Duruflé Choral Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Maurice Duruflé
Label: Erato
Magazine Review Date: 11/1985
Media Format: Vinyl
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: NUM75200
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Requiem |
Maurice Duruflé, Composer
Chorus Colonne Orchestra José Van Dam, Bass-baritone Maurice Duruflé, Composer Michel Corboz, Conductor Paris Audite Nova Vocal Ensemble Teresa Berganza, Mezzo soprano |
(4) Motets sur des thèmes grégoriens |
Maurice Duruflé, Composer
Maurice Duruflé, Composer Michel Corboz, Conductor Paris Audite Nova Vocal Ensemble |
Author: Michael Oliver
The plot so far, briefly summarized, is that Ledger for HMV chooses the original, organ-accompanied version of Durufle's Requiem and uses an all-male choir, while Andrew Davis on CBS and Hickox on Argo both opt for the full orchestral version, Davis using an excellent conventional chorus, Hickox preferring very pure upper voices that convincingly sound like boys. Davis for richness (though not without luminous clarity), Ledger for the closest approach to the austere beauty of the original conception and Hickox for a thoroughly enjoyable compromise between the two (and with a touch more dramatic bite in places than eiher) was my recommendation last time I compared these performances, and I can't say that the new Erato changes that very much, unless of course you actually want something still richer than davis provides or insist on the characteristic sound of a French chorus.
Corboz and his recording engineers take a very opulent view of the work indeed, revelling in the slightly self-indulgent colours of Durufle's orchestration, luxuriating in the density of his climaxes and enveloping the whole work in a golden haze: sunlight filtered through stained glass and incense smoke. It can be very beautiful: the end of the ''Libera me'', for example, is sensuously lovely, and the distant chorus floating in over a barely audible pianissimo in the ''In Paradisum'' is a magical effect. But there are already quite enough 'effects', quite enough saturated colour and hairsbreadth skirtings of voluptuous sanctimony in the orchestral version of this work to start with, and corboz's sweet-toothed approach pushes it much too far in that direction for my taste. And the French chorus, although a good one and not too large, with notably strong tenors (vital in their exposed lines in the Agnus Dei), has really very little impact in the more dramatic pages, a fault that is amplified by their swallowing of consonants and by a recording wich carefully clarifies details but then sandpapers their edges. Crispness, unadorned purity of sound and grave austerity are all in short supply, and the latter two of those, qualified by the former, are just the qualities for which I, at least, listen to this work. I find them most readily in Ledger's beautiful account; they are carefully preserved, despite the sumptuousness of the orchestration, by both Davis and Hickox; in Corboz's hands the ever-present danger that the sweetness of this music will become enervating has not been averted.'
Corboz and his recording engineers take a very opulent view of the work indeed, revelling in the slightly self-indulgent colours of Durufle's orchestration, luxuriating in the density of his climaxes and enveloping the whole work in a golden haze: sunlight filtered through stained glass and incense smoke. It can be very beautiful: the end of the ''Libera me'', for example, is sensuously lovely, and the distant chorus floating in over a barely audible pianissimo in the ''In Paradisum'' is a magical effect. But there are already quite enough 'effects', quite enough saturated colour and hairsbreadth skirtings of voluptuous sanctimony in the orchestral version of this work to start with, and corboz's sweet-toothed approach pushes it much too far in that direction for my taste. And the French chorus, although a good one and not too large, with notably strong tenors (vital in their exposed lines in the Agnus Dei), has really very little impact in the more dramatic pages, a fault that is amplified by their swallowing of consonants and by a recording wich carefully clarifies details but then sandpapers their edges. Crispness, unadorned purity of sound and grave austerity are all in short supply, and the latter two of those, qualified by the former, are just the qualities for which I, at least, listen to this work. I find them most readily in Ledger's beautiful account; they are carefully preserved, despite the sumptuousness of the orchestration, by both Davis and Hickox; in Corboz's hands the ever-present danger that the sweetness of this music will become enervating has not been averted.'
Explore the world’s largest classical music catalogue on Apple Music Classical.
Included with an Apple Music subscription. Download now.
Gramophone Digital Club
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £9.20 / month
SubscribeGramophone Club
- Print Edition
- Digital Edition
- Digital Archive
- Reviews Database
- Events & Offers
From £11.45 / month
Subscribe
If you are a library, university or other organisation that would be interested in an institutional subscription to Gramophone please click here for further information.