Duruflé Requiem Featured At Northwest Choral's April 30 Concert

PARK RIDGE, IL, April 6, 2023 - French composer Maurice Duruflé's Requiem (Opus 9) for chorus and organ will be featured at Northwest Choral Society's ("NWCS") concert, "Requiem," on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights.

A selection of songs that speak to a spirit of rebirth and renewal and point toward the joyful energy of springtime also are included on the concert program.

"The Requiem, is regarded as one of the finest choral works of the twentieth century," said NWCS's artistic director Thomas Colao. "In this intimate setting, arranged by the composer for chorus with organ accompaniment, listeners will delight in the detailed interplay of the voices and the many colors of the organ part, which calls for an organist of considerable virtuosity." Chicago-area organist Meg Cutting will accompany the choir on Requiem.

Composer and organist Maurice Duruflé's (1902-1986) Requiem is the longest, most substantial and best-known of his works and one of the most famous of all 20th century requiem masses. He was among the French composers commissioned in May 1941 by the (exiled French) Vichy regime to write extended works for a monetary award. Duruflé, commissioned to compose a symphonic poem, decided to compose a requiem and was still working on it in 1944 when the Vichy regime collapsed. He completed it in September 1947.

The composer set the Latin text of the requiem mass, structuring it in nine movements and using numerous themes from the ancient Gregorian "Mass for the Dead." The final movement, In Paradisum, according to Duruflé, represents "the ultimate response of faith to all the questions, by the flight of the soul toward Paradise." Nearly all the thematic material in the work comes from chant established by the Benedictines at the Abbey of Saint-Pierre de Solesmes. Duruflé chose to break away from the operatic and highly dramatic requiem settings of Berlioz and Verdi, instead focusing his setting not on visions of hell and damnation, but on images of tranquility, rest and peace.

Duruflé was a slow, meticulous and methodical composer, constantly re-writing and revising, and, as a result, there are only a handful of works by him. He published a total of just fourteen, mostly for organ, choir or orchestra.

Born in Louviers in northwestern France, Duruflé received his early musical education in the choir school at the Cathedral of Rouen, studying piano and organ. His daily routine included studying Gregorian chant, which became the primary structural element in his compositions. He was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, and became a renowned organist and harmony teacher. He was appointed assistant organist at The Basilica of St. Clothilde and at Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. In 1930, he was chosen organist at St. Etienne-du-Mont, where he remained for the rest of his life. From 1943 to 1970, he was a professor of harmony at the Paris Conservatoire.

Meg Cutting is a versatile organist and keyboard accompanist, specializing in classical organ repertoire and sacred music. She has appeared in recitals and performances throughout the United States, and has been featured on radio programs such as Pipedreams, Live! and WFMT Chicago classical radio. In 2018, she was a finalist in the Taylor Organ Competition in Atlanta, GA. She also was an E. Power Biggs Fellow for the 60th National Organ History Society Convention (2015), and subsequently assisted in the preparation and planning of the 2018 OHS Convention. She is the two-time recipient of the Robert Carwithen Music Foundation Scholarship, given to musicians who show particular promise in the field of sacred music.

In addition to performing as a soloist, Ms. Cutting enjoys accompanying choirs, solo singers and instrumentalists. In 2022, she completed a two-year tenure as organ scholar at St. James Cathedral in Chicago and started her own private piano studio. Prior to St. James, she served as the Wilson Family Sacred Music Intern at the Brick Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, New York,

Ms. Cutting holds a Master of Music in organ performance and sacred music from the Yale School of Music and Yale Institute of Sacred Music. She received a Bachelor of Music in organ performance from the Eastman School of Music.

Jocelyn Colao will perform the mezzo-soprano solo in the Requiem Ms. Colao is a graduate of Westminster Choir College, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in Vocal Performance. Ms. Colao has sung with professional ensembles such as Anam Cara, Princeton Pro Musica, Juneau Vocal Alliance, Kinnara Ensemble, and Brevitas Choir. Ms. Colao also has sung internationally as a member of the choruses for The Festivale Pro Musica e Arte Sacra, the International Festivale per Giovanni Musicisti, and the Concerto Capella Sistina & Idyllic Ireland tour, where she was a member of the first American choir to give a performance in the Sistine Chapel.

Other songs on the concert program, sung a cappella, explore what comes after the Requiem, echoing the constant cycle of death and rebirth that is experienced every day, especially poignant as seasons move from winter into spring. Included are "Light of a Clear Blue Morning," by Dolly Parton, "I Don't Feel No Ways Tired," by Stacey Gibbs, "Rise Up, My Love, My Fair One," by Healey Willan, and "Holy is the true light" by William Harris.

Tickets for the "Requiem" concert are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors if purchased online at www.nwchoralsociety.org or by calling 224 / 585-9127 prior to the April 30 concert. Tickets purchased starting an hour prior to the concert at First Presbyterian Church of Arlington Heights, 302 North Dunton Avenue, Arlington Heights, are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors.

Northwest Choral Society will sponsor a four-evening summer program (Summer Madrigal Chamber Choir Intensive), with rehearsals starting June 19 followed by a concert performance on June 24. Individuals potentially interested in joining the chorus can obtain further information about the summer program at www.nwchoralsociety.org.

Rehearsals for NWCS's 2023-24 season will begin on September 12, with the new session's first concert to be scheduled for early December. Details of the 2023-24 season programs and concert venues will be released as soon as possible this summer.

NWCS' concert programs are sponsored in part by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council.

Founded in 1965, the Northwest Choral Society is a non-profit organization that promotes and encourages the appreciation, understanding and performance of a wide variety of outstanding choral literature. Its adult membership resides in the greater Chicago area.

The Northwest Choral Society invites experienced singers to audition to join the organization. Basses, tenors, altos and sopranos with previous choral experience and at least 17 years of age can obtain additional information about the Northwest Choral Society at www.nwchoralsociety.org.