Duruflé's Requiem - Sheringham and Cromer Choral Society

An evening of French reflective music by two of the 20th century's greatest, if not most revolutionary, composers.

Maurice Duruflé's Requiem, largely modelled on the titled work by Gabriel Fauré is based on the plainsong tradition. It is a work of great emotion and features an ecstatic climax during the Sanctus which must rival anything in the choral repertoire. Duruflé was fiercely protective of his music and burnt many manuscripts but his works in this concert are clearly from the pen of a master.

Francis Poulenc achieved a greater fame in his lifetime though his Litanies which open this concert are a deeply personal work composed in less than a week. This is the first piece of religious choral writing completed by Poulenc for three-part female voices and consists of a sequence of prayers to Mary.