Throughout his life, Marcel Dupré (1886–1971) engaged intensively with Johann Sebastian Bach's organ works, which formed the core of his concert repertoire. To introduce students specifically to the technical and musical challenges of this repertoire, he composed the Seventy-Nine Chorales, Op. 28.
Thirty-two years later, in 1963, he composed the Two Chorales, Op. 59 were composed, seemingly without external prompting. The first chorale, 'Freu dich sehr, o meine Seele', clearly reflects Bach's style, while the second, 'Liebster Immanuel, Herzog der Frommen', is more introverted and reveals Dupré's distinctive late style.
This new edition of the works, which have long been out of print, offers genuine added value: As well as a preface in German, English and French containing notes on inconsistencies and the preface of the original edition, it also includes the four-part settings of the underlying Bach chorales in their original form.
