Track Listing

1. 1. Introit
2. 2. Kyrie
3. 3. Domine Jesus Christe
4. Hostias
5. 4. Sanctus
6. 5. Pie Jesu
7. 6. Agnus Dei
8. 7. Lux aeterna
9. 8. Libera me
10. 9. In Paradisum
11. 1. Kyrie
12. 2. Gloria
13. 3. Sanctus
14. 4. Benedictus
15. 5. Agnus Dei
16. 1. Ubi caritas (4 voix mixtes)
17. 2. Tota pulchra es (3 voix de femmes)
18. 3. Tu es Petrus (4 voix mixtes)
19. 4. Tantum ergo (4 voix mixtes)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #78151 in Music
• Released on: 2000-02-01
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.com
This is the 1947, full-orchestra version of Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, one of the 20th century's most beloved choral works. It's the first of three versions the composer made of the piece. Despite the enhanced intimacy of the smaller-scale versions, the original offers a rich orchestral tapestry, especially compelling in the performance by Michel Plasson's forces, without diminishing the work's radiant beauties or its spiritual depths. Those virtues are enhanced by the singing of Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Hampson. The chorus, a weak element in the Requiem, shines brighter on the rest of the disc, which gathers all of Duruflé's choral music. The Mass is more assertive than the Requiem and should be heard more often. It gets a powerful performance here, as do the miniature Motets, intense in their restrained beauties. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

All things bright and beautiful...
I've listened to 4 different recordings of Durufle's Requiem closely: Santa Cecilia National Academy Orchestra Rome with Cecilia Bartoli and Conducted by Myung-Whun Chung, Voices of Ascension Chorus & Orchestra with Patricia Spence and Conducted by Dennis Keene, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chorus with Judith Blegen and Conducted by Robert Shaw, and this one. And I have to say that this is my favorite. The textures are richer and the performances by the orchestra and choir are better than the others. I will admit though that Cecilia Bartoli gets my vote for most beautiful performance of the Pie Jesu, but Anne Sofie von Otter's rendition is also very nice.
However, if you're looking for just one recording of Durufle's Requiem, this should be the one.

PERFECTION!!
This is one of the most beautiful CDs on the face of the planet. Durufle, a composer of the French Organ School, was a composer who possessed much reserve and this shows through in the restrained beauty of his music. Of particular interest is Track 16, UBI CARITAS--Durufle as well as the chorus are at their best here. The chorus sings the beautiful motet gently and with much feeling. The sublime beauty of this work of art instantly brings Durufle as an equal to that of Mozart, Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, and Beethoven. This music is not for those who like humungous bangs but rather those who can appreiate the quiet dignity of this man's work.

Poor at best
Whether it's choirs that don't know how to blend, an orchestra that doesn't know how to stay together, or any combination of choirs and instrumentalists that don't know how to play in tune, this gorgeous piece in its full orchestral version does not yet appear to have received the treatment it so desperately needs. Sadly, this recording is no exception. In fact, it is one of the worst offenders: French Horns that sound like they're playing in a closet, an orchestra that can't keep the tempo together, subtleties inherent in the music that are entirely missed. Someday someone is going to do justice to this beautiful piece, and give it the interpretation it deserves.