Editing Marcel Dupré (section)

==Composing==
As a composer, he produced a wide-ranging oeuvre of 65 [[opus number]]s (+1 "''bis''"). Aside from a few fine works for aspiring organists (such as the ''79 Chorales'' op. 28) most of Dupré's music for the organ ranges from moderately to extremely difficult, and some of it makes almost impossible technical demands on the performer (e.g., ''Évocation'' op. 37, ''Suite'', op. 39, ''Deux Esquisses'' op. 41, ''Vision'' op. 44).

Dupré's most often heard and recorded compositions tend to be from the earlier part of his career. During this time he wrote the ''Three Preludes and Fugues'', Op. 7 (1912), with the First and Third Preludes (in particular the G minor with its phenomenally fast tempo and its pedal chords) being pronounced unplayable by no less a figure than Widor. Such, indeed, is these preludes' level of complexity that Dupré was the only organist able to play them in public for years.

In many ways Dupré may be viewed as a [[Niccolò Paganini|Paganini]] of the organ. Being a virtuoso of the highest order, he contributed extensively to the development of technique (both in his organ music and in his pedagogical works) although, like Paganini, his music is largely unknown to musicians other than those who play the instrument for which the music was written. A fair and objective critique of his output should take into account the fact that, occasionally, the emphasis on virtuosity and technique can be detrimental to the musical content and substance. Nevertheless, his more successful works combine this virtuosity with a high degree of musical integrity, qualities found in compositions such as the ''Symphonie-Passion'', the ''Chemin de la Croix'', the ''Preludes and Fugues'', the ''Esquisses'' and ''Évocation'', and the ''Cortège et Litanie''.

As an improviser, Dupré excelled as perhaps no other did during the 20th century, and he was able to take given themes and spontaneously weave whole symphonies around them, often with elaborate contrapuntal devices including fugues. The achievement of these feats was partially due to his native genius and partially due to his extremely hard work doing paper exercises when he was not busy practising or composing.

Although his emphasis as composer was the organ, Dupré's compositions also includes works for piano, orchestra and choir, as well as chamber music, and a number of transcriptions.