Composer Spotlight: Maurice Duruflé

TWC is excited to perform the Duruflé Requiem—an absolute favorite—as a part of Free at Last on April 4th. One of barely more than a dozen compositions written and published by Maurice Duruflé (he was notoriously self-critical and fiendishly busy), this Requiem has become a choral staple since it premiered in 1947. Contemplative and reverent, it is the perfect complement to Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, as it too speaks to an individual’s hopes and fears as they contemplate the fullness of their life.

This perspective is particularly noticeable in the fact that, like Fauré, Duruflé included prayers and texts in his setting associated with the procession to burial that are often left out of other settings (Pie Jesu and In Paradisum). His setting also omits the fire and brimstone "Dies Irae" that is so central to the Mozart and Verdi Requiems, while still not shying away from the fearful emotions of death.

Duruflé himself only provided small snippets into the thought process behind his composition. In an unpublished program note written in 1980, Duruflé wrote:

“This Requiem is not an ethereal work that sings of detachment from earthly worries. It reflects, in the immutable form of the Christian prayer, the agony of man faced with the mystery of his ultimate end. It is often dramatic, or filled with resignation, or hope or terror, just as the words of the scripture themselves that are used in the liturgy. It tends to translate human feelings before they're terrifying, unexplainable, or consoling destiny. 

The organ has only an incidental role. It intervenes, not to accompany the choir, but only to underline certain accents or to make one momentarily forget the all too human sonorities of the orchestra. It represents the idea of peace, of Faith, and of Hope.”

Although this is a twentieth century work, Duruflé based much of the material (called “elegant theft” by a New Yorker piece on the work) on Gregorian plainchant. “Gregorian” refers to the chant used in the Catholic Church throughout most of its medieval history. Pope Gregory became intwined with the style due to his work to codify plainchant across Catholicism, hence the term “Gregorian.” Duruflé greatly admired the style, stating, “Gregorian chant, which seems to some to be a music linked to a dusty past, is in reality very young for us who realize that it has only been known in its original beauty for a short time.” There was a movement to restore Gregorian chant in the wake of the devastations of monasteries during the French Revolution that took root at the monastery in Solesmes, which became an archival center for such musical research. Duruflé’s preoccupation with the legacy of Gregorian chant ultimately became the impetus for his setting of the Requiem.

To learn more about Duruflé and his Requiem, we recommend the book Maurice Duruflé: The Man and His Music by James E. Frazier. You can learn more about it, and grab a copy here.