Reviews for
GMCD 7157 -Marcel Dupré Vol. 2
COMPLETE ORGAN WORKS
The Organ – Vol. 78
MARCEL DUPRÉ: Works for Organ - Volume 6
Stefan Engles / Carutb Auditorium, Dallas, Texas - Fisk Organ
NAXOS 8.554210 - 49'03"
MARCEL DUPRÉ: Works for Organ - Volume 7
Mary Preston / Meyerson Symphony Centre, Dallas. Texas – Fisk Organ
NAXOS 8.554211 - 78'33"
MARCEL DUPRÉ: Works for Organ -Volume 1
Jeremy Filsell / St Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota. Florida
GUILD GMCD 7156 - 67'15"
MARCEL DUPRÉ: Works for Organ - Volume 2
Jeremy Filsell / St Boniface Episcopal Church. Sarasota, Florida
GUILD GMCD 7157 - 63'30"
Remember the saying about buses? You can wait for an hour for one to come along and
then two arrive at the same time! That seems to be the case at the moment with recordings
of Marcel Dupré's complete organ works! There are two cycles on the market one by Naxos
(currently at volume 7) the other by Guild (Volumes 1 to 3 of 12). The Naxos recordings
are by several organists at various organs in the USA, whereas Guild recorded all of
theirs with Jeremy Filsell at the organ of St Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota,
Florida.
The great benefit of sets like these is that they introduce us to works we may not have
heard before - or knew existed!. They also give a broader musical demonstration of the
composer, sometimes revealing hitherto unfamiliar phases and aspects of their life and
art. For instance, Volume 6 in the Naxos series sees Stefan Engels (organ) and Alessio Bax
(piano) enabling this reviewer to explor the Sinfonia (written in 1946) or the Ballade
(1932) and the Variations on Two Themes (1937). The slow, quiet movements in each
give opportunity for some interesting tonal variations for both players, contrasting with
the eruption of ringing chords and arpeggios which demand either full organ or plenty of
volume from the pianist. It seems to be difficult to achieve a good balance in recording
these two instruments together for works like these, but Naxos have done quite well and my
slight personal prejudice against piano and organ duets is under review! Stefan Engels,
who was born and studied in Germany but moved in 1993 to pursue further studies and now
resides in Chicago, closes the CD with the Eight Short Preludes on Gregorian Themes for
Organ, which Dupré wrote for manuals only. Relatively simple and uncomplicated, they are
an immense contrast to the grandeur of most of Dupré's works. These eight preludes
exhibit some fascinating musical innovations and the helpful notes in the booklet guide
the listener through each one.
Volume 7 sees the very accomplished organist Mary Preston at the console of the 4
manual, 84 rank, 65 stop mechanical key action organ built by C B Fisk at the Lay Family
Concert Organ at Meyerson Symphony Centre in Dallas, Texas. Unfortunately, the booklet
does not tell us when it was built, and there is no picture of either organ or concert
hall - so annoying! Mary Preston gives a solid and trustworthy performance, opening with
the Entrée, Méditation and Sortie Op 62 which introduces us to the
potential power this organ possesses. She doesn't overdo it at this stage, leaving plenty
for later tracks on the CD when the woofers in your speaker boxes will be put to the test.
The many colours available on the tone palette of this instrument are displayed as the
performance progresses through 6 Chorals from Op 28 (short, improvisation style gems) and
the symphonic poem based on Psalm 18 Op 47, which Dupré wrote in memor of his
mother. Once again, Preston seems very comfortable with this work and plays with passion
and feeling. The programme concludes with Trois Élélvations Op 32 and Évocation
Op 37, full of emotion and a final burst of full organ as the 78 minute, good value CD
closes.
In 1998 Jeremy Filsell performed the complete organ works of Dupré in nine weekly
concerts at St Peters, Eaton Square, London. The Guild recordings, the first 2 in a series
of 12, were made in the September of that same year and demonstrate the understinding,
appreciation and commitment that this fine young organist has for the French composer.
Filsell's interpretations are colourful and articulate and the organ he has chosen at
Sarasota, Florida, for these recordings is clear speaking and set inmonderate acoustics
which allow the listener to hear all that is going on between fingers and feet in the fast
and furious movements. The 60 speaking stop, 3 manual built in 1979 by M P Moller, which
received tonal revisions and revoicing in 1997 by Jonathan Ambrosino and Jeff Weiler is
best described as an eclectic American organ with a French accent - which is rather
fitting, as Dupré spent some considerable time giving recitals in the USA. Along with
fine string and rich flute stops, interesting reeds are put to good use on these
recordings. Filsell introduces the Moller organ with great gusto on Volume 1 as he plays
the first of the Trois Préludes and Fugues, Op7 in a powerful and dramatic manner. This
is followed by very attractive renderings of the eloquent second Prelude and Fugue and the
more technically innovative third. It is said that Dupré was probably the only organist
in France at the time with the technical ability to play this original and revolutionary
trio. Now accepted as standard repertoire, this trio was not published until 1920, 8 years
after originally written. Dupré certainly set an organ benchmark for the future with
these and subsequent compositions. The first 12 of the 24 Inventions Op 50 are next on
this disc along with Quatre Fugues Modales Op 63 and Triptyque Op 51.
