the Music Department at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He also directs the choir at All Saints' Chapel, leading recordings and multiple tours of England. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati and Northwestern University, he also studied in France with Louis Robillard. As a concert organist, Delcamp has performed widely across the United States, specializing in nineteenth- and early twentieth-century repertoire. He has recorded extensively for Naxos.

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