The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo

Maurice Durufle (Composer), Dennis Keene (Conductor), Voices of Ascension (Orchestra), François Le Roux (Performer), Patricia Spence (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: François Le Roux, Patricia Spence
• Orchestra: Voices of Ascension
• Conductor: Dennis Keene
• Composer: Maurice Durufle
• Audio CD (September 19, 1995)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Delos
• ASIN: B0000006ZS
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #89,376 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Etherial Bliss!, October 14, 2001

By 

Jeff (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo (Audio CD)

This recording of Durufle's masterpiece is hands down the best currently available. Written in the 20th century, Durufle can be considered the heir to Faure in a succession of French composers, however adds unique harmonies to medival plainchant melodies. The sound quality is supurb and the Voices of Ascention choir led by Dennis Keene sing with such a pure laser like focused sound reminescent of a boys choir.

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.

purchase your copy today!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Most Unique Requiem, May 30, 2000

By 

John Keady "Irish Tenor" (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo (Audio CD)

Requiems of many composers tend to run from one extreme to another. Either they are powerhouse epics meant to celebrate the departed or they are morose journeys into the darkness of the afterlife. Durufle has found a middle ground that evokes a vision of death that is ethereal and spiritual. There a moments of musical perfection, especially in the first movement and the blending of chant with the harmonics of 20th century composition make for a blend that will be heaven to the ears.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Compassionate and Definitive Performance of the Durufle Requiem, April 13, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Durufle Album: Requiem; Messe Cum Jubilo (Audio CD)

Maurice Durufle's hauntingly beautiful Requiem remains a rara avis in the musical repertoire from the last century. A brilliant organist and fine composer, Durufle (1902 - 1986) left us with relatively few works for organ and voices - the Missa "Cum Jubilo", for baritone, baritone chorus, orchestra & organ, Op. 11 and the Notre P?re for male voices & organ, Op. 14 are included on this fine recording - but his Requiem remains one of the jewels of the 20th century composition. Unlike most other requiems the Durufle version is related to Gregorian chant and uses the organ as an important aspect of the fabric of the work. This is a work of compassion and solace and is one of the more mystical settings of the requiem mass ever composed.

The chief reason, then, for recommending this CD so highly is the performance of the Requiem with Dennis Keene conducting the Voices of Ascension Orchestra and Chorus ably assisted by Richard Locker, Patricia Spence, Mark Kruczek, and Kathleen Bride. Keene knows his way in and out and through this work, having studied with the Durufles and having performed the work countless times. His vision is clear and he guides the very beautiful Voices of Ascension Ensemble through a reading that is at once compassionate and mystically detached! That is a rare feat, but Keene's clear conducting and balances achieved with the organ, chorus and soloists is astonishingly fine.

While most classical music collectors doubtless have at least one recording of the Durufle Requiem in collection, this CD surpasses them all (yes, even the Robert Shaw version) and deserves a high position in the ranks of recorded choral works. Hearing it again during Holy Week adds an entirely new dimension to the appreciation of this truly excellent recording. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 06