“Final” from the Seven Pieces, Op. 27, by Marcel Dupré (1886-1971) 

The Seven Pieces, Op. 27, were published in 1931, when the great French virtuoso was 45 years old and intended for performance in concert. Each work was dedicated to a friend of the composer. The “Final” is dedicated to Albert Riemenschneider (1878-1950), American musicologist and Bach specialist. His most well known legacy is “Bach - 371 Harmonized Chorales and 69 Chorale Melodies with Figured Bass,” owned by many a music student. Michael Murray, in “Marcel Dupré: the Work of a Master Organist” notes the preponderance of the “B-A-C-H” theme and wonders if Dupré was teasing the Bach scholar. He also posits about the character of the piece as related to war times and the withdrawal in the same year of German troops from the Rhineland. The B-A-C-H theme is found in the roving toccata figuration of the right hand that appears after the opening chords. It also appears later in the left hand when it takes over the running theme while the right hand places the second theme. Fragments of the motif abound throughout most of the piece.