Cesar Franck's "Pièce Héroïque" played by Marcel Dupré

[MolnarPohdap]

I own the LP version of this recording, and I listened to it countless times for years. This is definitely Dupré playing at St Thomas Church in New York City.

[vleermuisje2]

Ik vraag me af of dit werkelijk Marcel Dupre is die hier speelt......

En het is zeker NIET het orgel van de St. Sulpice!

[Blockedify]

G? J?? It's not worth worrying over. As the late Dr. Robert Baker, who I WAS NOT a great fan of, usta say, and he was RIGHT in this, "You're not Marcel Dupre and this is not St. Sulpice. You're NOT Cesar Franck and this is not St. Clothilde." Meaning that it is just way beyond pedantry to insist that an organist, indeed, AN ARTIST, must slavishly try to follow registration ideas set for a particular instrument, when just about every organ in the world is SO different from another.

[Blockedify]

G? J?? It's not worth worrying over. As the late Dr. Robert Baker, who I WAS NOT a great fan of, usta say, and he was RIGHT in this, "You're not Marcel Dupre and this is not St. Sulpice. You're NOT Cesar Franck and this is not St. Clothilde. Meaning that it is just way beyond pedantry to insist that an organist, indeed, AN ARTIST, must slavishly try to follow registration ideas set for a particular instrument, when just about every organ in the world is SO different from another.

[sailormann1]

Sorry- meant G-D Harrison e.g. G. Donald Harrison (not J-D Harrison--- sorry)

[kempedkemp]

I'm not sure I believe that is Marcel Dupre. Either it is the recording or the acoustics were very dry. No reverb heard. Perhaps it was in a hall somewhere? Even Mons. Dupre's students play it better than that.

[Aufsmaul33]

@kempedkemp that's what i thought... but as we know Marcel Dupre composed his own music very exactly, if something isn't written down in the sheet music, you shouldn't play it... maybe he thought the same way while playing the piece? the only problem is that sometimes the things written down in the sheet music aren't included, so it could be a fake

[VicodinAddicted]

marcel dupre kicks ass

[claviergoren]

The master playing a masterwork!!

[fdsjdhasd]

I am stunned.

[hoppy318]

You mean Michael Murray sounds a lot like Marcel Dupre. Dupre is the original artist that most organists aspire to sound like and play like. He was probably the finest organist in the world during his lifetime. Not only are his written compositions masterworks for organ but his improvisations are still some of the finest ever performed, impromptu by any performer.

[Blockedify]

This is the recording MD did in 58 at St. Thomas/NYC, along with the 3 Chorals.

I'm quite certain.

[downtown1961]

@Blockedify There is. Sadly the recording is not very well done. There's much distortion. That instrument is not very good for solo concerts, but perfect for accompanying a choir. His performances are fab.

[sailormann1]

@Blockedify

concur: I have this recording on CD, Marcel Dupre performing at St Thomas NYC on the Mercury label, I believe. Recorded by a woman whose last name is Cozart, I think? She engineered alot of Mercury's recordings in the 50's... I think using a (then) unique three-microphone recording pattern. Similar to what is now reknowned as the Decca-Tree (3 fine Neumann mics flown on a tri-pattern). Maybe TMI, but yes, this is Dupre at St Thomas. Fine Aeolian-Skinner. J-D Harrison's last.

[zorkntatertotter]

Francks work was recognized, decades after his death, by Marcel Proust, the noted French author of the stupefying, what-is-it-all-about 13-volume, Remembrance of Things Past. Hiring musicians to play Franck's music, Proust transported himself out of this anticivilization to "another world". Thus, proust avoided suicide.

[Tajoumaru]

Talk about a serious digital remastering...nary a hint of analog hiss.

[minedarea]

@Tajoumaru I can still hear it. 

[Miraphone186Player]

word to this! his performance sounds a lot like how Michael Murray plays it, I mean almost exactly.. I love this piece! thanks for sharing.

[maxsnafu]

@Miraphone186Player That's because Murray studied with Dupre and wrote his biography. And this is indeed an old (1957!) recording Dupre made at St. Thomas church in NYC on their Aeolian-Skinner organ designed by G. Donald Harrison. When Dupre returned to Europe he decreed that the Americans were making the finest pipe organs in the world.

[Miraphone186Player]

@maxsnafu Thanks for the word. I actually read up on the fact that Murray studied under Dupre after I watched this video. 1957 huh? that's pretty sweet, I love listening to this video. and thanks for that extra information too. I always appreciate kind words from a fellow classical music enthusiast.

