MARCEL DUPRÉ
Volume 2

Intégrale des œuvres pour orgue
Complete Organ Works
Sämtliche Orgelwerke

Jeremy Filsell - Organ  www.jeremyfilsell.com

Variations sur un Noël, Op. 20
The first product of Dupré’s American period, the Variations sur un Noël were composed in 1922 during the course of his first transcontinental tour; he later recalled that each variation was written in a different city, ranging from London to San Diego and all stops in between. This remarkable work represents his first response to his discovery in America of the benefits of organs with electric action and adjustable pistons - so different from the cumbersome ventil pedals of the Cavaillé-Coll organ - and he was later to describe it as ‘a synthesis of the orchestral possibilities of the modern organ’. The variations embrace a kaleidoscopic variety of colours and textures, of a kind that had never been heard before, and cover an equally wide range of musical moods between the expressive opening harmonisation of the theme (the carol that is nowadays known as Noël Nouvelet) and the tempestuous finale; the immediate accessibility of this music and its astonishing richness of invention have ensured it a secure place among Dupré’s most popular concert works.

In five of the variations the tune can be clearly heard, sometimes in one voice (in the tenor in Var.1, in the bass in Var.4), sometimes in canon between two voices (canon at the octave in Var.3 and a tour-de-force of canon at the second in Var.8) and once (in the 6th variation) in a double canon at the fourth and fifth, with right hand, left hand and pedals all playing in different keys. These contrapuntal movements alternate with ‘orchestral’ variations, in which the contours of the tune are absorbed into a rapid stream of virtuoso figuration - a flowing invention for flutes in Var.3, a scintillating flute solo in Var.5, a dancing stream of crushed notes in Var. 7, and a ripple of chromatic thirds for Clarinet in Var.9. The variations culminate in a brief but brilliant fugato, teeming with contrapuntal device, and leading straight into the final toccata, which erupts at the end into a resounding peal of Christmas bells.

Miserere Mei, Op. 46
This short meditation for a time of Penitence dates from 1948, and is dedicated, like so many of Dupré’s works, to the memory of one of his friends. Much of the melodic material seems to have a vocal inspiration, and it is not just the prominent Trumpet motif that seems to be crying Miserere Mei, but many other phrases as well. The piece falls roughly into four sections: a Moderato introduction, a pleading Andante for Voix Celeste, a Piu animato that builds up to an anguished climax, and a Cantabile for solo flute that finally attains peace, of a kind, in its concluding major chord.

Cortège et Litanie, Op.19 no.2
Another work from Dupré’s American period, the Cortège et Litanie has a complicated history, and exists in several different versions. It originally formed part of a suite of incidental music which Dupré composed for a friend who was having a play performed in Paris, and was first conceived in terms of a chamber orchestra of 11 instruments. The composer also made an arrangement for piano solo, and when he played this to his American concert agent Dr Alexander Russell, Russell was so impressed that he persuaded Dupré to make two two more arrangements, one for organ solo and another for organ and symphony orchestra; the solo version was premiered in New York in September 1923 (in the same programme as the American premiere of Variations sur un Noël), and the first performance of the orchestral version was given by Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra early in 1925.

The most successful arrangement of this short piece is undoubtedly the organ and orchestra version (recorded by Jeremy Filsell with the BBC Concert Orchestra on Guild GMCD 7136), but for practical reasons the organ solo version is far more frequently performed, and is now firmly established as one of Dupré’s most popular works. Richly harmonised on soft strings, the melody of the Cortège is one of his most memorable tunes; the ends of the phrases are punctuated by a motif of two repeated notes, like the tolling of a distant bell. The poignant repetitions of the Litanie begin on a delicate solo flute, and move through a variety of tone-colours before a gradual increase in intensity leads to the powerful return of the Cortège theme and a brilliant toccata-like conclusion.

Lamento, Op. 24
This short piece was composed in 1926 for Dupré’s friend A.M.Henderson, the Organist of Glasgow University, following the loss of his son - the touching dedication reads: ‘To my dear friends Mr & Mrs A. Henderson, of Glasgow - In memory of their dear little Donald’. The death of this child inspired from Dupré an eloquent memorial, in a style that is far removed from the complexities of his contemporary Symphonies. The lament is expressed in B flat minor by the Oboe, above an ostinato chordal accompaniment that evokes the image of a frozen, motionless cortège, very much in the manner of Satie’s Gymnopédies. This is answered by a consoling second theme in the major, a kind of In Paradisum; with the entry of the pedals the music takes on the flavour of a gentle angelic procession, with a subtle harmonic texture that is typical of Dupré at his most imaginative. The lament returns, and rises to a powerful but short-lived climax, leaving the last word to the angels.

In Memoriam, Op.61
The last major work of Dupré’s old age arose from tragic personal circumstances, following the death from cancer of his only child, Marguerite, on 26th October 1963, at the age of 54. Dupré’s pupil and biographer Michael Murray was in Paris at the time, and has given a moving account of the events of the following day: ‘The next morning, Dupré played his services at Saint-Sulpice, urged by his wife to do so, and encouraged by his own inner need. As usual, the service was almost entirely improvised. And on this day, as those present will never forget, the strictures of counterpoint, and the hard disciplines of the ricercar form, embraced a music so exquisite and so grand that even those downstairs, unaware of the visitors’ solemn hush in the organ loft, and of the reason, remarked Dupré’s eloquence. ‘What has happened to Monsieur Dupré today?’, the Curé of Saint-Sulpice recalls a parishioner asking: ‘He has surpassed himself.’ As always, intense emotion was rendered overpowering by the constraints of form, for Dupré neither violated contrapuntal laws nor took liberties with harmony to achieve his eloquence, though he played with eyes closed and tears trickling down his cheeks.’

Simply inscribed ‘to my daughter’, In Memoriam was composed during the next two years, and first performed by Dupré himself at his 80th birthday recital in Saint-Sulpice on 3rd May 1966; it has rarely been played since. In a way this is understandable, as this is very private music; emotion is distilled to a rare essence, a subtle perfume of nostalgia and regret which permeates every movement, and the harmonic language is personal, and occasionally obscure. But, like many of Dupré’s lesser-known works, In Memoriam amply repays repeated listening, and increasing familiarity brings rich rewards.

The framing of the whole work by a prelude and postlude reinforces the impression that this is a personal rite of remembrance. Dupré had asked to hear his Lamento at his daughter’s funeral, and the opening Prélude reworks the conception of the earlier piece; the contrapuntal development of an elegiac theme alternates with an ethereal In Paradisum for the Voix celeste, rising to an anguished climax, and ending in a serene ascent to a cloudless sky. The wayward, dancing Allegretto seems to be an evocation of childhood, but the bizarre harmonic language veils the music in a strangely distant, dream-like atmosphere. On the final pages, after an expressive central interlude for 8ft flutes, the soft solo reed theme on the pedals expands to two parts, producing a texture of extraordinary complexity. Méditation is simply scored for solo flute and celeste, the soaring lyrical flute theme supported by evocative tints of harmonic colour; in the middle the theme moves to the pedal, and the final reprise again expands the textures, as the flute blossoms into two parts and the pedal joins in the dialogue.