Marcel Dupre prepared these short works, not as "another version" of the famous chorales and chorale preludes of J. S. Bach, but rather as a means of making the beginning organist aware of the beautiful chorale melodies and to prepare him or her for the study of Bach’s works. Included are registration suggestions, fingering, pedaling notation, and dynamics. This is an important book for the development of the organist’s technical and artistic skills, and at the same time for the presentation of beautiful organ chorales.

Marcel Dupré's career as an organist spanned the first seven decades of the 20th century, and took him all over Europe, North America, and Australasia. He delighted vastaudiences wherever he played, and attracted large numbers of enthusiastic students, for whom his church of St. Sulpice in Paris and his home at Meudon were their musical Mecca. Dupré had a profound influence on a host of musicians who sought his guidance, and as a composer for the organ his place in the historical line of J.S. Bach, the Couperins, César Franck, Widor, and Vierne is assured. Graham Steed is recognized for his skilled and musicianly advocacy of Dupré's compositions and he brings a keen and discerning intelligence to his analyses.

Now in paperback! Cloth edition 0-8108-2964-9 originally published in 1995.

This volume explores twentieth-century organ music through in-depth studies of the principal centers of composition, the most significant composers and their works, and the evolving role of the instrument and its music. The twentieth-century was a time of unprecedented change for organ music, not only in its composition and performance but also in the standards of instrument design and building. Organ music was anything but immune to the complex musical, intellectual, and socio-political climate of the time. Twentieth-Century Organ Music examines the organ's repertory from the entire period, contextualizing it against the background of important social and cultural trends. In a collection of twelve essays, experienced scholars survey the dominant geographic centers of organ music (France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the United States, and German-speaking countries) and investigate the composers who made important contributions to the repertory (Reger in Germany, Messiaen in France, Ligeti in Eastern and Central Europe, Howells in Great Britain). Twentieth-Century Organ Music provides a fresh vantage point from which to view one of the twentieth century's most diverse and engaging musical spheres.