Duruflé's Music Considered

by Ronald Ebrecht

Overview

In this book, Ronald Ebrecht has meticulously studied each of Duruflé’s works and put together the first book to discuss in detail all of Duruflé’s music. With encouragement from Duruflé’s editor and the foundation established in his name, Ebrecht has compiled copious examples from manuscript sources to be published for the first time along with the little-known contextualizing works of Messiaen and Barraine. Most widely known for his masterpiece Requiem, the composer’s orchestral gems are analyzed alongside his delightful miniature: the orchestration of the Sicilienne. The organ works which set the standard for virtuosity at conservatories around the world are given new insightful and thorough evaluation by Ebrecht, whose long association with late 19th and early 20th century France and French music affords illuminating connections between Duruflé and his predecessors and successors with sweeping insight and minute detail.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498527873
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/16/2020
Pages:	510
Product dimensions:	6.35(w) x 8.94(h) x 1.47(d)

About the Author

Ronald Ebrecht is professor emeritus from Wesleyan University.

Table of Contents

Part I: Organ Works

Chapter One: Unpublished Deux Pièces pour orgue, Scherzo, opus 2

Chapter Two: Prélude, Adagio et Choral varié sur le “Veni Creator,” opus 4

Chapter Three: Suite, opus 5

Chapter Four: Prélude et Fugue sur le nom d’Alain, opus 7

Chapter Five: Fugue sur le thème du carillon des heures de la cathédrale de Soissons, opus 12 (1962), Prélude sur l’Introït de l’Épiphanie, opus 13 (1961), Méditation, opus posthumous (1964)

Part II: Other Instrumental Works

Chapter Six: Tryptique: Fantaisie sur des thèmes grégoriens, opus 1, orchestrated Sicilienne, opus 5 b, (1927?), Prélude, Récitatif et Variations, opus 3, Fugue (année 1928), Chant donné (1953)

Chapter Seven: Trois Danses, opus 6

Chapter Eight: Orchestrated Scherzo and its Andante, opus 8

Part III: Choral/Vocal Works

Chapter Nine: Requiem, opus 9

Chapter Ten: Quatre Motets, opus 10, Notre Père, opus 14

Chapter Eleven: Messe “Cum jubilo,” opus 11

Editorial Reviews

Maurice Duruflé needs no introduction to American organists; his manifold accomplishments as performer, transcriber/“reconstituter” of recorded improvisations, and above all, composer, have sustained and will continue to nourish interest. In Duruflé’s Music Considered, Ebrecht offers readers his view of Duruflé’s music. The result is both distinctive and a marvelous example of its kind: musical scholarship that keeps the focus on the inner workings of compositions through analysis (Ebrecht prefers “narrative”) and compositional genesis.... To a noteworthy degree, it is grounded in the author’s personal story. With this approach, Ebrecht is not afraid to attribute importance to his own feelings, experiences, and personal opinions within the context of the overall argument. A reader eventually learns that this book is but one part of the author’s lifelong engagement with Maurice Duruflé, the composer and performer; with his wife, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé, the celebrated virtuoso organist; and with Duruflé’s compositions, scores, and related materials.... [A]fter reading this book, I cherish even more deeply my still vivid memories of and feelings for the first time I heard Maurice and Marie-Madeleine Duruflé in concert (at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, in 1969). For those who seek a more personal framework for music studies, Ebrecht’s book provides a welcome example that merits consideration.

The American Organist

Duruflé’s Music Considered is the culmination of Ronald Ebrecht’s lifetime work on the musical legacy of the 20th century composer-organist Maurice Duruflé. Ebrecht shares the detailed work he did privately with the composer and his wife, the great organ virtuoso Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, on Duruflé’s organ works. Ebrecht also shares his study and research of the entire body of the composer’s music, including several unpublished works, from the many existing manuscripts and editions as well as through his connections with Duruflé’s colleagues, family, and former students. This book is indispensible for anyone serious about doing an in-depth study of the music of Maurice Duruflé.

James David Christie