Marcel Dupré's Chemin de la Croix will be the centerpiece of a Palm Sunday recital in Rutherford, New Jersey this year.
The work depicts the fourteen Stations of the Cross--the Via Crucis--in fourteen overwhelmingly emotional movements. Composed to utilize Wagner's Leitmotiv system as well as classical imagery referring to the Death of Christ, the work is a milestone of sustained technical difficulty as well as expressiveness. Improvised in Brussels in 1931, it was re-composed and premiered at the Trocadéro in Paris in 1932--at the organ dedicated by Franck in 1878.
Organist Jonathan Hall will play Dupré's masterpiece at the Presbyterian Church in Rutherford, New Jersey--a flourishing town a few miles west of Lincoln Center. The church is unmissable--it's the big sandstone castle on the hill up from the train station--and the town is very easily reached by car, train, or bus. The trip normally takes between twenty and forty minutes from Midtown.
The concert will take place on Palm Sunday, April 5, 2009, at 4 PM. Admission is free.
In an unusual but appropriate departure from tradition, the Paul Claudel poetry that often accompanies the organ works will not be read. The two visions of the Way of the Cross are simply too different; and though the first performance included both, it is clear that Dupré was not responding to the poetry at all (as is usually mis-stated), but rather to the mysteries of the Stations themselves.
The music gains power when its interpretation is not impinged upon by poetry that, in fact, evokes a different and contradictory (albeit magnificent and equally valid) vision of the Stations.
Warmest appreciation is expressed to the Presbyterian Church, to Peggy Hsiao, Director of Music, and the staff. They have been wonderfully welcoming and encouraging during this creative project.
The concert is part of an ongoing study project on this piece. Followup performances, workshops, and other programs will be announced shortly. If you are interested in hosting such an event, contact Jonathan at "jonathan" "at" jonathanbhall "dot com."