Improvisation - Marcel Dupré at Fraumünster, Zürich

Marcel Dupré is considered to be one of the father of the famous French improvisation school. To be very honest, his rather intellectual and very controlled improvisations have never been my cup of tea.

Nevertheless this unreleased recording is a witness of his art. At the time of this recording, he was already "an old man" and his performance deserves our greatest respect. Listen for example his final Toccata from 13:28.

The organ (79/IV/P) of the Fraumünster Zürich was built in 1953 by Orgelbau Genève in a neo-classical style, as "orgue à tout jouer". Marcel Dupré himself drafted the stop-list. This type of organ are nowadays not anymore in fashion, that's why this is the last large one of this era to be still in place in Switzerland.
Since everybody admits that this organ is well built and has been carefully harmonized and well balanced, the State of Zürich should have now decided to classify this instrument as a historic monument.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• music
• organ
• orgue
• improvisation
• Marcel
• Dupré
• Fraumünster
• Zürich

[BSMHardmy]

I didn't know that Bucher was also a pupil of Dupré. He was organist organist of the Liebfrauenkirche Zürich (Orgelbau Kuhn, 1983, 51/III/P), until 1991 when Gregor Ehrsam succeded him. The organist at the Fraumünster (Orgelbau Genf, 1953, 79/IV/P) in the sixties was Heinrich Funk. Interesting is the fact that at that time many "knowned" organists in Zürich studied with Dupré. For example: Funk, Hardmeyer, Vollenwyder and now Bucher as you said.

[daumesnil1000]

Thankyou.In my ignorance hadn't realised that the two churches weren't one and the same!

You may be interested to know that Josef Bucher made an LP recording in England on the Grant,Degens and Bradbeer organ of New College Oxford.It was issued on the Abbey label and contains music by Franck, Ibert, Honnegger, Frank Martin and Alexandre Mottu (the superb Prelude et Chorale).

[daumesnil1000]

Is Josef Bucher (a former pupil of Marcel Dupre) still the organist of this church? He was an occasional visitor to England in the '80's and I remember him being a fine player and improviser, very much in the Dupre manner.

[originaltommy]

WOW! What an amazing document and he sure does tear up that toccata at the end with those typical big Dupre chords to finish it off. Fantastic to hear the great master.