Biography
Maurice Duruflé, a French organist and composer, earned recognition through a modest catalog of remarkable pieces, among which the Requiem stands as the most distinguished and frequently presented. His total output, limited to fourteen works because of intense self-criticism, draws exclusively from Gregorian chant. These chant melodies preserve their inherent flexibility while being enveloped in intricate modal harmonies arising from dense polyphonic textures.
Born in Louviers, Normandy, France, Duruflé joined the choir school at Rouen Cathedral at age ten, where Jules Haelling instructed him in piano, organ, and theory; his deep connection to Gregorian chant took root during those years. He relocated to Paris in 1919 to work with Charles Tournemire, the organist at St. Clotilde, and subsequently served as Tournemire’s assistant. He later assisted Louis Vierne at Notre Dame as well. In 1920 Duruflé enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire, receiving organ instruction from Eugène Gigout, harmony from Jean Gallon, accompaniment from Estyle, counterpoint and fugue from Georges Caussade, and composition from Paul Dukas. There he captured first prizes in organ, harmony, accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and composition. The Amis de l’Orgue awarded him a prize for interpretation and improvisation in 1929.
Appointed organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont in 1930, he retained the post for the rest of his life, sharing duties with his wife after 1953. That same year the Amis de l’Orgue again recognized him, this time for his Prelude, adagio et choral varié sur le “Veni Creator,” Op. 4. In 1936 he received the Blumenthal Foundation Prize. Beginning in 1943 he served as Marcel Dupré’s assistant in the organ class at the Paris Conservatoire and was also named professor of harmony, a role he maintained until 1969. Desormière conducted the premiere of the Duruflé Requiem in 1947. Duruflé maintained an active international career as a recitalist, performing widely across Europe and North America until a car accident in May 1975 left him largely confined to bed for the final eleven years before his death in 1986.
Born in Louviers, Normandy, France, Duruflé joined the choir school at Rouen Cathedral at age ten, where Jules Haelling instructed him in piano, organ, and theory; his deep connection to Gregorian chant took root during those years. He relocated to Paris in 1919 to work with Charles Tournemire, the organist at St. Clotilde, and subsequently served as Tournemire’s assistant. He later assisted Louis Vierne at Notre Dame as well. In 1920 Duruflé enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire, receiving organ instruction from Eugène Gigout, harmony from Jean Gallon, accompaniment from Estyle, counterpoint and fugue from Georges Caussade, and composition from Paul Dukas. There he captured first prizes in organ, harmony, accompaniment, counterpoint and fugue, and composition. The Amis de l’Orgue awarded him a prize for interpretation and improvisation in 1929.
Appointed organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont in 1930, he retained the post for the rest of his life, sharing duties with his wife after 1953. That same year the Amis de l’Orgue again recognized him, this time for his Prelude, adagio et choral varié sur le “Veni Creator,” Op. 4. In 1936 he received the Blumenthal Foundation Prize. Beginning in 1943 he served as Marcel Dupré’s assistant in the organ class at the Paris Conservatoire and was also named professor of harmony, a role he maintained until 1969. Desormière conducted the premiere of the Duruflé Requiem in 1947. Duruflé maintained an active international career as a recitalist, performing widely across Europe and North America until a car accident in May 1975 left him largely confined to bed for the final eleven years before his death in 1986.
Albums
