This section of Parfum d’Orchestre brings together excerpts from five works of sacred music composed by Dominique Dupray in the late 1990s. At that time, writing works for choir and orchestra was part of an ambitious artistic project: to inhabit the space of churches, to take advantage of their exceptional acoustics, to exploit the natural resonance of the stone and the verticality of the space. The architectural setting played an integral role in the musical conception. However, in retrospect, this endeavor prompts a more critical reflection. Drawing on a text as symbolically charged as the Bible inevitably implies an ideological dimension. Even without militant intent, composing sacred music means engaging in a dialogue with a historically structuring religious corpus. This gap between artistic approach and symbolic scope is now a acknowledged point of tension. On a purely musical level, sacred writing generates a unique dynamic. It calls for breadth, harmonic generosity, and soaring voices. Working with the choir necessitates a collective breath, a sonic architecture where fraternity and humanist ideals become musical materials. A more contemporary question remains: how to musically translate the ideal of universal love in a world governed by self-interest? This contradiction fuels the dramatic tension of these works. These excerpts thus bear witness to a specific moment in the career of Dominique Dupray, a composer of contemporary music, where spirituality, acoustics, and orchestral writing converged.
Oratorios
Sacred music
The Requiem is written for organ, male choir and soloists. Commissioned work, it was created at the Reformed Church of the Holy Spirit in Paris on March 12, 1998 where it received a warm welcome (see contact section), it was then the subject of a tour with the Stabat To play in the first part during nine concerts still in Paris at the beginning of 1999 which ended at the church of Saint-Louis en l'Île . The chorus of this tour being mixed, the Requiem has been adapted accordingly. Duration approximately 1 hour.
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For the creation concert:
Soloists: Sylvia Kervokian, Philippe Barret, Martine Niernhaussen, Valentine Kytaine.
Management: Christophe Grapperon.
Men's choir of the Lyric Theater of Seine Saint Denis.
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The Stabat Mater was written for mixed choir . Created in January 31, 1999 at the Reformed Church of Paris Luxembourg in Paris. Duration of approximately 45 minutes.
Soloists: Garance Castanié, Odile Faniard, Michel Courché, Odile Krief.
Management: Dominique Dupray.
Vocal ensemble: The Infinite Color.
Organist: Léonid Karev.
Two masses for organ and mixed choir and one mass for orchestra and mixed choir were composed in stride. They have not yet been played to date.
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Here are six streaming clips:
The Elements
Air cycle for string orchestra, horns and soloists.
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Created on April 26, 2008 at the Espace Saint-Martin, Paris, Les Elements is a program of twelve arias for string orchestra, horns and soloists. Divided into four parts, the themes are of course built on the theme of wind, air, fire and water. With this work I finally reached the form ideally resonating with my sensitivity as a singer, author and composer.
Duration of about 1 hour.
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Cast : Aurélie Loilier (soprano), Sophia Castiello (mezzo-soprano), Hubert Humeau (tenor), Jacques L'Oiseleur des Longchamps (baritone).
With the Ensemble Lazaro, Orchestra of New Europe.
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Here are four streaming clips:
Orchestral fragrances
The second part of Parfum d’Orchestre is devoted to instrumental music. Here, there are no texts, no voices, no religious references. The music is composed for its own sake. It serves no libretto, no narrative, no ideology. It explores solely the possibilities of timbre, orchestration, and dynamics. These pieces highlight the work on the sonic material: balances between sections, density of the strings, contrasts of the woodwinds, restrained power of the brass, and the breathing space of silences. Orchestration becomes a field of experimentation. The melodic lines do not seek immediate effect but rather construction. The sonic masses shift, respond to one another, and clash. This section reveals another facet of Dominique Dupray as a composer of contemporary music: a more abstract style, centered on structure and internal tension rather than on text or vocal dramaturgy.
