Requiem by Maurice Duruflé

Maurice Duruflé was born in the town of Louviers, France and received his early training in the choir school of Rouen cathedral.  At the age of eighteen, he entered the Paris Conservatory where he studied composition with his mentor, Paul Dukas.  He was appointed organist at the church of Etienne-du-Mont, in Paris in 1930, a position that he held until his death in 1986.  He also taught at the Paris Conservatory from 1943 until 1969.

Duruflé published very few works during his lifetime.  He was his own critic and worked very slowly, constantly revising his work.  Organists frequently perform his excellent works for that instrument, but Requiem is his best known and greatest work.  Requiem was commissioned by Duruflé's publisher, Durand and Company.  The work, dedicated to the composer’s father, was completed in September 1947 and was first performed two months later.

Duruflé’s Requiem is a testament of faith, comfort, and tranquility.  Its texture and mood is restrained and intimate.  The entire work is based on the original chant melodies of the Missa Pro Defunctis (Mass for the Dead).  These melodies appear in vocal and instrumental parts throughout the work and may be found either complete or fragmented.  Duruflé blends the elements of Gregorian chant, with lush Romantic lyricism and 20^th Century harmonies and rhythms into a beautifully-crafted and unified composition demonstrating a wide range of textures and colors.

Gloria by John Rutter

The British composer John Rutter was born in 1945 and received his advanced studies in music at Clare College, Cambridge.  He later served as conductor of the choir of Clare College until 1979, when he resigned his position to devote his time to composition.  The same year, he organized the Cambridge Singers, a group that is known worldwide for its outstanding choral performances and recordings.  Although Rutter has written works for orchestra and organ, he has established himself as one of the most prolific and important composers of choral music today.  His settings or carols, hymns, and liturgical choral works are known to choirs throughout the world.  He clearly understands the voice and writes for it with facility, grace, and beauty.  His melodies, although angular at times, are extremely expressive and his harmonic style is accessible to audiences of varying levels of musical experiences, understanding, and appreciation.

In referring to the Gloria, Rutter writes:

"Gloria...was written as a concert work.  It was commissioned by the Voices of Mel Olson, Omaha, Nebraska and I directed the first performance on the occasion of my first visit to the United States in May 1974.  The Latin text, drawn from the Ordinary of the Mass, is a centuries-old challenge to the composer: exalted, devotional, and jubilant by turns.  My setting, which is based upon one of the Gregorian chants associated with the text, divides into three movements roughly corresponding with traditional symphonic structure.  The accompaniment is for brass ensemble, with timpani, percussion, and organ- a combination which in the outer movements makes quite a joyful noise unto the Lord, but which is used more softly and introspectively in the middle movement."