MUSIC NOTE

Marcel Dupré was the son of a distinguished organist, and his path in life was mapped out almost from birth. When he was only three days old, the famed organist Alexandre Guilmant peered into his cradle and pronounced, “He will be an organist.” Acquainted from an early age with organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (who called him “le petit prodige”) and organist Charles-Mare Widor, Dupré became the most gifted student of his generation. He studied the organ with Guilmant and Louis Vierne, and composition with Widor who, having lost his first protégé, was to treat him like a son for the rest of his life. Dupré was barely twenty years old when he suddenly found himself as the assistant organist at Saint-Sulpice, playing the organ that was to remain his greatest joy until the day of his death. It was about ten years later, during the First World War, that he wrote his set of four motets. Today’s offertory anthem, Laudate Dominum, is the final piece in the set. Compared to the other three, there is a distinctly vulgar streak in this uninhibited romp. Originally scored for choir and two organs, it is an exultant outburst of praise with a memorable tune. The organ accompaniment combined with the unconventionally demanding vocal writing creates a rather impressive effect.