This week's selection for The Gaggle Music Club is Marcel Dupré's "Symphonie-Passion," Op. 23.

Marcel Dupré (1886–1971) was one of the leading figures in French organ music in the first half of the 20th century, both as a composer and performer. He was a student of Charles-Marie Widor and Alexandre Guilmant, and inherited the great French Romantic tradition of organ composition rooted in César Franck and continued by Widor. Yet Dupré was also an innovator, pushing toward modernist tendencies in harmony, rhythm and technical demands.

He was renowned for his prodigious memory and improvisational ability — famously performing the complete organ works of Bach from memory in a series of concerts at the Paris Conservatoire. As titular organist at Saint-Sulpice in Paris and later professor (and eventually director) at the Paris Conservatoire, Dupré influenced many organists, including Olivier Messiaen.

Dupré's music stands at the crossroads between late Romanticism and early modernism. His harmonic language often evokes Franck or Widor but he demonstrated greater chromaticism and contrapuntal rigor.

Symphonie-Passion, Op. 23, was originally improvised in 1921 at a recital at the Wanamaker Store in Philadelphia during one of Dupré’s U.S. tours. The Wanamaker organ (then, and still, one of the largest in the world) provided a fitting setting for Dupré’s virtuosity.

According to Dupré himself, a local clergyman suggested he improvise a program on the Passion of Christ. In response, Dupré extemporized a four-movement symphony based on scenes from Christ’s life. Dupré's goal was to create a sacred symphonic form for the organ.

The work is structured in four continuous but distinct movements.

The first movement--Le monde dans l’attente du Sauveur (The World Awaiting the Savior)--depicts pre-Christian humanity mired in darkness. The music conveys a mysterious and brooding atmosphere with chromatic harmonies and heavy use of pedal tones. The mood is nonetheless expectant, and features polytonality, use of Gregorian chant-like motifs, slow tempo and heavy counterpoint.

The second movement--Nativité (The Nativity)--is more intimate and lyrical, invoking tenderness and awe. The harmonies are warm and suggest angelic choirs. The pastoral motifs evoke luminosity and calm.

The third movement--Crucifixion--is the emotional and technical centerpiece of the work. The mood is violent, turbulent, filled with brutal dissonances and discordant rhythmic motifs. There are suggestions of whips and cries of agony. The movement's climax is the cry of Christ at the moment of death. It is represented by a terrifying crescendo that culminates in silence.

The fourth movement--Résurrection--starts softly and gradually builds to a triumphant close. The harmonic language becomes increasingly luminous, starting like a chorale and culminating in a radiant toccata-like conclusion.
The full organ is used for the final exultation.

"Symphonie-Passion" is Dupré's most frequently performed and popular work, and remains one of the best works of the 20th century composed exclusively for the organ. It may not be for everyone, but it's interesting to listen to modern music composed for the organ.

In this performance, Ulf Norberg plays the organ in Hedvig Eleonora church, Stockholm, Sweden.