Filsell plays these thoughtfully and with flair, displaying both his own and the organs
ability throughout.
Volume 2 opens with the Variations sur un Noël Op 20, which for me is 11
minutes of sheer enjoyment, heightened by Filsell's choice of stops. Miserere Mei
Op 46, Lamento Op 24 and the more familiar Cortège et Litanie Op 19 follow
before the programme concludes with the last major work of Dupré in old age, In
Memoriam Op 61. This was written following the death from cancer of his only child
Marguerite in 1963 at the age of 54. Having taken 2 years to compose, he performed it on
his 80th birthday in 1966 at Saint-Sulpice, Paris where he was assistant organist to Widor
for 28 years and then titulaire organist for 37 years until his death on Whit Sunday 1971.
It has rarely been played since, so this is an opportunity to hear this very personal and
emotional act of remembrance. Both these discs are highly recommended - Let's hope the
next 10 in the set are just as good.
CJM
Cathedral Music – Summer 1999
MARCEL DUPRÉ – Organ Music
Volume 1 – Guild GMCD 7156 – TT 67’15"
Volume 2 – Guild GMCD 7157 – TT 63’30"
Jeremy Filsell plays the organ of St Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota, Florida, US
These are just two volumes in a series of twelve of Dupré’s complete works and if
the rest are anything like these two, there are further treats in store. The organ at St
Boniface was originally built in 1979 by M P Moeller of Hagerstown, Maryland and in 1997,
Jeff Weiler was engaged to revoice all the fluework and regulate the reeds. According to
the booklet, the end result has produced "an eclectic American organ with a French
accent" thus making it particularly suitable for Dupré’s music. What is heard
on the CDs is certainly compelling, never lacking in interest, wit or warmth. There are
comprehensive notes on Dupré and the works performed and this an excellent addition to
anyone’s collection.
Cynthia Wood
COVER DISC CLASSIC CD (COD 112/6/99)
Track 1
Dupré in Memoriam - "PostLude" (4:19)
Marcel Dupré was a key figure in the transition form the great Romantic tradition of late
nineteenth-century French organ playing to the modernism of composers such as Alain and
Messiaen (both taught by Dupré. In Mamoriam is a six-movement work from late
(1961) in Dupré's career, and ist concluding movement shows off Jeremy Filsell's grasp of
the composer's idiom at ist brilliant best.
0:00 The movement opens with anxious scurryings in the hands, accompanied from 0:07 by a
deep-set underpinning in the pedal-bass.
0:59 A slower, semi-improvisatory section, before the agitation of the opening
re-commences at 1:32.2:03 A relatively tranquil section before the faster music returns at
2:43. Note Dupré's predilection for staccato chording, and Filsell's hithly articulate
command of rhythm.
3:19 Stops away! The movement's mighty peroration begins... Filsell's balancing and
co-ordination of keyboard and pedal contributions here is particularly impressive.
June 1999
See Reviews on GMCD 7156 - Dupré Vol. 1
BBC Music Magazine July 1999
DUPRÉ
Vol: 1: Preludes and Fugues, Op.7/1-3; Inventions, Op.50/1-12, etc. Jeremy Filsell (organ)
Guild GMCD 7156 67:15mins ...£££
Vol.2: In memoriam, Op.61: Variations sur Noël, Op.20, etc Jeremy Filsell (organ)
GuildGMCD7157 63:30mins ...£££
The musical personality of organist-composer Marcel Dupré ( 1 886-1971 ) was nothing
if not wide-ranging. These two discs, the first in a series of 12, show at a glance the
territory he explored, from the virtuoso concert showpiece to the introspective musings
with which he adorned the liturgy at St Sulpice in Paris. Dupré was apprenticed to Widor
at this church by the age of 20, and remained there until his death in 1971.Never really
the modernist, he worked in a rich vein of post-Romantic harmony which provided early
inspiration for his pupil Olivier Messiaen. For this reason alone, a complete Dupré cycle
is long overdue.
In fact, two complete cycles are on their way . Naxos is over halfway through its set,
using a variety of American organs and organists, while Filsell is heroically taking on
the complete oeuvre himself. This British player is most at home in the dazzling and
puckish sides of Dupré.
The finale from the popular Variations sur un noël exudes vitality and bite, as do the
charming Inventions, Op. 50. If the broad F minor Prelude is somewhat perfunctory, Filsell
makes up for it in the exquisite Ricercare from the late work In memoriam. The disc is
worth it for this evocation of Dupré's rarefied art alone.
William Whitehead
PERFORMAMCE ****
SOUND ****
GMCD 7156
GMCD 7157
Page revised 03.09.2000
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