About Duruflé...

On April 26, 2008, we'll be participating in a concert that features music by Maurice Duruflé, but how much do you know about him? Here's a tiny bit of information for you, gathered from some on-line sources--

The first thing that may interest you is that he lived during the 20th century. In fact, his Requiem was composed in 1947. That same year, Marie-Madeleine Chevalier became his assistant, and they later married in 1953. They were both organists and became a famous and popular organ duo, going on tour together several times throughout the sixties and early seventies.

Very self-critical, Duruflé spent considerable time re-working his compositions until they reached what he felt was the correct level of perfection (even after publication). There are only 14 published Opus numbers to his name.

He lived until age 84, and his Requiem was performed at his memorial service in 1986.

This should be a very beautiful concert. I hope that you're looking forward to it as much as the Masterworks Chorale is!