Requiem Op. 9

Maurice Duruflé studied from age 10 to 16 at a choir school, where he developed a lifelong affinity for plainsong traditions and established himself as a fine organist. He received high marks at the Paris Conservatoire, including in composition studies with Paul Dukas. After graduating he secured a prestigious organ post; later, he joined the faculty of the Conservatoire and taught harmony for 27 years. For all his public roles, Duruflé was least confident as a composer: His published output over 50 years amounted to only 14 opus numbers.

Duruflé’s popularity rests almost entirely on his Requiem, Opus 9, written in 1947. While composers such as Mozart, Berlioz and Verdi developed the Requiem into an impassioned concert genre, Duruflé created music closer to the liturgical tradition, drawing on centuries-old Gregorian chant settings of the Latin Mass for the Dead. He also incorporated elements gleaned from the 1890 Requiem by fellow Frenchman Gabriel Fauré; the two works share numerous qualities, most notably the omission of the fiery Dies irae (“Day of Wrath”) text. Duruflé initially created two versions of the accompaniment — one for organ, the other for full orchestra. In 1961 he added the version heard here for strings and organ plus three trumpets, timpani and harp.

Duruflé wrote, “This Requiem is entirely composed on the Gregorian themes of the Mass for the Dead. Sometimes the musical text was completely respected, the orchestral part intervening only to support or comment on it; sometimes I was simply inspired by it or left it completely. … In general, I have sought above all to enter into the characteristic style of the Gregorian themes.” He also added his own brand of French impressionism, as in the flowing accompaniment and blurred consonance of the Introit. The vocal styles range through formal counterpoint (Kyrie), hymn-like homophonic declamations (Domine Jesu Christe and Sanctus), solos for baritone and mezzo-soprano (the latter featured in the tender Pie Jesu, echoing Fauré’s famous soprano solo), and frequent monophony, the single-line texture of plainsong. Again following Fauré’s lead, Duruflé appended two texts from the traditional burial service, Libera me and In Paradisum. The final line, “may you have eternal rest,” trails out on a resplendent but unresolved dominant harmony, as if preparing for the truly final cadence — a peaceful crossing into death.