Maurice Duruflé’s
setting of the Requiem Mass, heavily
indebted as it is to the legacy of plainsong,
is one I’ve loved ever since I first
encountered it while at school. I’ve
subsequently been fortunate enough to
sing it on a number of occasions. I
suppose I should nail my colours to
the mast and admit that in some respects
I actually prefer it to the sublime
setting by Fauré. Having just
recently taken part in a run of three
performances (of the organ version,
as presented here) I was particularly
pleased to receive this CD for review.
There is a great deal
to admire in this performance. I like
Robert Sharpe’s tempi, which without
exception flow nicely and very naturally.
He is very faithful to the score in
his observance of dynamics and the relation
of one speed to another. He has clearly
trained his choir very well. They make
a very pleasing, well-blended sound
and the voices are nicely balanced against
each other. The engineers have recorded
the choir (and the organ) very well
and have used the resonant acoustics
of Truro Cathedral intelligently. The
Father Willis organ sounds absolutely
splendid and is played very well indeed
by Christopher Gray (hear his dexterity
in the staccato figurations of the passage
‘Libera eas de ore leonis’ in the ‘Domine
Jesu Christe’ movement (track 3); these
are terrifyingly difficult to articulate
clearly and precisely but Gray’s playing
is pinpoint accurate.
Of course, it may be
objected that the sound of an English
all-male choir was not the sound that
Duruflé had in mind. That may
be so but I suspect he would have enjoyed
the purity of the Truro trebles and
the cutting edge of the sound of their
alto colleagues. The choir’s singing
is pretty refined but they are also
capable of producing a good deal of
volume when it’s called for. So, for
example, they provide a powerful, unforced
climax at ‘Hosanna’ in the Sanctus (track
4). That moment is all the more exciting
because just for a few vital seconds
it’s underpinned by a terrific pedal
sound on the organ.
The two brief baritone
solos are well taken by Donald Kimble
who projects his voice very well. If
I have an issue with this performance
it concerns the fifth movement, ‘Pie
Jesu’. Like Fauré, Duruflé
sets this for a female soloist but whereas
Fauré calls for a soprano Duruflé
specifies a mezzo-soprano. Here, however,
Robert Sharpe has his trebles sing in
unison what should be a solo. To be
sure, they sing it beautifully, but
it’s not what the composer asked for
(there is a very specific note in the
front of the vocal score detailing some
modifications that may be made in performance)
and the trebles have a completely different
timbre, of course. The range of the
solo (from top F sharp down to bottom
B flat) is much more suited to a mezzo
and this is particularly true of the
very end of the piece where the vocal
line consists of s series of soft low
Cs. The boys just don’t have the body
of tone to make these notes tell quietly.
It’s ironic that this movement is done
in this way when the option that Duruflé
specifically allows, for the baritones
in the chorus to sing the two short
baritone solos, is not taken.
However, though I take
issue with the decision over the ‘Pie
Jesu’ it’s the only flaw that I find
in an otherwise highly recommendable
performance. Sharpe and his singers
capture beautifully the gorgeous timelessness
of the ‘Lux Aeterna’ and the concluding
‘In Paradisum’ is wonderfully done,
with the trebles singing angelically.
For me this movement is even more otherworldly
than the comparable (and much better
known) movement in Fauré’s setting.
Here Duruflé surely gives us
a glimpse of the Beyond. It’s typical
of Christopher Gray’s first-rate organ
playing that the crucial, questioning
G sharp in the very last chord registers
discreetly but to perfection.
Duruflé’s output
of music was so slender that it’s possible
to accommodate all of his sacred vocal
music on this one CD. The four motets
are, like the Requiem, suffused
with the influence of plainsong. Indeed,
their full title is Quatre motets
sur des Thèmes Grégoriens
pour Chœur a cappella. They are
all very brief and are lovely little
creations, exquisitely crafted. The
music ranges from the exuberance of
‘Tu es Petrus’ to the pellucid beauty
of ‘Ubi Caritas’. The Truro choir make
a splendid job of them.
The Mass ’Cum Jubilo’
is performed here in the version for
baritone solo and a chorus of baritones
(though the notes don’t really make
that clear.) Again, it is very
well done. The choral baritones make
a very pleasant and committed sound
and David Kimberg is in fine form for
his two important solos. Once again
Christopher Gray makes a distinguished
contribution.
Finally, we hear Duruflé’s
very last work, a setting in French
of the Lord’s Prayer. This exists in
two versions, for four-part choir and
for solo voice with organ. It’s the
latter version that’s given here, sung
by the trebles in unison. It’s a simple,
sincere and direct piece and it receives
a lovely performance. As it’s so short
it would have been interesting to have
heard the other version as well, but
no matter.
This is a most enjoyable
and well-produced disc. Despite my one
reservation over the ‘Pie Jesu’ I found
this a very satisfying recital and I’m
very happy to recommend it.
John Quinn
see also
Maurice
DURUFLÉ
(1902-1986) Messe
de Requiem, Op. 9 (1947)* [38’42"]
Francis POULENC
(1899-1963) Laudes de Saint
Antoine de Padoue (1957-9) [6’48"]
Olivier MESSIAEN
(1908-1992) O Sacrum Convivium
(1937) [4’59"]
Patricia Fernandez (mezzo-soprano) Michel
Bouvard (organ) Ensemble Vocal Les Éléments/Joël
Suhubiette Recorded *in L’Église
Nôtre-Dame du Taur, Toulouse,
10-12 July 1999; in La Chappelle des
Carmélites, Toulouse, February
1994
HORTUS 018 [50’38"]
