Reviews for
GMCD 7193 - Marcel Dupré Vol. 10
COMPLETE ORGAN WORKS

ARE you old enough to remember that Peter Sellers' track about Balhain "Gateway to the South"? I have never been to Balham, but the late organist and composer, Healey Willan did achieve that. In fact, he was bom there in 1880. Financial insecurity eventually led him to 'inigrating to Canada where he took up an appointment as head of the theory department at the Toronto Conservat0I'¥ of Music. For decades he also presided in the organ loft at St Mary Magdalene in the city, and soon was regarded as one of Canada's foremost living composers - even though it started.in Balham. I mention all this, because today I am focusing on "0" for "Organs", and amongst the new recordings is one featuring compositions by Dr Healy Willan and played by Patrick Wedd on an organ simi1a.l' to the one on

which Willan performed, but located in Eglise Saint Jean-Baptiste, Montreal. Willan died in 1968 and by that time had composed two symphonies, two operas, dozens of instrumental works, and compositions for the organ of which a dozen are featured here including Five Preludes on Plainchant Melodies - plain chant was something which certainly influenced him. It may be my imagination, but there' does seem a. strong French influence in his writing. Listen tQthe passacaglia from an Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue, and there textures and timbres are more Gallic than English. The recording is spacious without' muddying the warmth of this instrument which was built in 1914 and restored in 1995 (Naxos 8.557375).

Now to France, and a series featuring the complete organ works of composer and organist, Marcel Dupre (1886-1971), making him a near contemporary of Will an. Numbering twelve in total, the CDs feature Jeremy Filsell playing the organ of St Boniface Episcopal Church, Sarasota, Florida, an instrument built in 1979. Jeremy Filsell admits in the sleeve note that he is a Dupre anorak,and there is no denying that, unless one is such, then the best way to enjoy these well-recorded and balanced CDs is to sample them. There is a certain uniformity of approach to the melodic form, and, at times, one longs for the explosions of, say, Widor. In short, the compositions are "fit for purpose", occupying a place in the church rather than the concert hall. Having said that, Dupre was respected world-wide as a recitalist clocking up 2,178 recitals and filling the big spaces with enthusiastic audiences. In addition, he occupied a post as Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatoire and. succeeding Widor as Organist at Saint Sulpice in Paris. Well done, Guild. Records in undertaking this venture, and full marks to Jeremy Filsell for turning his enthusiasm to such distinguished performances. All the CDs are available on'the Guild label. If I was going to start somewhere, it would be with the 14 Stations of thll Cross (GMCD 7193) which occupies Volume 10.

DUPRE: Stations of the Cross
Jereniy Filsell-Guüd 7193-56 minutes

Filsell nears the end of his complete Dupré cycle with this very rewarding issue of a work the composer himself liked a great deal, often programming extracts in his recitals. The 14 Stations, familiar to all Catholics, represent episodes in Christ's final hours from his con- damnation to the interment in the tomb. The pieces are extremely varied in mood and scope, from anxiety and fear (1) to gentle assurance and tenderness (4), through oppression and agony (3,7,9,11) to resolution and redemption (14).

Dupré knew ahead of time what he would do to follow the readings of poems by Claudel. He planned the registrations, the mood, even the motifs he would employ to unify the piece as a whole. His themes-no doubt inspired by his appreciation of Wagner-include the Cross, Suffering, Compassion, Pity, Consola- tion, Persecution, and Redemption; specific intervals were identified, as well as rhythmic cells. The Stations (Le Chemin de la Croix) was therefore both planned and improvisatory (save for a short run-through before the concert). It ranks among his masterworks, along with the Prelude & Fugue in G minor and the Passion Symphony. It requires an Instrument capable of wide ranges in volume and tone colour, and a performer with sufficient technical ability to surmount the challenges. The organ at St Boniface Episcopal, Sarasota and the artise of Filsell are up to this challenge. His playing is especially telling in the series of three Stations depicting Christ falling under the Cross. The closest competition comes from Renet at St. Sermin (Festivo 105). This is volume 10, and perhaps the best in Filsell’s series, full of drama and musical sensitivity.                                                                                                                                      METZ

