Marcel Dupré: The Work of a Master Organist

by Michael Murray, Jacques Barzun (Foreword)

Book by Murray, Michael

260 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1985

Reviews

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a sad state of affair how a musical giant such as Marcel Dupre is largely unknown today other than to pipe organ players and enthusiasts. He was a legendary organist and composer of the first half of 20th century, titular organist of Saint-Sulpice, and teacher of many of the greatest organists. His musical mind is such that he could improvise entire symphonies or a 4 or 5 voice fugue with all its complex polyphonic textures on the spot, which he does regularly at the end of recitals. Not only that, he was a famous Bach player who could play his entire organ works from memory. Not even many pianist know about Dupre. Glenn Gould was an absolute genius, but Dupre was on a whole new level altogether. This biography, although largely salutory and lacking in critical reflection, goes a long way to introduce the wider public on the greatness of the man, from one of his disciples. I love some of his pieces like the G minor Prelude and Fugue but I think there is so much more that he wrote that is of high quality that deserve careful study and worth exploring.

[Jort Fokkens · Rating 2 out of 5]

(Regarding the second edition, 2021). Good biographies on musicians tend to be very rare, especially ones on organists. I did not read the first edition, but I was quite enthousiastic about the appearance of this 2021 expanded reprint. Despite all the good efforts, I have to say, regretfully, that I do not like this biography at all.

My main point of critisism is that it lacks a critical evaluation of the person Marcel Dupré. It is obvious that Michael Murray is a huge fan of Dupré, unfortunately, that blurred his objectivity. Almost everything is seen from Dupré's perspective, and hardly a trace of critisism can be found. Murray does not mention Dupré's dark side, and he f.e. neglects the conflict with Jeanne Demessieux. He 'discusses' the relationship with Louis Vierne very briefly, and he could be way more elaborate regarding the matter.

A long story short, this book lacks a critical evaluation, and, thefore, does not present a complete picture of this great organist.