French organist and composer Maurice Duruflé is known for a small number of extraordinary compositions, among which the Requiem is perhaps the finest and most often performed. His works, which, due to his crippling self-criticism, number only 14, are based on Gregorian chant. Characteristically, these melodies, which retain their original suppleness, are surrounded by complex modal harmonies that are generated by an intricate web of polyphony.
Duruflé was born in Louviers in Normandy, France. At the age of ten, he entered the choir school at the Rouen cathedral, where he stu...