Be the first to comment!Duruflé’s Requiem with the MPO and Schola Cantorum Jubilate
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The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra is joining forces with the Gozitan choir Schola Cantorum Jubilate, during this Lenten period, to present one of the most subtle and fluid compositions based on the Gregorian chant, but personalised by the colours, harmonies, and rhythms of this deeply religious 20th-century musician, with performances taking place in Gozo and Malta.
The Requiem, op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé was commissioned in 1947 by the French music publisher Durand and is written in memory of the composer’s father. The work is for SATB choir with mezzo-soprano and baritone soloists. The orchestration that will be heard for this concert is for organ with string orchestra, trumpets, harp and timpani.
In Duruflé’s own words “This Requiem is composed entirely on the Gregorian themes of the Mass for the Dead. Sometimes the musical text has been respected in full, the orchestra intervening only to sustain or to comment on it; sometimes I was simply inspired by it or sometimes removed myself from it altogether…
“This Requiem is not an ethereal work which sings of detachment from earthly worries. It reflects, in the immutable form of the Christian prayer, the agony of man faced with the mystery of his ultimate end. It is often dramatic, or filled with resignation, or hope, or terror, just as the words of the Scripture themselves which are used in the liturgy. It tends to translate human feelings before their terrifying, unexplainable or consoling destiny. It represents the idea of peace, of Faith, and of Hope.”
The Malta Philharmonic Orchestra with conductor Christopher Muscat and Schola Cantorum Jubilate, will present The Requiem, op. 9, by Maurice Duruflé, on Friday and Saturday, the 4th and 5th of April 2014, at the Robert Samut Hall, Floriana, starting at 7.30pm and then in Gozo on Sunday, the 6th of April at the Xaghra Basilica.
Tickets €10, concessions €5 (students and senior citizens), smart card and culture card accepted, Bookings can be made on 2122320, or by emailing boxoffice@sjcav.org.
