The Amaryllis vocal ensemble will perform Duruflé's Requiem in a concert at the Rolle Temple.
Duruflé Requiem
Duruflé, Franck, Fauré, Saint-Saëns
With Daniel Thomas on organ and Gladys Ançay Campion on cello, we offer a programme based on Duruflé's Requiem.
‘This Requiem is not an ethereal work that sings of detachment from earthly cares. It reflects man's anguish in the face of the mystery of his final end... It tends to translate human feelings in the face of their terrifying, inexplicable or consoling destiny.’ Maurice Duruflé (1902 - 1986)
Completed in 1947, the Requiem is a major work in Maurice Duruflé's limited output. The work was dedicated by the composer to the memory of his father. Duruflé drew on Gregorian themes and brought them to life in a calm, meditative work. The score exists in three orchestrations, and we present it here in its version for organ and cello. The solo parts are entrusted to choir registers, as the composer suggested.
Duruflé's work is often compared to Fauré's requiem in the selection of texts, the choice of orchestration and the distribution of soloists, but it is very different. While Fauré evokes a ‘lullaby of death’, Duruflé describes it in far more dramatic terms. We will attempt an interpretation along these lines, with plenty of contrast and emotion.
The masterpiece of the concert will be accompanied by some of the finest works for organ and choir by César Franck and Gabriel Fauré, as well as a number of instrumental pieces, notably by Camille Saint-Saëns.
