Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, and works for Lent

Maurice Duruflé was a French composer who was famously self-critical and destroyed most of the music he composed, or refused to publish it. This was caused in part by the influence of his teacher, Paul Dukas.

The Requiem is widely considered as one of the great choral works of the 20th century. It was composed during the Second World War and reflects the pathos and emotional turmoil of the contemporaneous life, as Duruflé's friends and neighbours perished across Europe. The piece incorporates plainchant as thematic material throughout (unlike, for example, Fauré's Requiem) and conveys the full gamut of emotional force, from the plaintive strains of the opening 'Requiem' and 'Kyrie', to the brooding darkness of the 'Libera me' with it's cataclysmic 'Dies irae, dies illa...'

The Requiem will then be followed by a selection of music written for the season of Lent, sung by the choir of the Chapels Royal, HM Tower of London.

Owing to the historic nature of the Tower of London and the Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula, if you require wheelchair access, please contact the Chapel Administrator, Toby Wheeler, by email at toby.wheeler@hrp.org.uk at least 48 hours in advance of the concert.