Marcel Dupré

Paul Claudel

Station 5 from La Chemin de la Croix depicted at Notre-Dame, Geneva.

1862 Cavaillé–Coll at St. Sulpice, Paris

1989 Jann at Waldsassen Basilica, Germany

The Stations of the Cross

…a multi-performer, multi-venue presentation of Marcel Dupré’s provocative and profound musical interpretation of Paul Claudel’s vivid fourteen-poem cycle, Le Chemin de la Croix.

Program Broadcast dates:

• Week of March 23, 2015

Links and Resources:

• Printable program listings

Music played in the program

Hour 1

1.  Jesus is condemned to death –Stephen Tharp (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) JAV 161

2.  Jesus received His Cross – Suzanne Chaisemartin (1885 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Etienne Abbey, Caen, France) Musica Opera Sacra 1006

3.  Jesus falls the first time –Ben van Oosten (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Ouen, Rouen, France) Dabringhaus & Grimm 316 0953

4.  Jesus meets His Mother –Mary Preston (1992 Fisk/Meyerson Symphony Center, Dallas, TX) Naxos 8.554379

5.  Simon the Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the Cross –William Teague (1959 Aeolian-Skinner/St. Mark’s Cathedral, Shreveport, LA) Raven 800

6.  A woman wipes the face of Jesus –Jacquelin Rochette (1963 Casavant/Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica, Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec, Canada) REM 311174

7.  Jesus falls the second time – Father Francis Kline (1986 Bedient/St. John the Baptist Cathedral, Charleston, SC) Charleston 1997

8.  Jesus comforts the Women of Jerusalem –Françoise Renet (1889 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sernin, Toulouse, France) Festivo 105

Filler – DUPRÉ:  Choral and Fugue, Op. 57 –Françoise Renet (St. Sernin) Festivo 105

Hour 2

J. S. BACH:  2 Passiontide Chorale-preludes, fr Orgelbüchlein (Durch Adams Fall, BWV 637; O Mensch bewein’, BWV 622) –Marcel Dupré (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Ouen, Rouen) Philips 446 627

9.  Jesus falls the third time –Jeremy Filsell (1979 Möller/St. Boniface Church, Sarasota, FL) Guild 7193

10.  Jesus is stripped of His garments –Harald Feller (1989 Jann/Waldsassen Basilica, Germany) Calig 50959

11.  Jesus is nailed upon the Cross –Ben van Oosten (1890 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Ouen, Rouen, France) Dabringhaus & Grimm 316 0953

12.  Jesus dies upon the Cross –Stephen Tharp (1862 Cavaillé-Coll/St. Sulpice, Paris) JAV 161

13.  The Body of Jesus is taken down from the Cross and laid in Mary’s bosom –Stephen Hamilton (1928 Welte-1964 Möller/St. Mark’s Cathedral, Minneapolis, MN) Arkay 6115

14.  The Body of Jesus is laid in the Tomb –Douglas Butler (1961 Holtkamp/St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, MN) Pipedreams Archive (r. 3/19/77)

Filler – BACH:  Vor deinen Thron, BWV 668 –Marcel Dupré (St. Ouen) Philips 446 647

Interspersed throughout are readings of the Claudel texts, in English by Barry Busse and Catherine Combier Donovan, and occasionally in French, too, by Jean Marchand.

Graham Steed provides a detailed commentary on Dupre’s Stations, with step-by-step interpretive analyses of the various movements in his remarkable book, The Organ Works of Marcel Dupre, published by Pendragon Press (1999), an invaluable guide for players and listeners.

Enjoy a of Le Chemin de la Croix featuring narrator Barry Busse and organist Dr. Douglas L. Butler as presented on the 1961 Holtkamp pipe organ at St. John’s Benedictine Abbey Church in Collegeville, MN (music r. 3/19/1972; narration r. 3/22/1977).