Patrick Edblad

Greatly admired by his contemporaries, Gabriel Dupont studied with Massenet, then became a disciple of Vierne and Widor; he is one of those composers whose too-brief career prevented them from taking their merited place in the history of music. Despite suffering a chronic bout of tuberculosis in 1901, Dupont managed to enter for the Prix de Rome, obtaining a ‘second prize’ (ahead of Maurice Ravel). This composer has been partly rediscovered over the past few years – mainly his piano works,songs, and some rare chamber works – yet his symphonic music remain salmost entirely unknown. The compositions on this disc are the very first recorded collection of his complete orchestral repertoire, and they mark the course of Dupont’s brief creative years, from the three-part symphonic sketch Jour d’Été (1900), to the poignant Le Chant de la Destinée (1908), and including the orchestrated piano pieces Les Heures dolentes. Dupont’s language is a passionate synthesis of late 19th century French traditions with his quest for a new identity, a new path: one that weaves around the tracks of his contemporaries, sometimes crossing the border into German musical territory.