[kempedkemp]

@Miraphone186Player Jean Guillou was also a student of Dupre and you should give his recording of it a listen here on youtube. It will make your heart race. I normally don't care for Guillou's breakneck speed but he does a stunning job of the bravuric second half.

[Miraphone186Player]

@kempedkemp Good deal. I'll be sure and look it up sometime. thanks

[ImreToth1990]

Thank you for sharing. You are right, Dupre was the best, and this performance is the best! Wonderful music, beautiful organ sound! Thank you!

[wupperfeld]

Thank you for this wonderful document !!!

[enchammade16]

Viva la Dupre, leave it to a true Frenchmen to play this piece so well. I have heard this piece ruined/butchered so many times but never glorious like this, and on such a superb instrument.

[musichiere70]

I perfectly agree: Dupré was the best!

[passacaglia28]

I would fave this a second time if that were possible. What a hauntingly beautiful piece this is.

[FrancoisHoutart]

Cela me semble avoir beaucoup d'allure même si les fins de phrase sont systématiquement arrachées, p.e. dans le thème (un peu selon la théorie de Dupré mi-valeur stricte de la note avec point. Cela n'était pas le style de Widor, Tournemire, etc. ... les vrais ! Aie! ).

[aafdirector]

Everyone that REALLY knows for SURE whom is at the console now is most likely gone on to tHAT BIG Aolean-Skinner in the sky by now. you'd have to be 50 yearsd or older to really be an expert on this .

[wupperfeld]

Many Thx for this document - wonderful !

[advisorC101]

Such an incredible man!

[3NUNS]

Whom ? Franck oder Dupre ?

[3NUNS]

Yes

[caddeville89]

Yes, I have the original LP of this recording. Best performance of PH I have heard yet. Chokes me up.

[3NUNS]

You must be a true musician.

[nolace]

Does anyone know the name of the song that Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey) plays on the organ in the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good ans Evil?

[27bibi27]

très très très émouvant

les larmes m'en tombent

marcel dupré me manque beaucoup

[miauw777]

Still a shame they don't live in the same area, how fruitfull this have could been! Frank is still of the same greatness of J.S. Bach. For the record what happened with the black and red book of notations of C.Franck in the possion of Pierre de Breville?

[MrQuebec]

Très beau document sonore.

[Organiste06]

Is there any Bach organ works played by Dupré ?

[Organiste06]

Yes.

[tjugofyra]

lol

[organcomposer]

Very nice. The sound level is a little too low but the music is great and the registration not quite usual is marvellous.

[kmdpiano25]

I'm almost positive this is Dupre from his recording at St. Thomas Church, NYC on the great Aeolian-Skinner organ. This organ is slated to be destroyed and replaced by a Dobson in a few years.

[JFSnail]

It is from the St Thomas organ recorded by mercury Living Presence in 1957, re-released on CD by Philips no 434 311-2 :-)

The organ heard here is as it was left by Aeolian-Skinner and the last organ worked on by G Donald Harrison. It was rebuilt by Gilbert F Adams in 1970 and remains the same today until they rip it out. Weird thing is, they say it would be cheaper to build a new organ than to repair the old one!

[kempedkemp]

@JFSnail yes and isn't it amazing they only want to spend $8 million doing it. Us country boys have a word for that: HORSEPUCKEY

[Organiste06]

Woaaaaah ! I don't think he respects Franck's annotations, but... it's wonderful ! I absolutely love, delicious.

[orgaman]

Oh que si il respect les annotations, registrations..etc de César Franck, j'ai même la partition sous les yeux, preuves à l'appui et puis je l'ai joué assez souvent pour vous dire oui, il respecte les volontés de Franck.

[1401JSC]

Mais Franck a écrit l'œuvre pour l'orgue du Palais Trocadéro, pas pour l'Orgue de Saint-Sulpice où dupré était titulaire.

Serait-il de la volonté du Pater Seraphicus que l'on trouve d'autres sonorité que celles qu'il avaient expérimentées?

The left hand note in bar 7 is too long, strange manipulations of the swell pedal bars 25-28, I don't hear much of the added reeds bar around bar 30....need I go on?

this is a wonderful interpretation which does not even respect the score:

[valderande]

Bel enregistrement, par un grand organiste français et sur un très bon instrument. Un beau choix, merci pour cet agréable moment!

[widor1937]

en effet quel maître et quel orgue ! bien sûr on peut toujours regretter la qualité un peu lointaine du son... mais les années sont là ! voici un très précieux témoignage sonore... à vos consoles !!!