Many of the 19th century French organists were primarily liturgical musicians. Of course, they did write in other styles and formats for other audiences. Liturgy in France, even today, is not your standard U.S. Catholic fare. The French have always been a bit different, and appear to me to be proud of those differences. I play the Dubois "Grand Choeur" in B-flat for postlude from time to time. IMSLP has some of his other works. Besides, who are we to criticize a whole century of composition? It will be really interesting to hear what a future time thinks of minimalism and dissonant 20th century organ music. They may still hate it in 200 years.

Not my favorite composer. I think his 7 Last Words are needlessly difficult to learn and sing.

Whoa! Kathy! Is that not the Emperor in 'Amadeus' when he says, Too many notes! :) I like this piece a lot. We used it during a Stations of the Cross service. It was very beautiful and quite a religious experience. If somebody can show me how to upload my parish's recording onto this site, I'll post it. I'm getting a message that the uploaded file was too big - (I'm just trying to post the 'Stabat Mater'...)

The Seven Last Words were sung in many places as a concert piece. I have found that score in many Catholic and Protestant churches. There is a beautiful Ave Verum out there also

From the late 1940s to the mid 1950s until we moved away from the Indiana town not far from Bloomington, I was exposed to Good Friday performances of the Dubois Seven Last Words of Christ at the local Methodist Church of which my family were members. For many of these performances, the organist (first on a 12-rank Kilgen tracker, then on the "new" 60-odd rank Kilgen-Roosevelt electropneumatic purchased from a Methodist church in St. Louis) was Oswald ("Ozzie") Ragatz of the music faculty of Indiana University, and advanced piano students from the church, including my talented sister, also played in a combined organ-piano accompaniment arranged from the full orchestral score. Some of the soloists came from IU with the others from the church, which had a highly successful three choir program (senior choir, high school choir, junior choir). I sang, first in the junior choir, then in the high school choir, occasionally also in the senior choir. The performances were in English, and by the time we moved from there at the beginning of my freshman year of high school, I knew the score by heart. Subsequently, when I was older, I sang the baritone solo parts on several occasions, in both English and in Latin.

For me, the Dubois was part of my musical upbringing, so my favorable disposition to the work was formed early on, although later I realized that it was very much a French romantic composition, probably neither worse nor better than other such works of the period. My first exposure to the Saint-Saëns Christmas Oratorio some dozen years later impressed me in much the same way, except that this work was not ingrained within my psyche. Oddly enough, that first exposure was also in a Methodist church, this time in Virginia, and I was the bass soloist. I think that the performances of the Dubois were probably (except for era differences) analogous to church performances of the Bach St. John Passion on Palm Sunday or Good Friday that I've encountered on several occasions.

There are several very dramatic moments in the Dubois, in the First Word ("Father, Father, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do" ... "He is death guilty, He is death guilty, take him, take him, let us crucify him. Be his blood, aye! Be his blood on us and on our children!" ... "Then they did crucify Jesus, and the two thieves, one on His right hand, the other on His left hand.") and in the Fifth Word ("I am athirst!" ... "Thou wouldst fain destroy the temple. If thou be Jesus, Son of the Father, now from the cross descend thou, that we behold it, and believe on thee when we behold it. If thou art king over Israel, save thyself, then!"). There are moments of tenderness and poignancy, too, in the Second Word tenor/baritone duet ("Verily thou shalt be today in paradise with me. Amen, so I tell thee." "Hear, O Lord, and remember me, when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.") and in the Third Word ("See, O woman! here behold thy Son beloved." ... "Is there mortal, who not feeleth to behold her where she kneeleth, so woeful, and all forlorn?"). Of course, much of the work is given over to the Soprano, Tenor, and Baritone soloists with little or no choral participation. The final chorus "Adoramus te, Christe/Christ we do all adore Thee" is frequently heard separately, but seems, at least to me, a little trite when taken out of context and performed as a motet, especially as it fades away.

Unlike Kathy, I never found the Dubois needlessly difficult to learn and sing ... but that others have different reactions doesn't surprise me at all.

His one hit wonder is the Seven Last Words? .... I thought his Adoramus Te Christe was used by everyone. Everywhere.

I was listening again to some Messes breves this morning, and decided that I was shortchanging Dubois musically. One thing I realized is that the performance was by a rather large choir with a large dynamic palette. The contrasts seemed overdone, but they might not be so with 8 or 12 singers. It would be interesting to know what forces Dubois had at his disposal. And I'd like to hear some of this from a choir in the English tradition.

I've decided it's a pleasure. A guilty pleasure, to be sure.

Here is Steven Costello singing (beautifully in my estimation) "Hodie mecum eris in Paradiso" from Dubois "Seven Last Words" with full orchestral accompaniment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_9xL507efw

no, it's right!