Organ Works, Vol. 11: Le chemin de In croix; Chorales, Op. 28/55, 56,69,62,65,67&73 Mary Preston (organ)
Naxos.554379 71:35mins ........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The cause of Dupré's music is served well by both the artists reviewed here. Both play Large French-inspired, contemporary American instruments (Filsell, the 1979 Möller at Sarasota; Preston, the Fisk at Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas), and both, taking advantage of the size and symphonic scope of their respective instruments, display their admirable powers of performance in the readings of The Station of the Cross. Part composition, part improvisation at its first, extempore performance in Brussels in 1931, this 14-movement work (each of Dupré's musical stations followed a poem by Paul Claudel at the (Premiere) is a superb mirror of Dupré's art, and a piece for which its creator retained a special affection.

Filsell and Preston not only understand and achieve the virtuosity necessary for Stations 1 (Condemnation. of Jesus), VII and IX (Jesus falls for the second and third times) , for example, but they realise the deep significance of Dupré's recurring themes throughout the work as they take the listener through the harrowing story. Both are equally expressive and play with reflective poise in, say, VI (Veronica) and VIII (the women of Jerusalem). On balance, maybe Filsell takes flight - Cochereau-style - more than Preston, but Preston's playing is always clear, driven and precisely articulated.                                                                                                       Andrew McCrea

Vol 10 is given over entirely to Le Chemin de la Croix. The notes give us a valuable insight into Dupré's approach to composition. In February 1931 he had been asked to improvise between the reading of poems by Paul Claudel for the Stations of the Cross at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels. The event was part composition, part improvisation as Dupré had worked out most of the material before hand, spending time on the afternoon of the concert to rehearse many of his musical ideas.

When members of the audience hoped that something might be saved of the event he contemplated writing the work down and spent the next year working on it, eventually giving the first performance at the Trocadéro in Paris on 18 March 1932. This was unlike the germination of the Symphonie Passion which took far longer.

Jeremy Filsell obviously knows this score well and shows a great sensitivity towards the introspection and spirituality. Jésus recontre sa Mère is especially effective and Jésus est mis dans le sépulcre has a dignified beauty to bring the cycle to a touching close.

The microphones seem to have been placed at some distance from the instrument and the acoustic has the warmth and vibrancy of a large French Cathedral rather than the rather dry tones of many American recordings.

The more we are able to hear of these works the more we come to appreciate the importance of Dupré not just from the few works regularly performed but from the entire range of his output. BH

SEEN AND HEARD on MusicWeb

Marcel DUPRÉ Complete Organ Works Vol.10 Le Chemin de la Croix Op.29.
Jeremy Filsell (organ)
Guild GMCD 7193 [56.10] * * * *

Marcel Dupré (1886-1871) devoted his entire life to the organ, giving 2178 recitals and teaching constantly.  His virtuosity and improvising capabilities were legendary.   This major work was firstly improvised in 1931 on a basis of 'symbolic motifs' for the fourteen stations.  He incorporated some elements of musical symbolisms used by religious composers from Bach & Handel to Franck & Wagner.   Responding to encouragement and pressure from those who had been present, he recalled and wrote down the music during the following year.  It became an enduring work, which he played annually every Lent at St. Sulpice in Paris.

It takes its place amongst major works of 'religious programme music' between Maleingreau's Passion Symphony (1920), Tournemire's Chorales-poemes pour les Sept paroles du Christ  and those many of his pupil, Messiaen.  Le Chemin de la Croix was recorded by Dupré himself in 1958 (Westminster Records) and Jeremy Filsell quotes extensively from Dupré's own sleeve notes.

It is impressive music by a composer surprisingly little known outside organ circles (though there are many works for other media prior to the mid-1920s) and I think this series may surprise and please some CD collectors who may have no organ CDs, or else none other than of Bach.

Filsell has steeped himself in this music for many years and is an entirely committed and reliable guide.  He played the entire oeuvre in nine recitals in London in summer 1998 and afterwards toured with them to several countries and made this recording that September on a 1979/1997 organ at Sarasota in Florida.  The recorded sound is splendid and the booklet fully documented.                                                                                                                           Peter Grahame Woolf

Page revised Thursday November 29 2007