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arts entertainmentPerforming Arts

Music of legendary French organist-composer-teacher Marcel Dupré to be featured in recitals

Fifty years after his death, four programs honor world-renowned virtuoso who revolutionized organ playing and teaching.

He was the first person to play the complete organ works of Bach, from memory, in a series of recitals in 1920. He was one of the first organists to have a major international touring career, including several United States tours, and was one of the first to be recorded in stereo sound.

In private lessons, classes and a succession of how-to books, he transformed the teaching of organ performance. His protégés included the biggest names in two generations of French organist-composers, even a number of Americans.

His many compositions, often requiring unprecedented virtuosity, represented a fresh new voice in organ music. And his weekly playing at the Paris church of Saint-Sulpice drew the crème de la crème of French society — and admirers from around the world.

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Fifty years after his death, at age 85, Marcel Dupré is still a presence in the organ world. But, now mainly remembered for a relative handful of his compositions, he’s ripe for reconsideration and reevaluation.

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Starting Oct. 24, four evening organ recitals, in Dallas and Plano, will sample a variety of Dupré's compositions. Context will be supplied by a few works by other composers, some who influenced him, others who were among his innumerable protégés. Free and open to the public, the recitals will be performed in three area churches.

Originally planned to include lectures and performances of non-organ music, the Festival Dupré was postponed from last summer because of COVID-19 uncertainties, and slimmed down to just the four evening recitals. They’re co-sponsored by the University of North Texas College of Music and the Greater Dallas Chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

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The festival was conceived by UNT organ professor Jesse Eschbach, an authority on French organs and performance traditions. Two of the performers will be Eschbach protégés: Ethan C. Gainer and Destin Wernicke. (Samuel Gaskin, who was to have played, had to cancel due to a leg injury. Gainer is playing an extra program in his place.)

The final recital, on Oct. 27, will feature Jeremy Filsell, director of music at St. Thomas Church, Fifth Avenue in New York and a well-known recitalist. Having recorded the complete Dupré organ works some years back, Filsell recently surveyed the complete oeuvre again in a series of livestreamed recitals at St. Thomas.

“I realized I probably wasn’t going to have an enormous budget,” Eschbach says. “But, more importantly, I have nurtured a coterie of organists who are prepared to play this music. I have a stable of recently graduated and current students who have the chops to bring off great swaths of the repertory, and I wanted to put them in the limelight.

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“I was also aware that I needed a recognized name in the profession. Jeremy has done superb work throughout his career in promoting this music, and he has an understanding of the issues. He was the perfect choice to play the final concert.”

Marcel Dupré at the organ of St. Sulpice Church in Paris, France (autographed photo,...
Marcel Dupré at the organ of St. Sulpice Church in Paris, France (autographed photo, collection Scott Cantrell)

The son and grandson of organists, pianists and singers, Dupré was trained in the rigorous methods of the Paris Conservatory, where he went on to be a much sought-out professor. As a performer, he was particularly famed for his brilliant improvisations. On the spot, he could toss off a perfect fugue or a four-movement symphony on any sequence of notes handed to him.

His protégés included the French organist-composers Olivier Messiaen, Jean Langlais, Jehan Alain, Jeanne Demessieux and Jean Guillou. They and others perpetuated many of his ideas to following generations.

Eschbach, who holds a performance doctorate from the University of Michigan, can claim a bit of apostolic succession himself. In France, he studied with two other Dupré protégés: Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier and Marie-Claire Alain. Very different in their approaches, they were famed for recordings and world tours, including the United States. They performed in Dallas between the 1960s and the early 2000s.

Details

All performances are free and open to the public.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 24: Ethan C. Gainer, Létourneau organ, St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano.

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7:30 p.m. Oct. 25: Ethan C. Gainer, Nichols and Simpson organ, St. Monica Catholic Church, 9933 Midway Road, Dallas.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 26: Destin Wernicke, St. Andrew UMC, Plano.

7:30 p.m. Oct. 27: Jeremy Filsell, Juget-Sinclair organ, Christ the King Catholic Church, 8017 Preston Road, Dallas.

UPDATED at 11:50 a.m. Oct. 21: A previous version listed a different performer for the Oct. 25 recital. Due to an injury suffered by Samuel Gaskin, Ethan C. Gainer is stepping in to play a second program.