Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen in 1886. His father, Albert Dupré (who in 1911 became holder of the great organs of the Saint-Ouen abbey church in Rouen) began his son's musical training very early on. At the age of four, he developed osteomyelitis and had to have his right collarbone removed and stay in bed for more than six months. He began to work with Alexandre Guilmant in 1897; and the following year, at the age of eleven, he became holder of the great organ of Saint Vivien in Rouen.