Duruflé Requiem featured at Northwest Choral's March 22 concert
French composer Maurice Duruflé's Requiem (Opus 9) for chorus and organ will be featured at the Northwest Choral Society's ("NWCS") concert, "In Paradise," on Sunday, March 22, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Park Ridge. Organist Stephen Buzard will accompany the choir.
A selection of spirituals and hymns for peace and contemplation also are included on the concert program.
A complimentary discussion of the concert music will be hosted by NWCS Artistic Director Kevin Kelly at 3:30 p.m. prior to the concert.
Composer and organist Maurice Duruflé's (1902-1986) Requiem is the longest, most substantial and best-known of his works and one of the most famous of all 20th century requiem masses. He was among the French composers commissioned in May 1941, by the (exiled French) Vichy regime to write extended works for a monetary award. Duruflé, commissioned to compose a symphonic poem, decided to compose a requiem and was still working on it in 1944 when the Vichy regime collapsed. He completed it in September 1947.
The composer set the Latin text of the requiem mass, structuring it in nine movements and using numerous themes from the ancient Gregorian "Mass for the Dead." The final movement, In Paradisum, according to Duruflé, represents "the ultimate response of faith to all the questions, by the flight of the soul toward Paradise." Nearly all the thematic material in the work comes from chant established by the Benedictines at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes. Duruflé chose to break away from the operatic and highly dramatic requiem settings of Berlioz and Verdi, instead focusing his setting not on visions of hell and damnation, but on images of tranquility, rest and peace.
Duruflé was a slow, meticulous and methodical composer, constantly re-writing and revising, and, as a result, there are only a handful of works by him. He published a total of just fourteen, mostly for organ, choir or orchestra.
Born in Louviers in northwestern France, Duruflé received his early musical education in the choir school at the Cathedral of Rouen, studying piano and organ. His daily routine included studying Gregorian chant, which became the primary structural element in his compositions. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, and became a renowned organist and harmony teacher. He was appointed assistant organist at The Basilica of St. Clothilde and at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1930, he was chosen organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont, where he remained for the rest of his life. From 1943 to 1970, he was a professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire.
Stephen Buzard is the director of music at St. James Cathedral in Chicago, where he plays the organ for services and conducts the Cathedral choir and chorister programs. He previously served as assistant organist and director of music at Saint Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, leading the men and boys choirs in daily services. Mr. Buzard received degrees from Westminster Choir College and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. He was the winner of the 2010 Arthur Poister Competition in Organ Playing and the 2009 Joan Lippincott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance. He is an associate of the American Guild of Organists, currently serving as dean of the Chicago chapter.
Stephanie Londoño of Des Plaines will perform the soprano solo in the Requiem. As an advocate of the arts, she is a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's Latino Alliance, serving on the Advisory Board. Ms. Londoño earned her Bachelors of Music in Music Education from Westminster Choir College.
Other songs on the concert program include "The Lord Is My Shepard" by John Rutter, "Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal" a traditional hymn arranged by Alice Parker, "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" and "Ain'-a That Good News" spiritual arrangements by William L. Dawson, and "Faire is the Heaven" by William Harris.
Tickets for the "In Paradise" concert are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors if purchased online at www.nwchoralsociety.org or by calling (224) 585-9127 prior to the March 22 concert. Tickets purchased starting an hour prior to the concert at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 205 North Prospect Avenue, Park Ridge, are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors.
The NWCS' final concert performance of the 2019-20 season will be on Saturday, June 6, 2020 at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Palatine. The program, entitled "Fascinatin' Rhythm," will showcase songs from the Great American Songbook.
Founded in 1965, the Northwest Choral Society is a non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the appreciation, understanding and performance of a wide variety of outstanding choral literature. Its adult membership resides in the greater Chicago area.
The Northwest Choral Society invites experienced singers to audition to join the organization. Basses, tenors, altos and sopranos with previous choral experience and at least 17 years of age can obtain additional information about the Northwest Choral Society at www.nwchoralsociety.org.