The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo

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Music reviews of The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo

Music Review: Etherial Bliss!
Rating: 5 Stars

Maestro Keene's phrasing and shaping of the chant melodies is remarkable.....the Kyrie fugue (2nd mvt) is no easy task to conduct, and Keene extracts brilliance from the thick fabric of polyphony.

Durufle revised three versions of his Requiem and all three versions are widely performed. The version on this disc consists of organ and a small chamber orchestra with limited brass. It is a more intimate setting which I believe showcases the organ (Durufle's instrument) and brings the organ to it's intended role without the extraneous woodwind section heard in the full orchestral version.

The In Paridisum (or final movement) is perhaps the best I've heard performed.....the organ chant melody heard in the final 5 bars is played as if the organist was singing the melody instead of playing it....this critical moment has been ignored and overlooked on other recordings (such as Michele Plasson's EMI 2000 release) in which the organ used is out of tune.

Also on this disc is the Missa Cum Jubilo for mens chorus, organ and small orchestra, which is performed beautifully.

Durulfe's literature consists of precious few compositions...only a handful of organ compositions, a requiem, the missa cum jubilo and 4 motets...his final composition Notre Pere (on this CD) is performed well too. It's a pity Durufle did not compose more.....his performance schedule while he was alive kept him from composing.

One final note, conductor Dennis Keene was a good friend of maestro Durufle and protege of Durufle's wife who herself was also a famous organ virtuoso who no doubt influenced Keene on many artistic decisions, so this recording can be considered to be a first hand interpretation from the composer himself.

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Description of The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo

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