Maurice Duruflé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maurice Duruflé
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Duruflé c. 1962
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| Born | 11 January 1902 Louviers, Eure, France
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| Died | 16 June 1986 (aged 84) Louveciennes, Yvelines, France
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Maurice Gustave Duruflé (born January 11, 1902 – died June 16, 1986) was a famous French composer, organist, and teacher. He is known for his beautiful and carefully crafted music, especially for the organ and choir.
Contents
Life and Career
Maurice Duruflé was born in Louviers, France, in 1902. When he was 10, he joined the choir school at Rouen Cathedral. There, he learned to play the piano and organ. He was greatly influenced by the old tradition of plainsong (a type of ancient church music) he heard at Rouen.
At 17, Duruflé moved to Paris. He continued his organ lessons with Charles Tournemire. In 1920, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, which is a very famous music school. He was a brilliant student, winning top awards in many subjects like organ, harmony (how notes fit together), fugue (a type of musical chase), and composition (creating music).
In 1927, Duruflé became the assistant organist at the famous Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. He worked with the great organist Louis Vierne, who became his lifelong friend. In 1929, Duruflé became the main organist at St-Étienne-du-Mont church in Paris, a job he kept for the rest of his life.
He won an award for his piece Prélude, adagio et choral varié sur le "Veni Creator" in 1930. In 1939, he performed the first ever public playing of Francis Poulenc's Organ Concerto. He even helped Poulenc decide how the organ parts should sound. From 1943 to 1970, Duruflé taught harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris. Many famous organists, like Pierre Cochereau and Marie-Claire Alain, were his students.
In 1947, Duruflé finished his most famous work, the Requiem op. 9. A Requiem is a special type of musical mass for the dead. He started writing it in 1941. In the same year, Marie-Madeleine Chevalier became his assistant at St-Étienne-du-Mont. They got married in 1953. Maurice and Marie-Madeleine became a well-known organ duo, performing concerts together around the world in the 1960s and 1970s.
Duruflé received high honors from the French government. He was made a Chevalier (Knight) of the Legion of Honour in 1954 and promoted to an Officier (Officer) in 1966.
His Perfectionism
Maurice Duruflé was very particular about his music. He was a perfectionist! He often felt that his own compositions were not good enough. For example, he didn't like the 'Toccata' part of his Suite, op. 5 and never recorded it himself. He also kept editing his pieces even after they were published.
Because he was so careful, his music, especially his organ music, is very polished and beautiful. Organists worldwide still perform his works often in concerts.
Duruflé and his wife preferred traditional music. They were not fans of modern styles. Once, they attended a "jazz mass" at their church, and Marie-Madeleine was very upset by it. Duruflé called it a "scandalous travesty."
Later Life and Death
In 1975, Duruflé was seriously hurt in a car accident. He could no longer perform music after that. His wife, Marie-Madeleine, who was also injured, took over his duties at St-Étienne-du-Mont.
Maurice Duruflé passed away in 1986 at the age of 84. He never fully recovered from the accident.
Compositions
Here are some of Maurice Duruflé's musical works:
Organ Solo
- Scherzo op. 2 (1926)
- Prélude, adagio et choral varié sur le theme du 'Veni Creator' op. 4 (1926/1930)
- Suite op. 5 (1932):
- Prélude
- Sicilienne
- Toccata
- Prélude et fugue sur le nom d'Alain op. 7 (1942)
- Prélude sur l'introït de l'epiphanie op. 13 (1961)
- Fugue sur le thème du de la Cathédrale de Soissons op. 12 (1962)
- Méditation op. posth. (1964)
Chamber Music
- Prélude, récitatif et variations op. 3 for flute, viola, and piano (1928)
Piano Solo
- Triptyque op. 1: Fantaisie sur des thèmes grégoriens (1927/1943)
- Trois danses op. 6 (1932, piano version by the composer):
- Divertissement
- Danse lente
- Tambourin
Piano for 4 Hands
- Trois danses op. 6 (1932, transcribed by the composer):
- Divertissement
- Danse lente
- Tambourin
Two Pianos
- Trois danses op. 6 (1932, transcribed by the composer):
- Divertissement
- Danse lente
- Tambourin
Orchestral Works
- Trois danses op. 6 (1932):
- Divertissement
- Danse lente
- Tambourin
- Andante et scherzo op. 8 (1940)
Choral Works
- Requiem Op. 9:
- For singers, choir, and orchestra (can include organ): finished in 1947
- Also versions for voices and organ, or voices and a smaller orchestra.
- Quatre Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens op. 10 for choir without instruments (1960):
- Ubi caritas et amor
- Tota pulchra es
- Tu es Petrus
- Tantum ergo
- Messe "Cum jubilo" op. 11 for baritone solo, male choir, and orchestra (1966):
- Versions with organ, full orchestra, or small orchestra.
- Notre Père op. 14 for male choir and organ (1977)
- Version for mixed choir without instruments (1978)
Miscellaneous Works
- Chant Donné: Hommage à Jean Gallon (1953)
- Sicilienne from Suite op. 5 for small orchestra
Transcriptions
Duruflé also arranged music by other famous composers for different instruments:
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Two chorales from cantatas, arranged for organ solo, 1952
- 4 chorale preludes for organ, arranged for orchestra 1942-45
- Louis Vierne
- Soirs étrangers, op. 56, for cello and piano, arranged for orchestra 1943
- Ballade du désespéré, op. 61, for tenor solo and piano, arranged for orchestra 1943
- Three improvisations for organ, transcribed 1954
- Maurice Duruflé: Requiem, op. 9, for voices and piano (1947)
- Charles Tournemire
- Five improvisations for organ, transcribed 1956–58
- Gabriel Fauré: Prelude of Pelléas et Mélisande, transcribed for organ solo
- Robert Schumann: Lamentation, transcribed for organ solo
See also
In Spanish: Maurice Duruflé para niños
